Maintenance

Recycling in the Channel Islands

The British Crown dependency of Jersey, located just off the coast of Normandy, France, is renowned for being a self-determined entity that is separate from the United Kingdom. However, in this era of globalisation, in which Jersey is treated as part of the European community for the purposes of free trade in goods, the island remains dedicated to the modernisation of its infrastructure.

An organisation that provides a total solutions-based service throughout Jersey is AA Langlois. It has developed its business over the past decade to become the island?s foremost demolition, haulage and excavation contractor. From humble beginnings more than 20 years ago as a one-man/one-lorry/one-digger company, AA Langlois has grown to now employ more than 40 staff.

To further develop its service portfolio, while at the same time offering its customers an enhanced offering, the company has recently acquired a fleet of Sandvik mobile crushing and screening plant to keep it at the forefront of the industry.

As the largest demolition, recycling and haulage contractor on Jersey, AA Langlois has long prided itself on a service that is second to none. Strong commercial acumen, an eye for an opportunity and a belief that a premier service can only be delivered by using premier equipment has allowed AA Langlois to develop as a concern into other associated business areas. 

Thus, as the reputation of the company has grown, and more specialist equipment has been added to the fleet of plant and equipment, the expansion of operations has enabled AA Langlois to provide services in groundworks and drainage, excavation and demolition, landscaping, water deliveries, waste tanker service, topsoil supply and high quality aggregate classification and supply.

?In recent years we have been able to expand our operations to not only encompass what we would term our core business but we have also been involved in many of the island?s most prestigious development projects,? said managing director Alan Langlois of the company?s growing service portfolio.

?Thus we have undertaken extensive excavations and groundworks for the developers of Jersey?s new incinerator, as well as those facilitating the construction of the island?s new dairy. Our high level of personal service, a long-standing and extensive client base, as well as a reputation for excellence and professionalism, means we have become the total solutions contractor for the island.?

An additional difference between AA Langlois and its competition has been its willingness to appreciate the potential of using the most up to date plant available. AA Langlois realised that in order to maintain its premier position in the market, there was a requirement to invest in the best on a regular basis.

?We pride ourselves on having the highest quality plant and machinery at our disposal,? Alan Langlois explained. ?Our excavators are all traded in for replacements after three years of local use and our trucks are maintained consistently to ensure their ongoing integrity.?

{{image2-a:R-w:200}}MODERN PLANT INVESTMENT
Due to the success of the business, AA Langlois? services had become stretched to capacity. To deal with the increased workload, while providing an even higher quality service to its customers, AA Langlois recently invested in a new fleet of mobile screening and crushing equipment supplied by Sandvik Construction. The plant supplied consists of a QE340 heavy duty scalper and screener, a QJ241 compact jaw crusher and two QA140 compact, yet hard wearing, three-way split screens.

These four machines have proved to be ideal for AA Langlois? business, especially the recycling of waste aggregate materials. The state of the art design of the plant has produced some startling increases in productivity that have allowed AA Langlois to improve profitability due to enhanced efficiency, as well as inherent reductions in transport and purchasing costs.

Of specific interest is the QJ241, Sandvik?s smallest mobile jaw crusher. Weighing about 34 tonnes, the QJ241 lends itself perfectly to work throughout Jersey wherever it is required. The single-toggle crusher has a feed opening of 1000mm x 650mm, facilitating production of up to 225 tonnes per hour, depending on the material and the required final material size. 

In AA Langlois? construction materials recycling operation, 120 to 150 tph may be achieved when producing a 0-70mm end product. The reversible jaw crusher accepts a maximum feed size of 500mm, and a hydraulic wedge adjustment allows a CSS (closed side setting) range of 50-150mm.

The QJ241 has not only proved to be an ideal tool for recycling construction materials but has also found a real niche within construction sites, demolition jobs and small quarries. One of its main assets in these operations is the extensive steel pipe work used in the hydraulics, which provides superior heat dissipation and a maintenance free sealing solution. All the displays, controls and service points are close to ground level or easily accessible via platforms. 

The machine also possesses several practical features including a standard fitted hydraulically driven cooling fan, with auto-reverse, to back-flush dust from the radiator or the central auto lube on the jaw. Additionally, and depending on operator requirements, the crusher may be operated remotely by wireless control or via umbilical cord.

A modern programmable logic controller (PLC) system controls both the level sensor at the crusher in-feed and the RPM of the main conveyor. The hydraulically driven feeder with grizzly allows automatic control of the feed rate from the large hopper. Additional use of hydraulics sees a hydraulic raise and lower facility on the 800mm wide main conveyor, which provides clearance for the over-band magnet, thereby guaranteeing smooth and continuous discharge. A key feature of all Sandvik mobile crushers, and the QJ241 in particular, has been the minimisation of operating costs. 

This has been achieved through a load-optimised control of the hydraulics and the use of a modern 168kW Caterpillar C7.1 Acert engine that is compliant with EU Stage IIIB emissions. These developments have led to a significant decrease in fuel consumption, even in high capacity operations. The benefits are evident for Alan Langlois.

?Compared with the previous crushers we have used, the QJ241 now achieves in all applications 25 per cent more output and consumes 30 per cent less fuel,? he explained.

{{image3-a:L-w:200}}?As a result, the machine has been consuming 18 litres per hour when producing a product of 0-70mm.?

SPECIALIST RECYCLING FACILITY
As part of a long term strategy to reduce the amount of recyclable material being treated as waste, Jersey has put great emphasis on the development of a specialist materials recycling facility. Due to the company?s high levels of experience, and the possession of specialist equipment such as the QJ241, it was no surprise that AA Langlois was chosen to become Jersey?s licensed recycling partner. 

Trading under the name AAL Recycling from its purpose-built facility at La Collette, AA Langlois is able to haul or accept various types and grades of construction and inert waste. This is then turned into building aggregates that have found a willing customer in the island?s construction industry.

The principal objective of Jersey?s waste strategy is to improve aggregate recycling facilities, and working with AA Langlois has enabled the island to have a ?third? Jersey quarry. This has extended the life of the island?s landfill sites, while diverse building materials including bricks, blocks, granite and cement are now recycled and made into chippings, granite dust and various sizes of stone. 

Of the vital role the company now plays in Jersey?s recycling, Alan Langlois said: ?We view the recycling of demolition and building waste as an opportunity to not only extend the life of existing quarry reserves but also to reduce waste and the environmental impact of mineral extraction.?

AA Langlois? site is now able to process 230,000 tonnes of building waste on an annual basis, thereby doubling the amount of building and construction waste recycled in Jersey. When the recycling programme was initiated, only 10 per cent of building waste was recycled but this has now increased significantly and much of the credit for this is due to the work undertaken by Alan Langlois and his team.

Possessing the know-how and expertise to get the best from their plant, they were able from the inception of the project to produce the required material gradings that allowed the recycled material to be used by the construction industry.

SUCCESS THROUGH INNOVATION
Through their many technological benefits and user-friendly innovative features, the Sandvik screens and crushers have provided the perfect solution to AA Langlois? and Jersey?s recycling of construction materials. The high levels of quality seen in the Sandvik machinery initially attracted AA Langlois, while the excellent service offered when commissioning, servicing and repairing has since greatly impressed the company.

A major factor in AA Langlois? success has been the ability to efficiently create marketable products from waste materials while delivering a high quality service. This has become even more important in recent years as the landfill sites in Jersey have become full and Jersey has adopted a proactive strategy based on recycling and reusing materials. 

To that end, Alan Langlois and his company have played a key role in recycling materials and putting them to use as construction materials, and also lead the way in implementing innovative solutions focused on prolonging the lifespan of the world?s finite resources.

In Australia, Precisionscreen distributes Sandvik mobile crushing and screening plant. ?

Source: Sandvik Mining and Construction

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