Cost effective crushing with ALLU

The company was initially drawn to the ALLU DS 3-23 screening bucket after securing several small crushing and screening contracts. The bucket proved to be a cost-effective alternative for clients, eliminating the need for a large mobile crusher on-site. Earlier this year, MRD Plant took delivery of a brand-new ALLU DH 4-17, primarily used for processing asphalt road planings that would otherwise be sent to landfill.

MRD Plant’s Managing Director Tom Chapman has nothing but praise for the ALLU buckets which can screen, crush, pulverise, mix and separate a wide range of materials, excelling in processing wet and dirty materials. Integrated with an excavator’s or loading shovel’s hydraulic system, the buckets effectively transform equipment into mobile processing plants. Their user-friendly design ensures quick attachment and operation, while interchangeable blades and segments allow for easy adjustment of particle size to meet specific job site requirements.

“In many cases, an ALLU screening bucket is much more efficient, productive and less expensive than transporting a mobile crushing plant to the work site. That was something we began to realise when we invested in that second hand model last year. Some of the contracts we secure are for processing just a few hundred tonnes of material over a couple of days and it would have been inefficient for us to set up a standard mobile crusher on site. Had we have done that, we would have had to use a loading shovel in any event to feed the crusher, but the fact we can fit an ALLU screening bucket to the shovel means we are literally halving our fuel costs – and using less labour on site,” said Tom, “so we are able to pass on those cost savings to our clients which they appreciate.”

The ALLU DH 4-17, one of the largest models in the D-Series range, is being used by MRD Plant to process road planings. Its versatility, however, allows it to handle a wide variety of materials, including soils, sand, gravel, compost, demolition waste, and more. With the ability to produce different fractions, the D-Series is suited for applications ranging from construction and recycling to landscaping and agriculture.

Mounted on a 35-ton excavator, the DH 4-17 is in constant use. “It’s performing the same tasks as a top-of-the-range mobile crusher but at a fraction of the cost,” Tom added. He also highlighted its simplicity: “ALLU screening buckets are easier to use and maintain compared to a standard mobile crusher. Plus, their compact setup allows us to access restricted sites that would otherwise be off-limits to separate crusher units.”

The other three ALLU buckets in the MRD Plant crushing and screening division are fitted to loading shovels and a smaller excavator – and are easily interchangeable, to suit various applications. One of the ALLU transformer buckets has been used to break up and screen Pulverised Fuel Ash, (PFA), also known as fly ash, which can then be partly used as a cement substitute in the manufacture of concrete blocks. Extremely wet PFA would be impossible to screen using a conventional mobile screener and as such this material normally would end up going to landfill.

In a few short years, Tom Chapman has built up MRD Plant into a successful and growing contract crushing and screening operation that is able to take on projects ranging from small scale work to larger, long-term contracts.

Since starting up the company, Tom has enjoyed a very successful working relationship with both Blue Machinery and ALLU. “They have been very supportive and have put in a lot of effort to make sure we have screening buckets that work for us, especially with the DH 4-17 which we use primarily for processing asphalt. Any issues or queries have been dealt with promptly and efficiently and we look forward to building on that relationship going forward.”