We have consistently purchased Powerscreen equipment from them and we also operate Pegson crushers for which they are also a distributor and their after sales product support is first class. Our newest recycling machine from Blue is a Doppstadt AK-430K crawler tracked wood chipper which we bought as the lynch-pin of the woodwaste processing operations at our St George's Lane, Ascot site. We are contracted to produce 3,000 tonnes of wood chips every month for biomass fuel at an energy generation plant operated by Slough Heat and Power and the Doppstadt is proving to be more than productive enough for us to be able to satisfy this large demand."

Shorts recycling site in Ascot covers some 15 acres and processes large volumes of predominantly building and C&D waste from the region. Site Manager Martin Costello has been with Shorts Group since 1962 and is responsible for the day-to-day working of the Ascot facilities. "We used to produce clean woodchips and fibre from woodwaste solely for the chipboard and MDF industry" Martin says, "but now, we are concentrating on the production of woodchips as a biomass fuel for energy generation. The site is divided into sectors where we can focus on different reclamation tasks, such as recycled aggregate, topsoils and fines, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, board and paper and now, wood fibre and chips in volume which are produced by the Doppstadt. Not only does this machine have a terrific throughput but, being on crawler tracks, allows us to move it around the site really easily which is a useful feature for creating several stockpiles wherever we need them."

Plant and transport manager for Shorts Group is Steve Meade and he is equally enthusiastic about the new Doppstadt chipper. "This is the first Doppstadt machine we've bought from Blue Machinery and it's certainly earning its keep" he commented. "We always take our equipment with full manufacturer's R&M warranty and, once this has expired we undertake all repair and maintenance ourselves. In the tough environment of recycling, it's important to carry out regular preventive maintenance and we adhere to a 200 hours regime, which is a lot more frequent than the recommended service intervals, but it's well worth it as these are production machines and downtime is just not in our dictionary! At Shorts, we always use quality lubricants, original OEM parts where appropriate and we know we can rely on Blue Machinery's after sales sister company Spares UK to deliver fast and efficiently if and when we need major items, such as screen sections, hammers, flail tips and so-on."

Designed and built specifically for both green and wood waste processing, the AK-430K boasts large volume capacities for the effective and efficient chipping and shredding of tree-trunks, roots, pallets and building timber waste, green and organic waste. The crawler-mounted mobile version is both agile and manoeuvrable and can be quickly and easily moved around the site.