Hägglunds equipment drives tire recycler’s operations

Denmark-based scrap tire processing firm Genan Holding A/S, which has operations in several countries, says Hägglunds hydraulic direct drives have been a part of its work since 1990, helping Genan convert scrap tires into crumb rubber and recyclable steel and textile fibers.

“Genan is the world’s largest tire recycler and producer of high-quality rubber,” says Daniel Pohl, a project manager with the firm. He says Genan’s plants take in end-of-life tires and process them so the firm’s output is roughly 75 percent rubber granulate or powder, 15 percent steel and 10 percent textile fibers.

The company opened its first plant in Viborg, Denmark, in 1990, and is now a multinational business, having expanded first to Berlin in 2003 and later to two other German cities. The firm opened a plant in Houston, its first non-European site, in 2014, and now also has a plant in Portugal. In total, Genan now has six plants worldwide, with a combined intake capacity of nearly 400,000 metric tons per year.

Genan says with their built-in resistance to shock lock loads and their ability to start, stop and reverse as many times as needed, Hägglunds systems have been a logical choice to be used in its tire shredders and other processing equipment.

“We at Genan have designed all kinds of cutting machines ourselves,” says Pohl, saying these machines create what he calls exceptionally clean and uniform products. The company’s recycled rubber can be used in industrial rubber products, paints, plastics and road paving, and its cryogenically milled rubber powder can replace virgin material in new tires.

“We started up right from the beginning with Hägglunds drives,” Pohl says, “and we’re so happy with them that we never want to change.”

Hägglunds motors and drive systems are used at all of Genan’s sites, according to the company, which now has more than 40 hydraulic drive systems in total. Genan uses two different motors: the Hägglunds CA 100 and the Hägglunds CB 840. With high power density, the motors deliver extreme and sustainable torque from zero speed, says Pohl.

“For us, the main advantages of the Hägglunds drives are the compact and robust design, and the high torque right from the beginning,” says Pohl.

Torque, however, is not the only appeal of Hägglunds systems, says Genan. In the company’s highly automated system, the high reliability of the drives also is crucial, according to Pohl. At a typical Genan plant, there are only a handful of staff members supervising the recycling process, with just one maintenance employee per shift.

“Since we are producing 24/7, the reliability of all systems is needed at all times,” says Pohl. He praises not only the Hägglunds drive systems themselves, but also the strong support behind them. “The Hägglunds service center in Bochum, Germany, supports all our German production facilities – training our employees [and providing] short-time repairs within two weeks, and spare parts. The relationship is excellent.”

Concludes Pohl, “Hägglunds drives ensure our productivity.”