
Wendt Corp., Buffalo, New York, a manufacturer of automobile shredders and nonferrous separation systems, has announced the commissioning of a new nonferrous sorting plant at its Technology Center in the Buffalo area. The plant will feature the newest technology and process for the cleaning and sorting of shredded nonferrous metals, such as zorba and zurik, according to the company.
This is the third plant constructed at the Wendt Technology Center since its launch in 2013. The two previous plants processed automobile shredder residue (ASR)—the first processing gaylord samples and the second processing truckload samples—to demonstrate fines, wire, zorba and zurik recovery potential. The new metal cleaning and sorting plant will serve as a full-scale (truckload) customer demonstration site and features core technologies from Wendt’s exclusive partners, Tomra, MTB, Joest and Westeria, and the latest metal sorting process designed by Wendt. These core technologies include X-ray and color sorting from Tomra, air classification by Joest, eddy current separators by MagPro and feeding and material handling equipment by Westeria.
Wendt says its continued investment in its Technology Center reflects its effort to provide customers with new process solutions to meet today’s business conditions, which call for lower allowable contaminant thresholds in scrap exports.
“Wendt has a track record of being quick to adapt to changes in the scrap market, investing in research and development,” says Bill Close, the company’s nonferrous business development manager.
“The Technology Center is truly a state-of-the-art system that utilizes the newest technology and features the latest in process engineering,” adds Ethan Willard, Wendt sales engineering manager. “We’re proud to share the labor of our efforts with the industry and deliver a solution that will help our customers navigate their business requirements.”
Wendt says the advanced sorting system is built for versatility and can upgrade a variety of nonferrous materials, including zorba, zurik and mixed aluminum scrap, into purer products and furnace-ready commodities. The system is designed to allow operators the ability to run in multiple ways to create different finished products that maximize margin based on market conditions. According to Wendt, the plant’s versatility and flexibility serves a variety of needs:
- metals cleaning for China Certification and Inspection Group (CCIC) compliance (removal of circuit boards, trash and other contaminants);
- mixed metals sorting (zorba, zurik and others) into segregated, furnace-ready products; and
- quality control of various shredded aluminum feedstocks.
Customers can schedule appointments at the Wendt Technology Center to test their own materials through the system.
“It is our goal to reduce customer risk, utilize best-in-class technology, vet new processes and confirm a business case with a good return on investment,” Close says.
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