Extrusion International 3-2024

41 Extrusion International 3/2024 together with the high performance of the drive, con - vinced us that this was the best choice for our require- ments. And if maintenance is ever needed, the direct ro - tor access via a wide opening gives us plenty of space to work. This saves us valuable time." All shredders within the four recycling lines are used continuously in this three-shift operation. They are filled with the help of wheel loaders that transport pre-shred- ded material into the large hopper openings of the WEIMA shredders around the clock. Aufderhaar chang- es the rotor blades every 250 hours, depending on the material, to ensure a consistently high throughput. Loyalty pays off fourfold The Dutch recycling expert can now call four WEIMA shredders its own. The first two plastic shredders were integrated into the production lines in 2018. The third followed two years later and finally the fourth in 2022. Further investments are already being planned. The most recent machine is used by Aufderhaar mainly for the preparation of polypropylene flowerpots. An in - novation, as Sebastiaan Kok reports: "With the W5.18 shredder fromWEIMA, we are now ideally positioned to carry out flowerpot recyclingefficiently. After thepressed bales have been pre-shredded, theW5.18 shreds them to a homogeneous flake size. The built-in swing-arm push - er (we would say “swing ram” instead of “swing-arm pusher”) presses the material against the rotor in a load- dependent manner. The flakes are then washed and ex - truded. We are very proud that we can contribute to the circular economy with our plants and that new, recycled products are created with the help of our work.” WEIMA Maschinenbau GmbH Bustadt 6-10, 74360 Ilsfeld, Germany www.weima.com Shredding of plastic flower pots on a WEIMA shredder Recycling cycle of post-consumer plastics: raw material, flakes, & granules Shredder quartet: The WEIMA W5.18 single-shaft shredder Flower pot recycling cycle: raw material, flakes, & granules