Smurfit Kappa to introduce electric trucks
Corrugated packaging company Smurfit Kappa completed a successful testing session of a fully electric truck ahead of adding seven to its European fleet.
The company’s Interreg eGreen LastMile project involves the roll-out of the quick-charging 100% electric trucks in the German-Dutch border area.
Jo Cox, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Recycled Paper East, said: “We are delighted to have completed a successful pilot of this exciting project.
“These trucks are clean, quiet and environmentally friendly and have performed impressively so far.
“We believe that through taking a sustainable approach to every aspect of our company, products operations and logistics, we become more efficient and this certainly looks to be the case with the new trucks.”
With approximately 46,000 employees in more than 350 production sites across 35 countries, Smurfit Kappa claims the company reported a reduction in fossil CO2 emissions by 29% in 2019 as compared to 2005, when Jefferson Smurfit merged with Kappa Packaging.
Mendip Wood Shavings acquires two tractor units
Bristol-based Mendip Wood Shavings has acquired two Mercedes-Benz Actros 2545 tractor units which came equipped with MirrorCam technology.
The MirrorCam provides an image on the in-cab screens which adapts automatically to provide the driver with a clear view of the full length of the semi-trailer.
A guidance line in the display which shows where the end of the trailer is assists with precision reversing.
Arthur Selway, a driver at Mendip Wood Shavings, said: “I’m getting on really well with MirrorCam. The visibility is so much better. Gone are the blind spots you get with conventional mirrors, and I can still see even when the sun’s shining directly into the cameras, while I also like the fact that they show the back of the trailer when I turn a corner.”
A specialist supplier of animal bedding, family-owned Mendip Wood Shavings was established in 1980.
The tractor units were supplied to the company by Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle dealer group Rygor Commercials, at whose Chilcompton branch the vehicles are inspected and maintained.
Philippa Harris, managing director of Mendip Wood Shavings, said: “Rygor’s workshop is only 15 minutes’ drive away, and its team look after all of our Mercedes-Benz trucks on R&M plans.
“They’re flexible when we need them to be, and if we ever have an issue we know they’ll do whatever it takes to help us out. I can’t fault the dealer’s service.”
JCBs added to fleets
Northern Ireland-based skip hire specialist CM Skips has added a JCB 550-80 Wastemaster Loadall to the fleet of machinery operating at its site in Randalstown, near Ballymena.
The 550-80 will collect sorted material and deliver it to one of several dedicated storage bays at the site where waste is kept prior to being loaded onto one of CM Skips’ contractor partner’s delivery vehicles and then taken away for recycling.
Nigel McKee, director of CM Skips, said: “Machines in the JCB Wastemaster range are specifically tailored to meet the demands of tough waste and recycling centre environments, which means their uptime is optimised.”
Meanwhile, Britaniacrest Recycling has added a JCB JS200W wheeled excavator and two JCB JS220X excavators to its fleet at it site in Hookwood, near Gatwick Airport.
Britaniacrest director Ray Foss Jr said: “We opted for the JS200W because of its greater stability and reach when sorting waste and loading articulated tipper lorries.
“The key benefits of the JS200 are its reach, its larger grab for bulk loading and its reliability.”
Britaniacrest purchased the vehicles from dealer Greenshields JCB.
L&S Waste Management purchases Volvo excavators
Hampshire-based L&S Waste Management Ltd has added two Volvo excavators to its fleet of mobile equipment at its Portsmouth recycling centre.
The machines are a twenty tonne EC200E and a twenty-two tonne EC220E.
Each has been supplied with an SMT GB Level 2 ENHANCE service agreement and was chosen after the company was impressed by the reliability and performance of two fourteen tonne EC140E models purchased at the beginning of 2019.
Dominic Sales, transport and plant manager at L&S Waste Management, said: “The two fourteen tonne machines have proved to be very reliable and the support from SMT GB when required has been excellent, which has prompted us to opt for the larger machines for the Portsmouth facility.”
The EC200E will sort incoming material comprising general industrial inert waste, skip waste, rubble and demolition waste, while EC220E will load concrete, rubble and hardcore into a primary crusher and break larger oversized material with the aid of a hydraulic hammer and a pulveriser.
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