Today, when the cost that an aggregate producer or recycler can demand for his materials is not going up, controlling production costs are more important than ever before and one of the biggest costs incurred is labor and earthmoving equipment.
Anaconda Conveyors USA is promoting portable tracked conveyors for the aggregate, recycling, demolition and material handling industries from the manufacturer, Anaconda Equipment, headquartered in Ireland.
According to Gordon Terry, general manager of Anaconda USA, based in Natick, Mass., “We have a great deal of confidence in the product that we are selling from Anaconda Equipment and their ability to support the product. Even though they are relatively new to manufacturing tracked conveyors, they have a long history and stellar reputation in the manufacturing of traditional conveyors and equipment for OEM’s in the material handling industry.”
The idea of putting tracks on aggregate and material processing equipment is by no means a new one. Portable tracked jaw crushers first started to appear in the U.S. market in the early 1990s.
“The concept of putting a crusher on tracks and bringing the crusher to the material to be crushed versus using loaders and trucks to bring the material to the crusher caught on fast. The savings in fuel consumption, operating costs, and ease of setup translated to significant savings to the owner, and the idea spread like wildfire. Soon to follow was the addition of portable tracked screening plants, and later on, portable tracked cone crushers. The end result was an entire crushing and screening spread that was totally portable and required only one operator, with the exception being stock piling the materials,” Terry said.
The onboard conveyors on crushing and screening equipment typically do not allow for large stockpiling capacities. Therefore, an equipment operator with a rubber-tired loader or a wheeled conveyor is necessary to complete the process where stockpiling is necessary. The only alternative to moving the materials with a wheel loader was setting up a conventional conveyor system to stockpile. But a conventional conveyor system is not self-propelled — nor is it easily transported by a single individual using no heavy equipment. Also, most mobile equipment is far more productive than its predecessor; therefore many conveyors cannot handle the extra capacity.
The solution was the Anaconda tracked conveying system, according to Terry.
With the addition of the Anaconda tracked conveyor system producers are able to keep their operations down to one person and needs only one loader or excavator to feed the crusher or screener. Additionally, when moving the spread, the Anaconda conveyor has a set up time of about five minutes versus the hour or more involved in moving traditional conveying systems.
“Custom crushing and recycling contractors and demolition contractors, who at times find themselves working in areas with a very small footprint now have the option of adding a completely portable tracked conveyor to their crushing spread, which will allow them to stockpile in scenarios where it has not been possible previously. The tracked conveyors are not only extremely portable, but they allow you to work in tight areas and the track system makes the conveyor far more stable. The track system also enables more effective operations where ground conditions are poor. When working in extremely tight areas Anaconda also offers a hydraulic folding model, which extends out to as much as 60 feet and plan to launch a 75 foot model in the near future” Terry said.
For ease of maintenance and repair, all Anaconda portable tracked conveyors are equipped with Caterpillar or Deutz diesel engines and the hydraulic motors are manufactured by Eaton.
Looking to Grow
“We are currently in the process of setting up distribution in the United States for the Anaconda range of conveyors. We already have distributors in place in the 10 northeastern states and eastern Canada. We are actively looking to expand our distribution and dealer network throughout the country and we are willing to retail the product direct in the states where we are yet to have established dealers,” Terry added.
For more information, call 800/285-5721, or visit www.anacondausa.com.
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