FOGO (food and garden organics), in-vessel composting, and anaerobic digestion are the buzzwords of the organics recycling world. Komptech CEA’s National Product Manager, Deon Cope, said there is no shortage in demand from organics businesses processing green waste in outdoor windrow operations.
Cope said Komptech’s Crambo shredder and Topturn compost turners are designed for businesses that need to optimise their composting process.
“The Crambo is Komptech’s main shredder for organics applications,” Cope said. “It features a large cassette that sits below the rotating shafts, and can be fitted with various screens, which are easily interchanged to size shredded material according to the desired end‑product.”
Cope said the Crambo’s dual-shaft, high-torque, low-speed design makes it unique in the market.
“The benefits of this shredder include reduced operating costs and wear and tear or damage from feedstock contamination like steel or concrete.”
CEA offers the Komptech Topturn in four models: the X4500, X5000, X63, and the X6000, which cater to progressively larger sizes of windrow.
“The larger the size means the wider and higher the row height,” he said. “There is an optimal windrow size when it comes to aeration, moisture content, and management of the rows. The right choice for a customer will ultimately come down to the type and scale of their operation, as well as their budget.
“There are additional options, from standard cameras to 360-degree cameras to irrigation devices. Irrigation is popular in Australia due to the climate, so we always tend to option them as ‘irrigation ready’, which is also valuable from a resale value point of view. Both machines run Cat diesel engines, so you’ve got that commonality of parts between the two,” Cope said. “The same goes for our hydraulic and electric components. Shredders and turners are essential machines for composters, so uptime is critical. Fleet operators can manage multiple machines through one common telematics platform, Komptech Connect.
“This provides operators with fuel management, service management, and types of usage data, including the ability to monitor machines for any service intervals and fault codes.”
Cope said this can help CEA prepare for a customer’s service needs in advance.
“We’re trying to get to a point where we can notify the user when one of their machines is 100 hours or so away from their next service, so they can start planning,” he said.