More movement in the tightest of spaces

For 21 years, GET Erdarbeiten & Tiefbau GmbH, under the management of Heiko Gros, has been serving its customers in the fields of demolition, drainage and earthworks. The transport of bulk materials and construction machines, as well as mobile construction waste recycling complete the constantly growing range of services offered by the civil engineering company located in Diez, Rhineland-Palatinate.

At the head of the family business with about 20 employees, the company founder is supported by his daughter Sabrina Gros and his son Jura Gros. Together, they manage projects within a radius of up to 400 km.

In recent years, the industry-specific competitive situation in the region has significantly changed, explains Heiko Gros: "As the construction industry continues to show a clear upward trend, our competitors in the civil engineering sector are literally "shooting up like mushrooms". However, as an established traditional company, we mainly work with long-term customers and license partners or dedicate ourselves, as we are currently doing, to more extensive projects such as a major demolition at an industrial group operating throughout Germany."

For Heiko Gros, the decision was therefore made to stand firm in mobile construction waste recycling. Through a recommendation, he got in touch with Fischer-Jung Aufbereitungstechnik. As the central German partner of Metso Outotec, the Krefeld-based company specializes in the sale of crushing and screening plants.  

Flexibility makes the difference

"Nevertheless, we also want to assert ourselves on the market when it comes to contracts from the private sector, such as demolitions of single-family homes," adds Jura Gros, who is in charge of this business unit at GET. "In the fast-moving day-to-day business, it is not only a matter of reliability and adherence to schedules, but above all of short-term availability and far-reaching flexibility. Due to the generally prevailing shortage of land, many private developers decide to buy a developed plot of land, only to be able to start new construction directly on the same site after demolition. Of course, a civil engineering company that offers demolition, redevelopment and excavation of the building pit from a single source has a clear advantage here - and ideally so because there is no need to hire extra machines for the overall service."  

As a company that is traditionally in the demolition and earthworks sector, GET has wheel loaders, excavators and trucks. However, in order to be able to start recycling construction waste directly on site, it used to be necessary to rent appropriate processing equipment, which was costly and time-consuming, and whose limited availability could make it even more difficult to fulfill the order on time.  

Process reliable and maneuverable

A plant that came closest to GET's operational needs was considered: the Nordtrack J90 mobile jaw crusher from Metso Outotec.

"The crusher had to provide us with flexible support for the general processing of bulk materials such as construction debris, excavated earth and sand, while being compact enough to be used on confined private land and to be easily moved from one construction site to another," explains Sabrina Gros, who is in charge of project organization. "The Nordtrack J90 is so interesting for us precisely because we can transport it on one of our normal four-axle low-loaders due to its manageable size and comparatively low weight. In addition, its crawler chassis makes it easy to maneuver on the construction site - especially where space is really at a premium."

Immediately after the pre-selection, a test plant was available for the first operations of Fischer-Jung Aufbereitungstechnik. Equipped with a water spraying system for dust suppression, an additional side discharge conveyor, as well as a magnetic separator for the discharge of impurities from the crushing process, the J90 was able to prove its performance under real conditions. After thorough testing, the plant delivered what it promised in the harsh everyday demolition and processing environment.

To close the gap in the classification of soils and recycling materials, the decision was made shortly afterwards during a roadshow event in Ettringen in favor of a mobile screening plant - a Lokotrack type ST2.3 from Metso Outotec. Together with the J90, it is to provide independent material preparation in the future, thus securing the business area.

Just two months after purchasing both machines, Heiko Gros sums up: "We are very satisfied with the overall performance of the Nordtrack J90. Its features allow us the level of flexibility we had imagined from the beginning, even when taking orders on the spur of the moment. The Lokotrack ST2.3 mobile screening machine has also proved its worth and will be used for the time being at a fixed location for screening various bulk materials. Both machines harmonize very well with each other. I would also like to thank Fischer-Jung Aufbereitungstechnik for their support: competent advice, short-term delivery and commissioning of both plants, as well as their service and handling which convinced us right away."

In order to continuously expand the range of services, GET is also planning a test plant for wood shredding. As soon as the results with the rental machine are available, the next operational decisions will be made.