Allu is pleased to announce that for the 3rd year in a row there have been no injuries at its Pennala manufacturing plant.

Factory and operational health and safety are increasingly becoming major issues for manufacturers of construction equipment. Finnish-based manufacturer ALLU, is pleased to announce that for the 3rd year in a row there have been no injuries at its Pennala manufacturing plant.

This tremendous achievement is due to the ALLU team embracing the concept of total health and safety in the factory, with the well-being of the ALLU staff being paramount to the production process.

“Our people are the most important thing to ALLU, and we value their health and safety. The emphasis we place on this is shown by the fact that for the 3rd year in a row there have been no reported accidents at the factory,” said ALLU president Ola Ulmala.

Health and safety are key concepts to all at ALLU. This is reflected not only in the manufacturing process but also in the way the Transformer and Processor equipment is used in the field, with operator training and pro-active customer support being endemic to ALLU operations.

For more information, visit www.allu.net.

ALLU Group is an innovator and pioneer of the screener crusher bucket concept. A major rebrand of ALLU has helped deliver impressive results for the Finland-based company. The development of the ALLU Transformer brand and strategy was undertaken by U.K.-based industrial marketing agency Armstrong in order to accurately portray the true attributes of the ALLU equipment.

“Our core skill is technical translation of what our customers’ technology actually does. We then use this as a platform to develop a strategy, which forms the basis of communication to a global audience, thereby delivering a single strong brand identity,” commented Armstrong Director Daniel Owen. “ALLU and its customers knew what the equipment was capable of, but the essential message was not getting across. From our research, we identified that the ALLU equipment literally transformed material into something that is valuable,” added Owen.

The new ALLU Transformer brand was at last year’s ConExpo-Con/Agg show in Las Vegas. “It’s obviously too early to tell how successful the Transformer brand will be, but the first signs are way above our expectations, with Las Vegas being the perfect stage for the launch. We are now working on the ALLU brand architecture and associated technology brands, which will strengthen the entire portfolio and reinforce ALLU’s market position,” said Owen.

“The reception from customers and the industry as a whole at the Transformer launch was unprecedented. ALLU is now informing us that they are experiencing real growth with the values and clarity of the Transformer playing a key part.”

ALLU, www.allu.net 

A series of 167 improvements are currently underway around the southern ring road of the Finnish city of Lahti. One of the main contractors for the project, Skanska, has added a new tool to its armory in making the work as efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly as possible. Allu DN Series Transformers have been successfully put to work screening excavated materials for reuse on the project thereby boosting the environmental credentials and efficiency of the project.

The southern ring road around the Finnish city of Lahti (Finnish national road 12) will when complete boost to the area’s economy with the project acting as a driver for industrial growth through improvements to the general traffic flow. At the same time, the ring road project is seen as of great strategic importance to the entire traffic system of Finland as it substantially improves cross country connections and links to St. Petersburg in Russia that are vital to Finnish industry.

“The road project will unambiguously bring growth and well-being to Lahti: jobs, apartments and better opportunities for entrepreneurs. Lahti’s competitiveness will improve significantly and the operating conditions of the basic industry will be strengthened under the influence of Finnish national road 12. We are very happy and thankful for this decision,” says City Board President Juha Rostedt of the project.

“Building the ring road to the south side of Lahti is a significant investment in the development of Lahti. We are ready to begin the project and will utilize the ring road to the fullest for the environment, the business sector and the job market,” added Lahti’s mayor Jyrki Myllyvirta.

Background to the development

The Lahti Southern Ring Road project involves rerouting the main road No 12 to the south of Lahti and improving the regional road No 167, which enters Lahti from the south. Main road No 12 is a major national east–west route, with the road currently running through the center of Lahti and the built-up areas of Hollola.

The development and infrastructure project consists of two works sites and three separate contracts. Subproject 1A involves widening the Lahti Southern Ring Road at the Hollola end to provide two lanes along main road No 12 between Soramäki and Okeroinen, as well as building 17 bridges. Subproject 1B covers the southern end of the Lahti Southern Ring Road, with work starting to the east of the Okeroinen interchange and ends at the Joutjärvi interchange. This is a technically challenging stretch of the road, and the project involves, among other works, building several interchanges as well as two tunnels.

Subproject 2 involves widening Uudenmaankatu to provide four lanes along regional road No 167, which enters Lahti from the south, between Renkomäki and Laune. The project also involves renovating underpasses and bridges. Works along regional road No 167 began in the spring of 2017 and works along main road No 12 in the spring of 2018. The goal is to reopen main road No 12 to traffic towards the end of 2020, with work finishing in 2021, and final surfacing is scheduled for 2023.

Objectives of the project

The rerouting of No 12 main road further south will improve traffic safety and flow considerably, as it will divert traffic away from the centres of Lahti and Hollola. Quality of life will improve in residential areas once traffic is diverted, and lower traffic volumes will mean lower noise levels, emission levels and congestion in the surroundings of the current route of main road. In addition, safer and smoother traffic flow will also improve the reliability of goods transport to the increasingly important Lahti business hub.

From the perspective of land use development, the Lahti Southern Ring Road will provide new opportunities for developing the area around Lahti railway station, the former plot of the Asko furniture factory, the Sopenkorpi district and the center of Hollola. The bypass will promote the development of the Nostava logistics park and create efficient transport links to the Kujala and Lotila industrial parks. The rerouting of the main road No 12 further south will also reduce the risk of groundwater contamination in the Salpausselkä area, which is an extremely important source of groundwater.

Ground works and landscaping

Given that the project has impressive environmental credentials that will not only improve the infrastructure, but will also lead to a higher quality of life for residents, the way excavated materials are treated has been an important concern on all the subprojects. One of the main contractors, Skanska Infra Oy, has been using Allu DN Series Transformers for landscape purposes, helping to create noise reducing embankments and to mix soil for planting. The Allu Transformer has proved perfect for the tasks at hand dealing with soils and other excavated material, being highly mobile enabling it to go directly to where it is needed. This has meant that there has been no need for transporting material to and from site thus further lowering emissions and reducing costs.

As part of its work on the ring road project, Skanska Infra Oy, is responsible for landscaping and constructing road slopes, embankments and noise barriers. To this end the Allu DN 3-17 X75 has proved to be invaluable. This is a screening attachment for compact base machines, being suited for excavators up to 28t, loaders-tractors and backhoe loaders up to 14t. The entire DN series is ideal for large landscaping projects, as it offers a truly mobile solution, providing high levels of working versatility and flexibility even in the most challenging environments.

The Allu Transformer comprises of an attachment which screens, crushes, aerates, blends, mixes, separates, feeds and loads materials. This results in the feed material being effectively transformed into highly valuable products, making operations on the project more efficient, and more profitable. At the heart of the Transformer is the unique top screen of its bucket. This is where the screening blades spin between the top screen combs with the end material size being defined by the space between the combs. Effectively these screening combs carry most of the material weight to ensure the drums and bearings take on less impact and load. This construction is clog free and maintains good capacity even with wet materials.

The use of the Allu Transformer has been pivotal on the ground works and landscaping operation on the southern ring road project. Following excavation the material is collected and its usability is analysed, then screened and mixed using the Transformer to provide a smooth soil mixture. After that, the ready to use soil is spread where it is required, ready for any planting. In the latter case, the construction of sight and noise barriers, as well as reaffirming the environmental credentials of the project, sees reforestation as a key part of the project. This all means that the use of the Allu Transformers sees material being reused from excavation operations, with no requirement to buy or transport extra material from outside the project, which is inefficient, both economically and environmentally.

The capabilities of the ALLU range of Transformers are being seen firsthand in North America. Here, two companies (one in Wisconsin and the other in Canada) have invested in a D-Series attachment. The processing power of the Transformer has proven to be particularly effective in dredging a river and reducing tree bark for recycling respectively.

The ALLU Transformer series comprises of an excavator/loader/tractor mounted processing attachment which screens, pulverizes, aerates, blends, mixes, separates, crushes, feeds and loads materials. This results in the feed material being effectively transformed into highly valuable products, making any business more efficient, and more profitable. 

Catering for applications of all sizes, and capable of processing any material that can be screened and sorted, the ALLU Transformer series comprises of the compact DL & D Series as well as the truly massive M and G Series. All are designed to transform the way in which material handling and processing businesses are able to improve their efficiency and profitability. 

The ALLU Transformer, whatever its size and configuration, is ideal for recycling, processing concrete, waste, soil, sand, tree derived materials, rocks and minerals, as it also aerates, as well as screening, loads and crushes, all of which can be carried out on site. This truly mobile solution provides the versatility and flexibility to enable work to be accomplished more efficiently even in the most challenging environments. This results in substantial savings in material and transport costs, as no time is lost when waiting for replacement material.

Dredging in Wisconsin

One such application where the versatility, productivity and efficiency of the Transformer has proved itself is in Wisconsin. Here an ALLU DH 3-17 Transformer is being used to remove 600 mm of soil from a navigable river. The Transformer is mounted on a John Deere 470 excavator with a long reach configuration, with a position and angle sensor being mounted to the Transformer so that the operation can be observed on a monitor in the cab of the excavator.  A dredge pump for the operation is able to receive material up to 75 mm, with the Transformer removing rocks and other debris without unnecessary downtime.

Recycling in Canada

In Nova Scotia, Canada, another DH 3-17 Transformer is currently being used to separate board material from sawdust, and to crush tree bark. The Transformer solution has proved to be an efficient attachment for the job, as it has replaced the stationary processing equipment, which required expensive maintenance as it aged. The Transformer requires fewer people at the work site due to higher utilization, resulting directly in fewer pieces of machinery being needed on site.

Transforming Operations

At the heart of both the examples above is the ALLU Transformer DH with its unique top screen. Here the screening blades spin between the top screen combs with the end material size being defined by the space between the combs. Effectively these screening combs carry most of the material weight to ensure the drums and bearings take on less impact and load. This construction is clog-free and maintains good capacity even with wet materials (especially useful when dealing with dredged material in Wisconsin). 

ALLU Screener and crusher has just paved the way for the future of demolition. These two solutions together now lead the market with innovation.

For the last 30 years ALLU have been producing screening buckets for the global market. ALLU has just launched the crusher buckets for 10 to 38 Ton machines which is adjustable for 13 different discharge sizes. ALLU has become the one stop innovation organization placing 2 solutions side by side provides demolition sites with increased capacity, saving the customer 5 times over, which saves time and money giving you a solution for your business.

The advantage of using both solutions side by side is increased capacity and resumed wear and tear for sites with 5 times the production rate. First launched in Finland and tried and tested with Nordic countries which are known for harsh environments, when a customer in Finland tested the crusher and screener side by side, it became a game changer for demolition. A sieve and crusher bucket chain for handling powdered concrete. At this site, 85% percent was screened and also partially crushed through a screener crusher bucket (Allu Transformer DH 3-17 XHD) and only the excess very hard material was crushed with a crusher bucket (Allu Crusher AC 25-37). We would expect this % to be higher in less harsh environments.

“The demolition concrete was treated after pulverization with two ALLU’s The excess obtained from the screener crusher bucket visible at the front was crushed to a 90 mm fraction with a crusher bucket. Thus, a total of about 5,000 tons passed through two buckets. The demolition of two two-story (lower floor underground) residential buildings produced a total of about 5,000 tons of concrete. The maximum fraction size achieved in the pulverization was 400 millimeters, which is a maximum good input feed size for the Allu crusher bucket.  The jaw is reversible, which enables fast and easy recovery of from possible blockages, in my 30 years in the industry this has changed the direction for demolition” says Ilpo Ellonen, Regional Sales Manager at Allu Finland Oy.

The demolition phase of the demolition yard site took a total of three weeks. At the time of the visit, approximately 600-700 tones of concrete waste were still untreated. In the next or fourth week, there was still a run-off of crushed concrete for use at the bottom of the forest road. The purpose of the entire process is to recycle concrete waste at Allu into stone aggregate for reuse, which replaces the need to use virgin aggregate providing an environmentally sustainable solutions.

Fine material by screening

The throughput of material from the screener crusher bucket is many times higher than with the crusher bucket, so the goal is to get the fines out as accurately as possible by screening so that the amount of material to be crushed is kept to a minimum and the customer was very surprised the blades were hardly worn during this tonnage.  The screener crusher bucket has a basic block type drum with a 75mm hammer configuration. In the future, it is worth examining carefully whether there is an economic justification for using more durable and expensive hammers. If the hammers cost half as much, then they should also reach at least double their service life. The replacement of hammers in Allu is fast, so it is handled conveniently on-site conditions.