When Latvia launched its most ambitious environmental cleanup to date, A/S BAO turned to ALLU to handle the extreme materials and conditions at the infamous Inčukalns tar ponds. More than ten years later, the same ALLU equipment continues to power the company’s daily remediation work.

Challenge

The Inčukalns tar ponds site in Latvia is one of the Baltic region’s most notorious environmental legacies. Contaminated with a complex mix of petroleum products and sulphuric acid, the site posed a serious risk to the surrounding ecosystem. Tasked with the country’s most extensive and technologically demanding remediation project to date, hazardous waste management specialist A/S BAO needed robust, adaptable equipment capable of handling chemically aggressive materials under demanding site conditions.

Solution

To meet the project’s complex technical requirements, A/S BAO integrated ALLU’s screening and mixing buckets into its remediation operations—working in combination with Volvo carriers. Originally purchased specifically for the Inčukalns project, these ALLU units quickly became a cornerstone of the company’s soil processing capabilities.

The equipment included several ALLU Transformer buckets and a dedicated mixing unit designed for blending acidic tar with neutralizing agents such as lime. Mounted on excavators or wheel loaders depending on the task, the ALLU buckets allowed for on-site homogenization, material separation, and additive mixing. This significantly improved efficiency by reducing the need for material transport and enabling on-site treatment of contaminated soils.

The mixer-style attachment proved particularly valuable. Submerged into the sulphuric acid tar, it combined additives into the mass to produce a stable, fuel-grade output. Even in highly corrosive conditions, the ALLU tools delivered consistent performance—demonstrating durability, precision, and ease of maintenance.

Results

More than a decade after the project began, A/S BAO continues to rely on the same ALLU equipment across its day-to-day operations, including at its Olaine and Getliņi facilities. The units are now used for a range of material processing tasks—from crushing and separating contaminated soils to preparing waste for safe disposal or reuse. Their long service life and adaptability across different carriers have made them indispensable to the company’s remediation toolkit.

“We’ve had these ALLU buckets for over ten years, and they’ve more than proven their worth—especially under extreme conditions like sulphuric acid exposure,” says Māris Kalniņš, Chairman of the Board at A/S BAO. “We still use them daily. With regular maintenance and proper lubrication, they remain highly effective and dependable.”

As A/S BAO expands its operations—with five specialized facilities supporting everything from electronics recycling to construction waste processing, the company continues to value technology that enables safe, efficient, and compliant environmental management. According to Kalniņš, having the right tools on hand makes all the difference:

“Specialized equipment like ALLU isn’t something you can just rent when needed—you have to own it and understand it. That’s why we’ve stuck with ALLU: the equipment works, it lasts, and it helps us get the job done to the highest standards.”

Originally published in Industrija, which is a Latvian magazine focusing on construction, infrastructure, heavy machinery, and industrial innovation.

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In the small town of Pukavik in southern Sweden, Elleholms Maskin AB runs a tight ship. With nearly 80 employees and a heavy-duty fleet of over 30 excavators, 20 trucks, and a full suite of loaders and screeners, the company is one of the most active regional contractors in the area. Founded by Johannes Henriksson, the company has grown steadily by staying hands-on and taking on the work others passed up.

That mindset of staying hands-on and making things work is what led to their latest improvement at the recycling yard. The site handles everything the region’s construction sites throw at it: excavated soil, concrete rubble, stumps, tangled roots, and shredded wood. One truckload at a time, it adds up especially the incoming waste material, which used to grow into towering stockpiles before it could even be processed.

Challenge

For years, the company’s screener at the Elleholms yard was responsible for both clean soil and recycled waste material. But it couldn’t be in two places at once.

“We used to let the waste pile up until we had no choice but to deal with it,” the crew explains. “Sometimes it hit 10,000 cubic meters before we could even start sorting.”

This bottleneck took up valuable space on-site and tied up resources. On top of that, it interrupted the flow of higher-priority work like soil and gravel production. The problem wasn’t the volume — it was the timing. The incoming waste needed to be screened earlier, not later.

Solution

The team brought in an ALLU DN 3-17 screening bucket with TS08/16 drums. It’s now used to screen waste material immediately on arrival, without waiting for the main screener. Positioned right where the trucks unload, the bucket separates material at the source — freeing up space, simplifying logistics, and keeping the rest of the operation on track.

“We don’t have that massive pile anymore,” they say. “It’s under control now. And our main screener is always available for what it’s really meant to do — soil and gravel.”

The bucket also takes on the dirtier jobs like bark and tree stumps mixed with topsoil that aren’t ideal for fixed setups. It can even be taken to job sites, mounted on an excavator, to screen material directly on location.

Operational Use

The ALLU DN 3-17 is now a regular part of the workflow at Elleholms Maskin’s recycling yard. Instead of transporting material twice or delaying processing, the crew uses the bucket to break down and sort loads on the spot. It’s also used for small, irregular piles that aren’t worth starting up the entire plant for.

And the setup is flexible when needed, the bucket heads to jobsites and handles screening directly at the jobsite.

Benefits

Henriksson’s approach has always been simple: make room for people, make room for work, and don’t waste time on waste. The new setup with the ALLU bucket is just an extension of that mindset — efficient, adaptable, and built around real-life needs. What used to be a growing problem is now a solved one. The yard runs cleaner, leaner, and with fewer interruptions.

• Material is screened immediately upon arrival
• Waste piles remain small and manageable
• Fixed screener can focus on high-quality soil and gravel
• Mixed material—like soil with bark or tree roots—is processed with ease
• Bucket can be used at job sites, not just in the yard
• Reduces double handling, saves time and space

The investment wasn’t about technology, it was about keeping the operation moving. That’s how Elleholms Maskin works: steady, thoughtful, and always a few steps ahead of the next pile.

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