REACHING FOR NEW HEIGHTS with FUCHS material handlers

Reckoned to be one of the top five metal recyclers in the UK, Atlas Commodities has set itself even more ambitious targets to reach going into the future. To help it on its way, the company has recently invested in another two Terex Fuchs material handlers. The 90-tonne plus MHL390F pylon machines, supplied by Blue Machinery, are the first of their kind in the UK.

We travelled to the Atlas Commodities facility at the Port of Newport in South Wales to see these two specially spec’d and impressive new machines loading thousands of tonnes of scrap metal on to a boat bound for North Africa.

The machines have joined two other Terex Fuchs MHL390s at the site as well as a Terex Fuchs MHL360.

The Port of Newport is a steel, metals, recycling, and renewable energy hub. From there, Atlas Commodities ship out around 800,000 tonnes of scrap metal to far flung destinations across the world including India, Pakistan, Malaysia, China, the USA and European countries such as Turkey.

It’s an intense operation needing the toughest of machines which can be adapted to the demanding needs of Atlas Commodities who recently were ranked by the Sunday Times as the seventh fastest growing privately owned companies in the UK. An accolade which follows on from being named the fastest growing business in the Midlands & East of England on the 2023 Fast Growth Index.

The company initially started out less than 10 years ago selling metals into various markets around the globe. Since then, it has become one of the country’s leading metal recyclers with scrap yards in South Wales, Liverpool and the North East of England. Over the last two years, it has invested heavily in Terex Fuchs material handlers from Blue Machinery to support their growth ambitions and plans.

“Fuchs represents good value for money, the machines are well engineered and built robustly to handle the toughest of conditions,” says Atlas Commodities Chief Executive Officer Harry Seale. “They’re German made and reliable when downtime is such a critical issue for us. Our operators love them and we now have six Terex Fuchs in our fleet across the group; we just keep coming back for more as our business expands and grows!”

The Terex Fuchs MHL390Fs have bigger lifting capacities and can handle larger volumes of material in a shorter space of time, so are more efficient and more productive…

The company opted for the new Terex Fuchs MHL390Fs because they have larger lifting capacities and can handle larger volumes of material in each cycle, so are more efficient and more productive. “Everyone has an eye on the environment today, and with these new machines we can accomplish much more in less time, which saves on fuel and cuts down on emissions.”

With a powerful and fuel efficient 300 kW diesel engine and a maximum 25.2 m reach, these new giant machines are certainly proving their worth. “We are loading bigger vessels these days; the one featured on the day you visited us at Newport had a capacity of only12,000 tonnes, but increasingly we are loading up to 38,000 tonnes of scrap metal at any one time – that’s three times the size, which is why we opted for the MHL390F’s, plus the fact that they have a significantly raised cab, giving the operator a much better view of the ship’s hold.”

That extra elevation at some two metres is made possible by the placing of a pylon (a pole like extension) between the cab and the undercarriage. It’s a feature that is much appreciated by the operators who have a better and safer overview of the loading process.

“We are also bringing into the port cargoes of between 3,000 and 5,000 tonnes from Scotland and Ireland which are offloaded from smaller boats on to larger ships at the quayside,” adds Harry, “it’s an operation that we can also complete quickly and efficiently with the Terex Fuchs machines.”

NATHAN ELLIS OPERATOR Atlas Commodities

Of the many hundreds of thousands of tonnes of scrap metal received each year by the company, 100% is processed for onward sale to be fully recycled and turned into new steel products. All the material received re-enters the circular economy to be used for a new purpose. It comes from a variety of sources. “Scrap metal is a commodity, traded across the world, like oil, rice, or gas led by demand and supply fundamentals. We source our material from a number of industries, including but not limited to the demolition sector, and the energy sector, but most of our material comes from our industrial clientele. We support the manufacturing industry and service various production facilities across the UK such as Caterpillar’s 27 sites across the UK and Ireland, TATA Steel’s downstream mills located across the UK, Spartan UK’s plate mill, automotive manufacturers such as GTEK and many more.”

All of which means there will be plenty of work for the well spec’d Fuchs material handlers. The cabs feature an air-cushioned comfort-seat with integrated headrest, safety belt and lumbar support. Operator comfort is also well catered for with multi-purpose adjustment options for seat position, seat inclination, seat cushion placement in relation to armrests and pilot control units.

Other features of the cab’s ergonomic layout include glare-free instrumentation, multi-function touch display, automatic monitoring and recording of abnormal operating conditions, including all hydraulic oil filters, hydraulic oil temperature, coolant temperature, and charge air temperature, visual and audible warning indication with shutdown of pilot controls/engine power reduction.

In addition, there are rear and side view cameras, sound and heat-insulated panoramic windows for an optimum all-round view, a windshield with a pull-down sunblind, a visibility panel in the cab roof, and a sliding window in cab door. Also available are an automatic AC and air-conditioned storage compartment, infinitely variable heating with 8-speed fan, 10 adjustable air nozzles, and three defroster nozzles using a hot water system.

Atlas Commodities also specified gantrys, screen guards, cameras on the boom, reversing cameras and extra lights. “Our operators work in challenging environments and safety is paramount. We will not compromise,” says Harry, who adds: “The service and support we have got from Blue Machinery over the years has been excellent, which is why we keep going back to them. If any issues arise we just need to pick up the phone and they will be there the same day.”

The service and support we get from Blue Machinery has been excellent, in an environment where time is money which is why we keep going back to them…

As to the future for Atlas Commodities, they are looking to further expand the business. “We would and will be doing in excess of two million tonnes annually in coming years. We have accomplished a lot in a relatively short space of time but we want to be up there with the leading recyclers in the UK. We have a way to go, but that is our goal, which means we will shortly need to further expand our Fuchs fleet!”