Avery Weigh-Tronix relaunch J-Series weighbridge

Company relaunches high-sided weighbridge designed for heavy industries such as quarrying

AVERY Weigh-Tronix, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and suppliers of industrial weighing solutions and service, have recently relaunched a high-sided weighbridge, specifically designed for heavy industries including quarrying and aggregates.

The new J-Series weighbridge has been enhanced to offer additional durability, with a 12mm thick deck plate and more internal steelwork than the company’s BridgeMont weighbridge range. The weighbridge features high sides made of solid steel beams, which guide drivers into the correct position for weighing and prevent vehicles from slipping off the sides of the bridge.

The first installation of the J-Series weighbridge was for recycling and waste-management firm A&M Smith at the company’s eco-friendly site in Portlethen, Aberdeenshire. Since their establishment in 1994, A&M Smith have expanded to become one of Scotland’s top recycling and waste-management companies, with depots in Aberdeen and Peterhead.

The company’s continued expansion has brought an increase in traffic to the principle site in Bankhead, Portlethen, and when a site upgrade was needed to cope with the additional demand, the company looked to create an impressive, energy-efficient site that utilizes local, recycled materials.

To maximize the flow of vehicles using the facility and minimize the queuing of HGVs and loss of time, A&M Smith optimized the traffic route for the site, moving from one weighbridge controlling both inbound and outbound weight readings, to create separate inbound and outbound weighbridge areas.

When choosing a weighbridge provider, the company was already familiar with Avery Weigh-Tronix, having used a BridgeMont weighbridge at the Peterhead site since 2012, and a J-Series at the Bankhead site since 1997.

Despite its age, the J-Series bridge was still extremely reliable, and owner Scott Smith was looking to replicate this performance with his next purchase: ‘The durability of our existing J-Series weighbridge made Avery Weigh-Tronix the natural choice of supplier for the next one,’ he said.

Mr Smith and his team purchased a new Avery Weigh-Tronix J-Series weighbridge to control inbound weight transactions, whilst the existing bridge was refurbished to use for outbound readings.

Keeping health and safety in mind, the site’s purpose-built office (which combines the operational and administration functions) is situated directly between the inbound and outbound weighbridges, meaning drivers do not need to leave their cab to get a weight reading ticket, which reduces the potential for accidents on site.

The two-day bridge installation was conducted Avery Weigh-Tronix’s Scottish engineering team, including calibration from one of the Avery Weigh-Tronix test units – part of the UK’s largest fleet of weighbridge test units. Moreover, as the new bridge forms a critical part of A&M Smith’s operations, it is supported by BridgeCare Total, which guarantees 97% uptime thanks to a UK-wide engineer network.