Finnish demolition project success for Vipermetal crusher bucket

Viper VPCH 21 bucket system delivers high efficiency and reliability for T Mäkelä Oy

FINNISH contractors T Mäkelä Oy say they have reaped the benefits of high productivity and efficiency after using a Viper VPCH 21 crusher bucket on a challenging demolition contract, to tear down a four-storey concrete block building.

The apartment building was built incorporating 12mm steel rebar reinforced concrete (totalling over 3,000 tonnes of concrete material) which required the project to use two excavators, the smallest of which, a Hitachi Zaxis 280 LC unit, was specified to crush the concrete blocks to 0–80mm in size fragmentation.  

During the concrete pulverizing phase of the contract, it was essential dust-suppression was carried out due to the nearby residents. The second stage was to crush the larger concrete blocks, again to 0–80 mm, for reuse in road foundation construction. The recycling element of the project elimiated both transportation and landfill costs for the contractor.

‘Instead of traditional crushers, we used a Viper slow-moving drum crushing bucket to process the concrete blocks due to its high capacity (94 tonnes/h) and reduced maintenance,’ said Tatu Kantola, operator of the Hitachi excavator utilizing the Viper VPCH 21 bucket system.

The crushing bucket attachment features a 700mm drum, with hard metal tips to crush material against the counter teeth, to reduce standard fragmentation (0–150mm) down to 0–60mm. 

Vipermetal (Ajutech Oy) have also developed a larger two drum crusher bucket version, the VPCV 22, in which the drums rotate in a opposite direction to crush heavy mixed materials such as asphalt, concrete and tiles.  

According to T Mäkelä Oy, the VPCH 21 crushing bucket demolished and recycled construction waste effectively and economically, as well as providing low-noise benefits which are particularly required on contracts taking place in cities and populated areas.