MDS deliver year-round success for Whitelock

Yorkshire-based company achieving clean products all year round with MDS M515 tracked trommel unit

IN June 2019, an MDS M515 tracked trommel unit was demonstrated to Whitelock Developments, near Skipton, the success of which led to the purchase of a new unit that is currently being used to process their material.

Whitelock were looking for a high-production scalper capable of producing clean products all year round, while also being able to handle large-size feed stocks containing smaller sticky products such as soil.

The company had tried several different scalpers, but none were able to produce the required results and all kept getting blocked, especially during the wet season.

Having seen the MDS M515 machine demonstrated by Blue Group, Whitelock decided that this three-way-split unit with drum cleaner would best meet all their application requirements.

‘The machine had been brought in as a demonstration and it performed beyond my expectations,’ said Whitelock’s Luke Jones

The M515 exceeded the production rates of other scalpers while dealing with the very wet sticky fines that often blind over traditional scalping screens. The MDS drum cleaner ensures that the trommel never blinds over and keeps the wheels turning whatever the conditions faced by the machine.
 
‘When we decided to have a look at the MDS, I must admit I was sceptical that the trommel could do what was claimed,’ continued Mr Jones. ‘However, within minutes of seeing the machine at work, we knew that the MDS trommel was the right machine and was ideal for our application.

‘It is incredibly well built and just does what is says on the tin. It’s simple and easy to use, and is set up literally within a few minutes.’

Whitelock use a 20-tonne Cat excavator to feed their M515 with a combination of blasted rock and general construction and demolition waste. The push feeder system ensures that the trommel is fed at the optimum feed rate to produce the best product and high tonnage.

Several machine settings are available that can be fine-tuned by the operator (drum speed, feed rate, opening size etc) to maximize the tonnage without compromising the products produced.

Whitelock’s unit is fitted with 75mm apertures in the fines section and 150mm apertures in the mid-product section, to producing three products. The smaller fines product goes to a wash plant where sand, gritstone and other valuable aggregates are reclaimed.

The mid-size is considered to be clean crusher run and achieves a premium price as the product is free from fines. The +150mm oversize is fed directly into a Powerscreen PT400X to produce a further crushed product.

According to MDS International, there are no other machines on the market that could deal with the mixture of wet fines that literally ‘splosh’ on to the heap, while also processing larger +600mm size rock. The company adds that use of traditional horizontal scalpers could become a thing of the past for those willing to give MDS equipment a chance to prove its game-changing capabilities in all-year-round material-processing applications.