New machines for A.A. Langlois
Jersey’s leading haulage, demolition and recycling contractor invests in latest Sandvik crushing and screening equipment
Providing a total solutions-based service throughout Jersey, over the last decade A.A. Langlois have developed their business to become the island’s premier demolition, haulage and excavation contractor. From humble beginnings more than 20 years ago as a one-man, one-lorry, one-digger company, A.A. Langlois now employ more than 40 staff. In order to further develop their service portfolio, they have recently acquired a new fleet of Sandvik mobile crushing and screening plant to help them remain at the forefront of the industry.
Additionally, thanks to their commercial acumen and eye for an opportunity, A.A. Langlois have developed into other associated business areas. Thus, the reputation of the company has grown and more specialist equipment has been added to its fleet of plant and equipment, the expansion of operations has seen A.A. Langlois providing services such as: groundworks and drainage, excavation and demolition, landscaping, water deliveries, waste tanker services, topsoil supply, and high-quality aggregates classification and supply.
Commenting on their increasing service portfolio, managing director Alan Langlois said: ‘In recent years we have been able to expand our operations to not only encompass what we would term our core business, but have also been involved in many of the island’s most prestigious development projects. We have undertaken extensive excavations and groundworks for the developers of Jersey’s new incinerator, as well as those facilitating the construction of the island’s new dairy. Our high level of personal service, a long-standing and extensive client base, as well as a reputation for excellence and professionalism, means that we have become the total solutions contractor for the island.’
An additional differentiator between A.A. Langlois and their competitors is that they were among the first companies to appreciate the potential of using the most up-to-date plant available. They realized that in order to maintain their premier league position, there was a requirement to invest in the best on a regular basis. ‘We pride ourselves on having the highest-quality plant and machinery at our disposal; our excavators are all traded in for replacements after three years of local use and our trucks are maintained consistently to ensure their ongoing integrity,’ said Mr Langlois.
Major investment in modern plant
Due to the success of the business, A.A.Langlois’ services had become stretched to capacity. In order to deal with the increased workload, the company recently invested in a new fleet of mobile crushing and screening equipment supplied by Sandvik Construction. The plant supplied comprised a QE340 heavy-duty scalper and screener, a QJ241 compact jaw crusher, and two compact and robust QA140 three-way-split screeners.
These four machines have proved well suited to A.A.Langlois’ business, especially the recycling of waste aggregate materials. The state-of-the-art design of the new plant has produced some significant increases in productivity that have allowed the company to improve its profitability due to enhanced efficiency as well as inherent reductions in transport and purchasing costs.
Of specific interest is the QJ241. As Sandvik’s smallest mobile jaw crusher, weighing just over 34 tonnes, it lends itself particularly well to work throughout Jersey wherever it is required. The single-toggle crusher has a feed opening of 1,000 x 650mm, facilitating the production of up to 225 tonnes/h, depending on the feed material and the required final material size. In A.A. Langlois’ construction materials recycling operation, 120–150 tonnes/h can be achieved when producing a 0–70mm end-product. The reversible jaw crusher accepts a maximum feed size of 500mm, while a hydraulic wedge adjustment allows a ‰ closed-side setting ranging from 50mm to 150mm.
The QJ241 has not only proved to be an ideal tool for recycling construction materials, but has also found a niche within construction sites, demolition jobs and small quarries. One of its main assets in these operations is the extensive steel pipework used in the hydraulics, which provides superior heat dissipation and a maintenance-free sealing solution. All the displays, controls and service points are close to ground level or easily accessible via platforms. The machine also possesses several practical features including, as standard, a hydraulically driven cooling fan with auto-reverse (to back-flush dust from the radiator), as well as a central auto-lube on the jaw. Additionally, and depending on operator requirements, the crusher can be operated remotely by wireless control or via an umbilical cord.
A modern PLC system controls both the level sensor at the crusher in-feed and the rev/min of the main conveyor. The hydraulically driven feeder with grizzly allows automatic control of the feed rate from the machine’s large hopper. Additionally, a hydraulic raise/lower facility on the 800mm wide main conveyor provides clearance for the overband magnet, thereby guaranteeing smooth and continuous discharge.
A key benefit of all Sandvik mobile crushers, and the QJ241 in particular, is the minimization of operating costs. This has been achieved via load-optimized control of the hydraulics and the use of a modern 168kW Cat C7.1 Acert engine that is compliant with EU Stage IIIb emissions regulations. These developments have led to a significant decrease in fuel consumption even in high-capacity operations.
‘Compared with the previous crushers we have used, the QJ241 now achieves, in all applications, 25% more output and consumes 30% less fuel,’ commented Alan Langlois. ‘Thus, the machine has been consuming 18 litres/h when producing a 0-70mm product.’
Specialist recycling facility
As part of a long-term strategy that has been developed to reduce the amount of recyclable materials being treated as waste, Jersey has placed great emphasis on the development of a specialist materials recycling facility. Due to their experience and possession of specialist equipment, such as the Sandvik QJ241, A.A.Langlois were chosen to become Jersey’s licensed recycling partner. Trading under the name of A.A.L Recycling from their purpose-built facility located at La Collette, the company is able to haul or accept various types and grades construction and inert waste. This is turned into building aggregates that have found a ready customer in the island’s construction industry.
As one of the principal objectives of Jersey’s waste strategy is to improve the island’s aggregate recycling facilities, working with A.A. Langlois Ltd has given Jersey the use of a ‘third’ quarry. This has not only extended the life of the island’s landfill site, but diverse building materials, including bricks, blocks, granite and cement, are now recycled and made into chippings, granite dust and various sizes of stone.
‘We view the recycling of demolition and building waste as an opportunity to not only extend the life of existing quarry reserves, but also to reduce waste and the environmental impact of mineral extraction,’ said Mr Langlois.
A.A. Langlois’ site is now able to process 230,000 tonnes of building waste on an annual basis, thereby doubling the amount of building and construction waste recycled in Jersey. When the recycling programme was initiated only 10% of building waste was recycled but this has now increased significantly, and much of the credit for this is due to the work undertaken by Alan Langlois and his team. Possessing the know-how and expertise to get the best from their plant, they have been able, since the inception of the project, to produce the required material gradings that allow the recycled material to be used successfully by the construction industry.
Success through innovation
Through their many technological benefits and user-friendly innovations, the Sandvik screens and crushers have been able to provide an effective solution for the recycling of construction materials on Jersey, creating marketable products from waste materials. This has become even more important in recent years as the landfill sites on the island have become full and Jersey has adopted a proactive recycling strategy based on recycling and reusing materials. Alan Langlois and his company are, therefore, playing a key role in not only recycling materials and putting them to use as construction materials, but also leading the way in implementing innovative solutions focused on prolonging the lifespan of Jersey’s finite natural resources.
