The Compact Impact Crusher that Delivers Big Benefits

Cities around the world are looking to create efficiencies and reduce their carbon footprint. With aggressive carbon reduction targets and a mission to become the world’s greenest city by 2020, Vancouver, BC is arguably leading the way.

Contractors bidding on City of Vancouver projects therefore need to offer robust solutions that also help lower the carbon footprint of the city.

When pitching for the contract to recycle the approximately 200,000 tonnes of concrete and asphalt waste produced every year by the City, Kenton Regehr of Regehr Contracting reviewed the latest mobile crushing and screening system technology in a search for significant environmental and productivity efficiencies.

He settled on the Keestrack R5 Destroyer, exclusively offered in Western Canada by Chilliwack’s Frontline Machinery, and it proved to be the perfect impact crusher for the contractor, City, and job.

The R5 Destroyer is a compact high-performance mobile impact crusher that does the work of at least three machines and requires half the manpower. While Keestrack machinery is known for its fuel efficiency, hydraulic systems, durability, ease of use and performance, the R5 Destroyer delivers a range of additional benefits.

Weighing in at less than 43 tonnes, it’s portable and has an impressive production capacity of 400 tonnes/hour. The low-emission engine and load-sensing hydraulics allow for greater fuel savings and a reduced carbon footprint.

But it was the other benefits to both contractor and City that really sealed the deal.

Regehr was able to use two machines in total – the R5 Destroyer and a Keestrack K6 Frontier Screener – instead of the four or five that previously did the same job. The Destroyer eliminated the need for a separate primary crusher like the Jaw Crusher, a Cone Crusher or other secondary crusher, and a Screening Plant.

This meant a significant reduction in fuel emissions, along with fuel cost savings that could be passed to the City. With less machinery, the job also required less manpower, enabling the contractor to deploy staff on other projects and delivering more cost savings to the City.

The compact R5 size also reduced the physical job footprint as well as the carbon footprint.

“It’s only a 2.5-acre yard which is very tight for the kind of work we are doing,” says Kenton Regehr. “The R5 Destroyer takes up way less space, which the City appreciates along with having less diesel fuel running fewer machines.

“With less machinery to operate we can also take on more projects and reallocate manpower to other sites. As a contractor, it gives us a lot more flexibility.”

As with any new machinery, there was a learning curve for Regehr’s employees on site. Operator error and slowdowns or stoppages cost time and money, so Regehr leaned on Frontline for help getting going with the unfamiliar equipment.

“Frontline had their staff on site for a month to help us get going with the crusher,” says Regehr. “They also gave us a good rental rate when were bidding for the contract, and there’s no doubt that having the Destroyer won us the contract.

“It’s a better product than other options out there, and it’s done exactly what we told the City it would do.”

Mobile crushing and screening system technology has been advancing at a rapid rate for several years due for the environmental and productivity benefits it offers both contractor and client.

According to Regehr, equipment that delivers these efficiencies is something we’ll see more of.

“There is more incentive to recycle concrete and asphalt now, and you need an impact crusher like the Destroyer if you’re going to do it properly,” he says.