A new Bobcat TL43.80HF Waste Expert telescopic handler has proved to be the ideal solution for Matera-based Decom Srl, for its intensive role in handling waste and recycling on behalf of the 500,000 inhabitants of the Lucania and Apulia municipalities in the south of Italy.
Decom Aims to Recycle 98% of Waste Materials
Decom is one of the first companies in Italy to achieve ‘End of Waste’ certification, specializing in the recycling of plastic, paper, aluminium, glass, cans and many other materials from waste collection in these communities. The company’s goal is to recycle 98% of the material that is processed in its Matera plant.
The company is keen to promote the culture of recycling and every year, Decom follows the ‘Openrecycling’ initiative promoted by Comieco (National Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Cellulose-based Packaging). This involves opening the doors of the company’s paper and cardboard recycling plants to school pupils to demonstrate the process and to show what happens to the paper and cardboard the company collects.
Founded in 1997, Decom began life operating in the freight transport industry, before evolving and specializing in the transport of special waste. In 2008, Decom moved into recycling community and industrial materials, culminating in the opening in 2015 of the first plant in the “La Martella” industrial area in Matera.
To carry out the transport and management of recycled materials, Decom uses Bobcat telescopic handlers which, thanks to their robustness, efficiency, versatility and ease of use, have proved to offer the essential characteristics needed for intensive industrial applications typical of the waste industry.
The latest addition to the fleet of Bobcat telescopic handlers is a TL43.80HF Waste Expert model, the toughest machine of its type on the market, equipped with a package of features aimed specifically at handling materials in the waste and recycling industry.
Giuseppe Labbate, Plant Manager at the Decom plant comments: “Over the years, to improve the quality of work and to speed up the production cycle, we first purchased a Bobcat TL26.60 telescopic handler, which continues to be used inside our shed area, and then added a Bobcat TL38.70HF model, which operates externally, for the loading of materials on to trucks.”
He continues: “We have recently further expanded the telescopic handler fleet with the Bobcat TL43.80HF Waste Expert, which is even tougher and higher performing. Designed with reinforcements and protection such as the strong chassis and cab and light grids, this machine is perfectly suited to our work, where the materials we handle are often at risk of falling on to the machine.
“Furthermore, the agility provided by the 4-wheel steering, the compactness and the lifting capacity of over 4 tonne, has made the handling and loading of materials for recycling a much simpler process, with a consequent increase in productivity. The TL43.80HF Waste Expert works in a continuous cycle, 24 hours a day, and is particularly suitable for handling and loading paper and glass which have high densities from 2400 kg/m3 to a maximum of 2800 kg/m3.”
High Performance ‘Waste Expert’ Telescopic Loader Range
The TL43.80HF is part of the Waste Expert range of telescopic loaders from Bobcat, introducing a dedicated material handling solution for the waste and recycling markets. Bobcat is now offering four of the company’s current productivity and high-flow telescopic loaders, namely the TL35.70, TL34.65HF and TL38.70HF as well as the TL43.80HF, as Waste Expert machines, all powered by Bobcat Stage IV 74.5 or 97 kW (100 or 130 HP) engines. These Waste Expert models offer lifting capacities from 3.4 to 4.3 tonne and lifting heights from 6.5 to 8 m.
Sturdy, Efficient and Easy-to-Operate
Bobcat telescopic loaders are already well proven in the market as sturdy, efficient and particularly easy to operate machines and these are essential features for working in the intensive industrial applications found in the waste management and materials recycling industries.
Waste and recycling businesses need versatile machines that can handle a large variety of tasks, manoeuvre well in tight spaces and provide maximum efficiency in full safety throughout the working day. With the toughest design on the market, impressive bucket breakout forces, efficient cooling systems, a low centre of gravity and a long wheel base to enhance stability and lift capacity, Bobcat’s Waste Expert Telescopic Loaders are ideally suited for the waste and recycling markets.
The Waste Expert telescopic loaders are made for the hardest jobs, whilst still providing all the agility and versatility any application would require. In the HF models, the very robust machine build is combined with high flow capability for unmatched loading productivity and lift capacity.
Recycling and waste management sites are tough working environments so the equipment they use needs to be up to the challenge. As a result, the new Waste Expert machines are even more robust, with heavy-duty Dana Spicer axles and additional reinforced protection, making them the toughest on the market.
They also incorporate an extra large boom head, a high tensile steel boom, boom cushioning and protected hydraulic rams under and inside the boom. Like all Bobcat telescopic loaders, the Waste Expert machines have a box welded frame to meet heavy duty cycles and offer a high ground clearance, with a bottom plate along the entire length to protect vital parts.
Decom Switches to Bobcat – the Reasons
Decom purchased all of the Bobcat telescopic handlers from Caldarola Srl, which has been the Bobcat dealer for Puglia and Basilicata since 1986 when Agostino Caldarola, the company founder and owner, decided that the future for his company and for construction was in compact machines, and immediately chose Bobcat as a partner.
“In the past, Decom used another brand of telescopic handlers” says Marcello Masi, sales manager at Caldarola. “Factors such as ease of use, the sturdiness of the vehicles, the standard three-year warranty, extendable to five, and our aftersales support, brought the customer closer to our brand. The reliability and durability of the telescopic handlers on the job has brought complete satisfaction for the customer.”
