Three telehandlers made by the American company Bobcat are helping ZZO Wlodawa, an intermunicipal waste management organization in eastern Poland, manage a recycling process serving some 24,000 people in seven towns near Poland’s border with Poland. Ukraine and Belarus.
Bobcat says the ZZO Wlodawa operation operates 24 hours a day, six days a week. The telehandlers “play a key role in keeping the operation running smoothly,” says Bobcat and the waste management agency.
“Bobcat telehandlers are perfect for our conditions,” says Krzysztof Chilczuk, Chairman of the Board of ZZO Wlodawa. “They are compact, easy to use and offer a high lifting height. Elimination of [materials] on the sorting line is arranged so that the feeder has to turn 90 degrees in a small space. It’s an easy job with these machines.
The agency’s first Bobcat telehandler, a TL470 model with a maximum lift height of seven meters (nearly 23 feet) and a load capacity of 3.5 metric tons, was delivered to the Wlodawa plant in 2013. So far it has worked more than 20,000 opening hours and is still in use.
“It never had a serious breakdown and we never repaired the engine,” says Chilczuk. “There was a problem with the fuel pump, but it was not the fault of the manufacturer, but rather the fuel itself,” he adds.
In 2018, the agency purchased a second Bobcat machine, a TL35.70 model, with the same operating parameters as the old machine. This machine is now approaching a total of 5,000 hours of operation. After positively evaluating the first two machines, ZOO Wlodawa management added a third Bobcat telehandler to the fleet in August last year. Again a TL35.70 model was chosen, but this time with a slightly different specification.
Chilczuk explains the choice of this new machine as follows: “Telehandlers with these working parameters suit our needs and working conditions well. However, the two older machines have 20-inch wheels. When considering buying another telehandler, we wanted it to have 24-inch wheels. As a result, it has greater ground clearance and is even more efficient when working in a landfill. In addition, when loading onto the processing line, the operator can drive more boldly directly into the waste pile. The new machine also has more features, which include, for example, air conditioning, air cushion seat, cabin protection and also a reverse warning system which does not beep, but provides the white noise we really wanted.
At ZZO Wlodawa, there is no division of labor between Bobcat telehandlers – each machine is used for all relevant tasks, according to Bobcat. The sorting area operates 24 hours a day, so the telehandlers change with the operators. In addition to loading materials onto the processing line, machines are used to push and stack materials to maximize the use of available space.
Bobcat telehandlers are also used to unload compost bins, create compost piles and turn them over to aerate them.
At ZZO Wlodawa, Bobcat telehandlers are also used to maintain the currently operated landfill and to rehabilitate an already closed landfill. To perform the variety of tasks, in addition to a universal bucket, two large volume buckets, pallet forks and a bale grabber, the ZZO Wlodawa range of attachments also includes a sweeping brush.
Chilczuk praises Lynx telehandlers for their performance, good visibility and versatility, with Bobcat saying he credits them for never having had a job “they can’t do” at the ZZO site in Wlodawa.