Photo courtesy of Stadler
Environmental services providers and waste management companies need sorting facilities capable of processing high volumes of material with efficiency while producing high-quality recovered commodities. When planning the construction of a new plant or an upgrade to an existing one to meet these requirements, selecting a company to carry out the task is a critical business decision, according to Stadler, the Germany-based company that plans, produces and assembles sorting systems and components for the global waste and recycling industry.
A key factor in selecting such a company is its ability to work to the agreed schedule and complete commissioning on time.
“The material sorted at our facility is connected to contracts with fixed starting points,” says Tristan Merk, project manager at environmental services provider at PreZero Recycling Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, also based in Germany. “Due to this fact, it is very important that the scheduled milestones will be reached. If the construction or the commissioning period isn’t on time, we risk problems with our customer or losing the contract.”
David Aguado Teruel, technical director at Grino Group in Spain says late delivery on a project would have “a very negative effect because the delay has a direct impact on the viability of our business plan and commitments and our ability to deliver our services to our customers and public administrations.”
Carlos Manchado Atienza, international sales director at Stadler, understands this need. “The implications of a delay for our customer are serious: We are talking about losses in the thousands of euros for nonrecovered material and fixed costs already contracted—and this is without taking into consideration landfill costs.”
Ventura Montes, Catalonia waste treatment plants manager at PreZero Spain, adds, “For a packaging plant, we could face monthly costs of some 350,000 euro for alternative waste treatment arrangements and around 400,000 euro in lost opportunities. For a larger facility, such as an urban waste treatment center, it could be some 350,000 euro a month in fixed costs plus around 2 million euro in lost sales.”
Manchado Atienza says his company is recognized for taking punctuality in project delivery seriously.
Montes agrees, saying, “One of Stadler’s strengths is that not only do they always deliver on the agreed date, but usually they are even a few days early. Every time we contracted Stadler for the construction or upgrade of plants, commissioning has always been on time, and very few adjustments were required after installation.”
According to the supplier, careful planning based on its experience is a key factor in its ability to deliver on time.
“First of all, we only provide delivery dates we know we can achieve,” says Benjamin Eule, director of Stadler UK and head of commissioning. “The final delivery is not only the timely installation but also the commissioning of the facility to go into production. We work with realistic time schedules, and we allow sufficient time for each stage.”
An important factor in the company’s success is its use of in-house teams. “As we have in-house teams for mechanical installation and electrical planning, installation and process control programming, we can control and manage the delivery schedules,” Eule says. “We also have quicker internal communication and greater flexibility to adjust the work requirements across multiple projects.”
Clear roles and effective collaboration between the local and head office teams are crucial, as Manchado Atienza says, “Coordination and planning between the different departments are key. The good work of the sales teams with the basic engineering, followed by the head office’s work in detailed and construction engineering give us a competitive advantage.”
Environmental services provider PreZero has contracted with Stadler on several projects. “There are always challenges and unforeseen events; Stadler adapts and is flexible. If necessary, their assembly team will work weekends, holidays, nights—on occasion, they have even doubled resources to deliver on the agreed day,” Montes says. “If it’s a large-scale project, or an upgrade is expected to be difficult, we always try to work with Stadler.”
Stadler recently designed and built a sorting and recycling plant in Almonacid del Marquesado, Spain, for Grino Group.
“The project coincided with the final stages of the coronavirus pandemic, so it was necessary to manage very well the resources and materials needed for the assembly,” Teruel says. “In my experience, Stadler is a company that has demonstrated in its projects its commitment to meeting deadlines and milestones.”