Engineering Services Project Biffa Leicester

Decommissioning and Installation of New Conveyor System for Biffa Leicester MRF

Hoverdale UK Limited was approached by Biffa Leicester, a Materials Recycling Facility to decommission two existing conveyor systems

The work included removal of the old belt systems and the manufacture and installation of brand new conveyors, belts and motorised brush cleaners.

The Biffa Leicester MRF site is one of the top performing sites within the group. The management team Dan Sage, Matt Newman, & Dan Simms are constantly looking to improve the process and improve the equipment availability increasing tonnage output for reduce maintenance resources. Two conveyors were causing most of the downtime and stoppages and were identified that they needed to be replaced:

  • H.03.02 Main feed from the shredder to the trommel

  • H.03.02.B Feed to the bunker

Due to the scale of the work, we installed timelapse video recording to capture the scope and magnitude of this flagship engineering project.

A solution was required to solve the following issues presented on a regular basis by the existing conveyors:

  • Blockages at head drum end between feed conveyor and trommel
  • Material carryback to the tail ends causing blockages and belt tracking issues
  • Worn feed rollers causing tracking issues a wrapped up of material
  • Feed to the bunker conveyor from incline blockages at transfer point
  • Not enough overhang from one conveyor to the other.
BIFFA Leicester

Scope of Works

The Aim

Hoverdale was tasked with providing two new conveyors to improve processing performance and be simple to maintain.

The new systems will reduce down time, the need to clean belly pans and tail end drum from the material carryback and prolong the like for the belt and return rollers.

The New Equipment

  • 2 new conveyors were installed successfully over a weekend on time, on budget, and to a very high degree of quality
  • H.03.02 10m x 1550mm wide
  • H.03.02. B 5m x 1550mm wide.

Both conveyors were design to be provide sustained, high work rate, and increase through put.

The New Conveyors Overview:

  • Remove of all trough roller on the feed belt, changing to slider beds.
  • All slider beds have replaceable impact bars for easier maintenance and ensure no fabrication of bed repairs needed in the future
  • Tail drum can be removed without the need for taking off the conveyor belt.
  • Conveyor side wall have been increased to prevent side spillage
  • Motorised brush cleaners have been fitted to prevent material carry back
  • Tail end finger guard fitted to prevent material roll back to the tails end when conveyor is stopped and started
  • The speed of the conveyors has been increased to ensure material is thrown further away from the transfer point preventing blockages and material wrapping around the head drum
  • Low-friction impact skirting has been fitted to reduce the drag on the belt, ensure edges of the belt are not prematurely worn
  • Auto lubrication to all bearings.

The Results…

  • Stable production and increased equipment availability
  • Increased tonnage output
  • No carry back to tail end reduce the need for cleaning staff to be digging out
  • No spillage over the side of the conveyors
  • No blockages at transfer points
  • Removal of the premature belt wearing issues through correct skirting selection.
  • Drastically reduce preventive maintenance requirements

In addition to the project over the same weekend the Hoverdale team completed additional work to include:

  • Motorised brush cleaner fitted to the shredder belt.
  • Fabricated and fitted new trommel feed chute
  • Fabricated new head end sub structure replacing the old structure.
engineering maintenance conveyors

Why Choose Hoverdale?

Industry-leading expertise

Hoverdale are the founders of the bi-metallic plate industry in the UK. We were the first company in the UK to install the Hood & Spoon conveyor system, the benchmark in reliability for the 21st Century.

Reduced maintenance costs

Our products and services routinely reduce maintenance costs by 80% by providing a longer life and minimising downtime.

No-cure no-pay trial

Want to see if our recommendations work? Why not let us install a trial for you so that you can judge the results for yourself. We expect you to be delighted with the results.

The benchmark for quality in the industry

Made in the UK, our products are used in 5 continents and our expertise spans the globe. Book a site visit now, the savings will more than pay for your time or your money back!

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BEN DUCHESNE

Ben is a time serviced field service engineer in the busy waste and recycling sector, who’s career moved into to managing service teams and beyond. Originally beginning his career with a HGV repair and maintenance apprenticeship with IVECO, from there travelling and working in multiple countries moving towards waste processing shredders.

Ben joined the Hoverdale team in September 2024 seeking to apply his extensive knowledge to a new area. His values and ethics fit perfectly within the Hoverdale ethos.

He is happily married to Kristina, with 4 wonderful young children; 14, 11, 8 and 5. We the children he doesn’t get much spare time. He is a family man, who enjoys spending as much time with them as possible.

DAVID BARTER

David is an experienced leader, with a background covering Operations, eCommerce, Finance, Compliance, HR and IT. His career spans Banking, Retail and Engineering, spending the majority of his career working for ALDI as they grew to become 4th largest supermarket in the UK, including seven years on their UK board as Managing Director of IT and eCommerce.

David joined Hoverdale’s Senior Management Team in 2023 to seek a fresh challenge in a completely different industry sector. He has applied his approach to Process Improvement, Efficiency, Customer Service and Teamwork to great effect during Hoverdale’s sustained growth.

Married to Jane, with three adult sons between them, David volunteers on the board of the Nottingham Playhouse theatre as well as his local rugby and football clubs. Any spare time he spends enjoying walks with their Golden Retriever, Buzz, who is also regularly seen in the Hoverdale office.

MATT BEVERLEY

A time served Mechanical engineer Matt’s background includes many high-profile projects within the Automotive Industry: The Rolls Royce Phantom, Rolls Royce Cullinan, Spyker Le-Mans racing teams, Bentley, Aston Martin, and Airbus A380. This history and knowledge of complex manufacturing and engineering projects have been transferred and further developed into the bulk material handling sector. Matt has work in Europe, North America, Indonesia, and China

He joined the bulk solids and bulk handling industry in 2019 as Managing Director of Hoverdale UK Ltd and subsequently completed a Management buyout in July 2020. The business has grown yearly, increased employment, its customer base, and worldwide reputation, and disrupted the market with groundbreaking innovative technology. Since Matt took over Hoverdale, the company has filed four patents for innovation; one was granted in 2023 for a design to improve bulk handling. The success had been driven by delivering tailored solutions to the waste recycling sectors that keep material flowing out and money flowing in.

Awards Include

  • 2024 – Shapa company of the Year
  • 2024- Shapa Innovation in Technology
  • 2024- MHEA Engineer of the year
  • 2021 – MHEA Innovation of the year
  • 2021- IMechE Innovation award

Current Positions Include.

  • Group Chairman Hoverdale UK Ltd
  • President (MHEA) Material Handling Engineers Association
  • Vice Chairman: IMechE Bulk Material Handling Committee
  • Council Member: (SHAPA) Solids Handling & Particle Association
  • Member: Chartered Management Institute

Matt has been happily married to Julie for 22 years and has 4 children, 3 of which are involved within the Hoverdale group of companies. He is an RFU level 2 qualified coach and referee having been in several head coaching roles at various age groups from under 6’s to adults for his local team Nuneaton RFC. He believes in the core values that rugby teaches of Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline, Sportsmanship and try’s to carry this through in his day to day business activities. He is passionate at brining the next generation of young, diverse engineers into the sector through promotion of apprenticeship scheme and further education routes.