Large tracked excavator grabs attention of Economic Skips

South East London based Economic Skips’ commitment to supporting the need for a cleaner environment within the capital is backed by significant investment in the latest recycling systems. Its latest acquisition is the recently purchased JCB JS370 tracked excavator for operation at its Mercury Way site, near Bermondsey. This excavator supplied by local dealer Greenshields JCB, however, is equipped with a large finger grab, allowing it to carry out the initial processing of waste at the facility. This is the first time a JCB JS370 has been used in such an application.

“Its ability to handle with the finger grab, its good visibility and its ability to cope in a dusty environment are key features for us,” says Chris Guinnelly, Site Facility Manager at Economic Skips. “And the JS370 is a robust, compact and efficient machine.

”Economic Skips has been providing professional waste management solutions for businesses in Greater London since the early 1970s. The operation at Mercury Way takes up to 120 skips a day from building sites mostly from around central London. As soon as they arrive on site they are processed to extract recyclable wood, metal, plastic, cardboard and hardcore. 

The first step of the process for the rubbish is getting the concrete out of it before sending the waste to the picking station.

Material arriving from building sites often contains blocks and lumps of concrete. So for this novel application, the JS370 is fitted with a very large finger-type grab that allows the operator to pick out heavy items from the waste pile inside a large, high open-fronted building. With the JS370 sitting on top of the waste, the operator picks up a load of material with the finger grab, which allows the concrete to fall out through the grab’s fingers, making the residual waste easier to sort through.

It’s a tough and highly dusty environment in which to work. However, fitted with a reverse fan on the radiator, the tracked excavator maintains high productivity. Its carefully thought-out design also helps to minimise downtime for Economic Skips, which carries out maintenance of its machines itself. “We find the JS370 is easy to maintain with easy access to all components,” says Guinnelly.

Sitting at the top of JCB’s range of heavy tracked excavators, the JS370 weighs in at around 37 tonnes and is engineered with exceptional strength, productivity, efficiency, comfort, safety and ease of maintenance. A closed box-section revolving frame increases strength and reduces stress. It also makes these tracked excavators highly resistant to impact damage. The highly efficient MTU 210 kW engine is compliant with Tier 4 Final. 

It joins a fleet of existing JCBs working on Economic Skip’s site including a JS220 22 tonne tracked excavator, a JS175 wheeled excavator and a 437 wheeled loading shovel.

They all help the company to provide a comprehensive range of waste management services including skip hire, through Economic’s fleet of 70 vehicles that can react to new projects in the London area quickly and efficiently. The company can supply, install and maintain a range of static or mobile compaction machines capable of meeting the waste disposal requirements of larger businesses. Large capacity Roll-on / Roll-off containers, which are suitable for the disposal of bulk quantities of waste, can be handled. A muck away service handles all categories of waste, whether inert, non-hazardous or hazardous. A wood shredding operation separates and shreds timber on site before transportation for reuse. And the company also offers a wheelie bin service.

“We have a great relationship with JCB and local dealer Greenshields JCB,” says Guinnelly. “We have been dealing with them for a number of years and we have been happy with everything we have got – both the dealer and the factory are always very helpful. We have great faith in the JCB products and long may it continue.”

Associated Businesses

  • Sowerby Bridge, HX6 3BS
  • Rocester, ST14 5JP