Product feature: Keestrack B4

Date: 27.04.2021

The Keestrack B4 is both portable and powerful and ideal for crushing both quarry rock and recycling materials

Greg Jaggard

The RNZAF Base at Ohakea was recently one of Central Environmental’s latest worksites after being sub-contracted to take solid 60-year-old concrete and crush for reuse as base course under the new taxiway and ordinance loading zone.

Using a breaker helped break the taxiway up into consistent slabs for loading and crushing

Built to last and cope with heavy loads, the taxiway’s structure was reflective of that, with 50mm rebar reinforcing and 65mm+ stone straight from the Ohakea river and a hefty helping of cement. Using a breaker, a digger pockmarked the hexagonal slaps, making the concrete fracture when ripped up and helped keep it a consistent size for crushing.

Central Environmental

The Keestrack B4 Jaw Crusher used by Central Environmental takes waste concrete and recycles it into an excellent base course

Founded in 2019, Central Environmental is a new entity under the ‘Central’ brand, with Central Demolition being the foremost company known across the North Island. The new business is focused on recycling and bettering the environment, working with local central North Island councils to create a sustainably oriented way to divert construction waste from the landfill and recycle it.

Products such as Central’s GAP65 to 20 are tested and approved by some councils as a strong base material. They are now included in the council’s project documentation.
"Often recycled concrete and aggregate products are rejected for use under the pretence that they’re an inferior product, but it’s quite the opposite," says managing director Ian Butcher.

"Concrete makes a really good base course, it locks together really well, is readily compactable, and has a lot of broken faces." Recycled products are also relatively cost-effective, as they are easy to crush, can be made into a variety of sizes, and highly versatile.

Mobile plant brings recycling to the site

The B4 is portable and powerful allowing full on-site crushing, further reducing the carbon footprint of the operation

One of the stars of Central Environmental’s strategy is the Keestrack B4 Mobile Jaw Crusher that the team is using to take waste like concrete and turn it into something useful.
Portable and powerful, the B4 is at home crushing both quarry rock and recycling materials.

It also meets other requirements that Ian had in mind when choosing a plant. "I compared plants and pricing, but I liked the features the B4 had, practical ones that were common sense. Like the Jaw protection system, radio remote, and PLC unit, all things that make it easy to use," he says.

The B4 is easy to use, with the operator being able to control everything from the cab

For operator Greg Jaggard, who operates the machine every day, ease of use was the highlight. "The remote is great. I can control everything from the cab: start it up, turn it off, change the settings, and if it needs stopping, there’s an emergency stop button right there."

Supplying more than just machinery

As Ian mentioned, they evaluated their options when buying a new plant—a major purchase for a new business. "The biggest thing for us was we knew Equip2 and the Keestrack brand are good machines with good support. We were new to crushing so getting support is very helpful.

"The induction with the machine was good for the guys, showing them how to use the machine, how it works, what to look for, and how to look after it." Additionally, Equip2 also supplied their Eco-Calculator™, a tool tailored to the business that takes into account costings such as repayments, consumables, running costs, staffing, and more to produce a detailed cost report of the machine.

"The calculator was handy; we could see what it was going to cost to run, so we could plan for it, but also work out product pricing ahead of time," says Ian. "I would recommend Equip2; they’re quick and easy to get hold of and their support is great and well known."

For more information, visit equip2.co.nz.

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