Florida Ready Mix Company touts benefits of Badger Shredding System

Anyone in the business of recycling concrete knows that the daily grind has always been by nature noisy, dusty, and enormously expensive. Maintenance fees alone for concrete shredding equipment can make or break a budget. But that is changing, thanks to Badger Shredding Products, Inc.’s innovative line of shredding equipment that has been engineered to significantly reduce the cost, noise, dust, and downtime. 

The line of patented twin shaft Badger Shredders is winning over customers across the nation, who’ve done side-by-side comparisons against other shredders. Available in stationary, semi-stationary, and mobile configurations, Badger Shredding Systems range from 200 to 700 hp, with custom dimensions available. The 100-percent American-made machine is engineered and produced in Wisconsin, with a slower rotation speed to keep wear to a minimum.

Above all the cost and environmental benefits, it is human safety and the cost of keeping employees from an injury that is a top priority.  For one Florida-based concrete company, the Badger Shredding System demo made this difference crystal clear:

Safety first

For Terry White of Hudson, Florida, there’s one thing that beats lower costs, less mess, and happier neighbors, and that’s safe workers. Since demoing and purchasing a Badger concrete shredder last year, White is resting easier knowing workers at his B.e.t.-er Mix Concrete Company aren’t putting themselves at risk trying to un-jam chunks of concrete from the crusher.

“For years we’d been using a densifier on a track hoe with a set of jaws to bust up the concrete block into manageable pieces for our crusher, but it was frequently getting jammed and we’d have to use pry bars to get the pieces out,” says White, owner of B.e.t.-er Mix. “This would happen up to four times a day in a 12-hour work period, and each time these jams put us down for at least an hour while we worked to remove the chunks from the blades, which posed a potential injury risk.”

“Frequent jamming would happen up to four times a day in a 12-hour work period, and each time these jams put us down for at least an hour while we worked to remove the chunks from the blades, which posed a potential injury risk.”

White, owner of B.e.t.-er Mix

White, who demoed a Badger Shredding b2060-T system last year, was immediately impressed with the equipment’s counter-rotating shafts that could easily and safely handle large pieces with its patented tooth system within the blades. 

“When I saw it could take big 3-foot sections the size of a coffee table and break it down to 10-inches or into sand particles, we purchased one,” White says. “While no one had been injured unjamming our old equipment, the Badger Shredder has made our problems go away and eliminated any worry.”

Cost benefits

Before purchasing,  B.e.t.-er Mix demoed several other shredding systems to crush concrete blocks for aggregate.  But in the end, the Badger shredder proved to be a quieter, less dusty, and more cost-effective alternative.

With the considerably less downtime and reduced maintenance costs, the Badger system has helped increased the company’s volume by at least 25 percent. The superior shredding ability also saves time by eliminating the secondary densification process used in the past. 

White, owner of B.e.t.-er Mix

Additionally, the slower RPM of the blades can produce less sand and more rock, which in Florida is harder to come by and more expensive. 

“I also like that it’s made here in the U.S.A. and that I can call and get my questions answered directly from the person who makes it,”   White says, pointing out that his company is 100 percent American-owned and operated, just like Badger Shredding Products.

Innovation in the teeth

With wear and maintenance costs a major factor, many Badger Shredding customers are seeing significant cost savings with the newly-redesigned replaceable wear teeth. The ergonomically designed blades are mounted on the counter-rotating shafts, and each blade has a patented tooth system that can be individually replaced.

“The heart of the Badger line of slow speed, high torque shredding machines is in its unique design of the shredding chamber, and that is what sets ours apart from other shredding systems,” says Gerry Lamer, president of Badger Shredding Products, Inc. “While competitors’ products need replacing more frequently, our blade replacement tips last more than 500 hours and can be replaced individually as needed rather than replacing the entire assembly.”

The shredding system goes beyond concrete use, processing carpet, rubber, wood, plastics, and metal.  The Badger can also shred biomass material to assist companies who are producing energy from products such as food waste, green waste, and many other waste products.

Especially attractive to concrete processing producers is the fact that even steel rebar rods, a valuable scrap metal, can be separated, salvaged, and recycled.

“There are a lot of machines that process concrete, but our unique slow-speed shredding system allows rebar to be run through without worry that the steel will harm the equipment,” says Bob Lamer, vice president, and general manager of Badger Shredding Systems. “With our unique process, there is almost zero chance of damaging our machine from rebar.”

The combination of low-speed and high-torque shreds the concrete and shears the metal rods, which are magnetically separated for recycling.

A good neighbor

No business works in a vacuum, and corporate stewardship of the environment and of nearby residents is important to White. His western Florida-based ready mix concrete and concrete block manufacturing business recently opened its sixth location, and now the Hudson-based company has 93 mixer trucks and 10 block trucks in its fleet from Tampa Bay to Sarasota. 

Neighboring communities have noticed significantly less dust and noise recently, another benefit of the shredding machine’s lower RPM speed. In a nearby mobile home park less than a mile west of B.e.t.-er Mix, residents say the difference is amazing.

“I am happy to say that the new Badger Shredding equipment helped me to deliver on my promise to my nearby neighbors that I would correct the problem. They were pleased with the result, telling me it’s noticeably quieter and the air quality is better,” White says.  “It’s a win-win for everyone.”