Ward Recycling was established in the 1940’s specializing in the recycling of ferrous & non-ferrous metals. ISO9001 quality accreditation was granted to the company in 1990 and during the following years the company directors realized the potential to develop and grow Ward Recycling by responding to the waste management needs of modern business and industry.

Today Ward has an annual turnover in excess of £140m, employs over 400 people and operates a fleet of over 100 vehicles. The company is now managed by third and fourth generation family members who continue their commitment to developing waste management and recycling techniques, saving their customers money and helping them to meet and exceed their recycling targets. 

Description of the shredding process

Ward recycling collects waste wood around the Midlands area and processes it into particle sizes of 20-80 mm. The end product is then sold to chipboard manufacturers around UK, who in turn processes it to new chipboards. 

Chipboard is a board made by compressing small pieces of wood with glue. The advantage of chipboard is that it can be made from wood pieces that would otherwise have been discarded. Ward Recycling uses A grade wood for this process and does not have any MDF (furniture wood) mixed into their process. This allows Ward Recycling Ltd. to sell high quality wood chips to chipboard manufacturers.  

Impressed by TANA Sharks’ highly beneficial ability to produce small particle size in one run

TANA Shark can produce consistent particle size and achieve needed end product sizes with one pass. You may set up the TANA Shark with all large counter-knives and needed screen to achieve required end product size.  

With a 220 mm screen about 80% of the end product will come out smaller than 70 mm which is perfect for chipboard manufacturers. Ward Recycling is turning waste wood into valuables with one pass only.  

Shredded waste wood

Versatility of TANA Shark in action

Ward Recycling Ltd. decided to purchase a TANA Shark for their process because of the flexibility of TANA Shark. TANA Shark was able to produce any particle sizes from 50 mm up to 500mm. Another huge advantage is TANA Shark’s ability to produce the most homogeneous particles on the market. These criteria meet the conditions Ward Recycling had set on their future waste shredder. 

Different TANA Shark processes with waste wood:

Screen size Tons per hour Particle size
80 mm 25-30 Fines to 60 mm
100 mm 30-35 Fines to 80 mm
160 mm 40-45 80-150 mm
200 mm 50 160-180 mm (no oversizes)
No screen 50 160-180 mm (some oversizes such as long sticks)

Counter knife setup

Screen size Tons per hour Particle size
Every third half-knife 60 160-250 mm (some larger pieces)
Every second half-knife 60-70 300-400 mm

Jim Bland, Waste Operations Manager at Ward Recycling, also mentioned that the opening side door will help them to remove any unwanted metals or impurities from their waste stream before it goes to their final products.  

Other great features mentioned are how easy it is to change rotor knives and counter-knives and how much this saves time. TANA Shark also allows flexibility of changing settings to needed material and particle sizes. As a waste shredder is a long-term investment and processes & materials can change from a year to another, TANA Shark provides more options even for future needs. 

TANA Shark provides huge savings

Jim Bland is especially impressed by the TANA ProTrack® remote management system that allows him to track the machine performance and uptime online. The machine is also tracked and monitored by the nearest authorized TANA distributor 

This way TANA distributor can response quickly to any service needs and maximize TANA Shark’s uptime. TANA ProTrack® is built to help managers to keep themselves updated on the machine performance and boost the machine usage in their everyday business.

TANA Shark outperforms its competitors

Ward Recycling tested out several different units before they decided for TANA Shark being the most reliable and best fitted solution for their process. Ward Recycling now owns a TANA Shark 440DT with tracks. They score TANA Shark as 9,5 out of 10 and recommends highly TANA Shark for versatile processes. TANA Shark beat Doppstadt DW 3060 Bio Power on features, capacity, particle sizes and services. Jim Bland said that TANA Shark provided the most value to Ward Recycling Ltd. 

From Waste to Value – remarkable savings

Money saved Because of
350 000 £ No need for second machine investment
100 000 £ No need for duplicate fuel costs
15 000 £ No need to service or maintain two machines
25 000 £ No need for second process for oversizes
30 000 £ Adjustable power consumption saves 30% on fuel

Total savings gained when choosing TANA Shark: 520 000 £