On an industrial estate in Rastatt, Southern Germany, Hofmann has created a space for its waste disposal and scrap recycling business with five yards, each with a different focus. At one of these yards, with a floor space of 4,000m2, the company has been operating a brand new combination of Genesis GXT 995R scrap shear and a Liebherr 945 excavator since July 2024. “Our challenge is to cut down several thousand tons of scrap each year to batch dimensions in line with market requirements on the limited space of our premises. This includes beams from demolished warehouses or heavy parts from industrial machinery,” company managing director Ralf Hofmann explains.

Previously, a 6t shear from Genesis on a 35t carrier unit was used mainly to cut down scrap to the respective batch sizes of customers from the steel industry. “The performance and reliability of the previous attachment, as well as the reliable spare parts and repair service provided by the supplier, made it very easy for us to choose this brand again. With the new scrap shear with twice the power and a larger jaw opening of almost 1,000mm, we can now efficiently cut even larger cross sections. We are also expecting that a larger attachment used for the same application will have a longer service life,” says Hofmann.

Operations manager Domenic Brammer adds: “This large combination of 9t shear and a 45t excavator can now handle even larger pieces of scrap while also giving us enough flexibility for processing large individual volumes. If this key combination is out of action for maintenance and repair work for one working day, for example, we can quickly catch up on the backlog on the following day and get the area ready for intake of new material.” 

With the excavator/shear combination, the company has now raised its capacity to a higher level. Hofmann explains: “We are expecting to receive substantial volumes from demolitions. With this heavy duty combination, we can now handle more material and larger parts; this can be a signal for our colleagues and customers in the region and lead to additional co- operations.”