At Sucker Holzbau GbR a lot of wood waste accumulates over time. With the help of a WL 6 single-shaft shredder and a wood chip oven, this is used to heat the workshops and offices as well as three single-family homes.
After completing his training as a carpenter, Malte Sucker founded Sucker Holzbau GbR in 2002. His brother Arne joined the company while studying civil engineering. Now the brothers manage the company together in Dahlum, Lower Saxony, and employ 16 people. Sucker Holzbau combines three trades under one roof: carpentry, roofing and joinery. The range of services includes the renovation of old buildings and half-timbered houses, timber frame construction, roof coverings, wooden facades, floors, stairs, windows, doors and much more.
Perfectly integrated: WEIMA WL 6 single-shaft shredder
The core business of the young enterprise is carpentry. This is where a particularly large amount of wood waste is accumulated. Sucker Holzbau GbR has been recycling the wood waste for many years. “We have gone through two stages,” says Malte Sucker. In the first stage, a log-burning heater was used, which was filled manually with chopped pieces of wood. “That was very time-consuming,” recalls the managing director. “In the second step, we then installed a furnace that uses shredded wood, with the ulterior motive of also heating two other single-family homes with it”. In order to be able to fill the oven, they needed a shredder.
Managing director and master carpenter, Malte Sucker
"If you’re interested in shredding, you can’t get past WEIMA."
At LIGNA 2013, the Sucker brothers first became aware of the shredding specialist from Ilsfeld. „We got to know the company WEIMA at LIGNA, the wood trade show in Hanover. And Fred Haller, WEIMA’s wood expert, had time and leisure to take on our young company”, says Arne Sucker. At first, however, the decision was made in favor of a different, used shredder. This was then to be replaced at a later date with a new and larger model. “Finally, we approached Mr. Haller again and decided on a WEIMA machine.”
Managing director and civil engineer, Arne Sucker
The WEIMA WL 6 single-shaft shredder has now been at Sucker Holzbau GbR for about five months. It is a proven classic for shredding wood waste of all kinds and stands out due to its very robust design and extremely long service life. The innovative V-rotor is made of solid material. Special blade holders are welded into milled blade pockets around its circumference. The cutting knives are set into these and screwed on from the back. This ensures quick and easy blade changing. The shredded material is conveyed out of the machine by means of an extraction system or a transport screw. Depending on the material and filling, the ram can be operated in different ways. This enables an optimum shredding result. The powerful drive with the specially developed WEIMA WAP gearbox ensures maximum machine service life.
In cooperation with Fred Haller, the expert for wood applications at WEIMA, a tailor-made concept was developed: The shredder is mounted on a frame which is embedded in the floor. The connection to the discharge screw is hidden under the floor slats. The machine is thus easily accessible from all sides and can be filled manually, but also with a wheel loader or forklift. The screw conveyor transports the shredded wood waste to the chip bunker located next door. From there the wood chips are fed into the heating system.
The processes are largely mechanized. The shredder is filled with wood waste using a forklift or wheel loader:
“The chipper works independently at the push of a button and conveys the wood chips to a pile. From there it can be removed with a wheel loader or forklift with shovel attachment and then fed into the heating circuit, i.e. the storage bunker. And almost all of this is done without any manual work,” explains Malte Sucker.
The discharge screw conveys the shredded wood waste to the chip bunker located next door
Depending on how much material is accumulated on the construction sites, the WEIMA shredder is in operation between three and five hours a week. The shredded wood waste is not just used at company. The heating system, which is located on the company premises, is used to heat the workshop and material rooms, the office and the adjoining house. In addition, two other single-family houses are supplied with wood chips, which are also used for heating. This means that five different buildings can be heated with the company’s wood waste – five in one, so to speak.
The profiled V-rotor has no problem shredding big wood blocks.
No matter whether roof batten sections, wood panels, oak wood sections or remnants of thick wood ceilings – everything ends up in the WEIMA. Malte Sucker draws a direct comparison to the WEIMA’s predecessor: “The throughput is a completely different matter. Our expectations have been completely fulfilled.”
Would the brothers recommend WEIMA to others?
“If you are looking for quality and a really sensible concept solution, then WEIMA is the right company for you,” says Malte Sucker.
The chip bunker is continuously filled with wood chips.
