October, 5, 2023 – Stadler Selecciona S.L.U. (a subsidiary of Stadler Anlagenbau GmbH) has completed the installation of a new sorting plant at the Torija waste treatment centre. It is part of the Consortium for the Management of Urban Waste of the Province of Guadalajara, which covers a territory of 288 municipalities and 21 associations of municipalities. The Torija centre, managed by UTE RSU Guadalajara, serves the entire province, receiving waste from transfer stations and, directly, from 22 municipalities. The facility includes a sorting plant, a composting plant, leachate treatment and a landfill site.

Public company TRAGSA was charged with putting the project for upgrading the sorting plant out to tender. The new facility was required to fit within the existing building and process both Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and light packaging. The tender was awarded to Stadler for its technical know-how and project management capabilities. “A visit to Stadler’s headquarters in Altshausen, Germany, was a turning point for us and gave us great peace of mind during manufacturing because we saw first-hand the high technological level of its facilities and the quality of its staff and products. This increased our confidence in the future installation even more,” says Antonio Marzal, Managing Director, Guadalajara, Territorial Unit 4, TRAGSA Group.

Automation brings increased capacity and improved recovery rates

The new sorting plant installed by Stadler has an input capacity of 40t/h when processing MSW and 4t/h when it is working with light packaging.

The process begins with trommels and an STT 5000 ballistic separator, Stadler’s all-rounder for separating household waste, mixed commercial waste and bulky waste, followed by 3 optical sorters for PET, HDPE, PLASTIC MIX (PS, PP and other plastics such as PVC) and BRIKS (cardboard packaging for liquid beverages), and sorters for iron and aluminium. The recovered materials are stored and baled ready for sale.

The automation of the process with the ballistic separator and optical sorters has improved the recovery rates and efficiency of the sorting plant, increasing its capacity to more than 100,000 t/year of MSW and over 12,000 t/year of light packaging material.

Timely delivery on a tight schedule

The project started with the dismantling of the existing plant, which took 3 weeks. The assembly of the new plant was completed in 10 weeks, and it was inaugurated on schedule on April 30th 2023.

This was a key requirement of the tender, as Antonio Marzal, explains: “In this project, it was very important for the start-up of the plant to take place on a specific date, and Stadler made it happen. Working with Stadler we appreciated the security that comes from being in the hands of a very serious company that guarantees compliance with the required deadlines and quality standards.”

Collaborative approach is key to success of challenging installation

The project's key challenge was installing the new facility within an existing building. “This meant that all tasks had to be carried out with a high degree of precision,” explains Antonio Marzal. “Throughout the project, we have felt supported by Stadler’s team, and despite the pressure of the execution deadlines, we have felt assured at all times that everything will be completed on time as agreed.”

“We at Stadler are very proud of the work we did on the Torija plant,” adds Carlos Manchado Atienza, International Sales Director at Stadler. “The high-quality work of our engineers ensured the successful installation within the existing building. Also, excellent communication with the different suppliers involved was key to keeping the project on schedule and delivering on all the project requirements.”

Antonio Marzal concludes: “We want to thank everyone at Stadler, from Mr Willi Stadler to the last worker involved in the project, for their professionalism and the empathy they have shown towards us, which has enabled us to bring this project to completion with a high degree of satisfaction of the end user.”

Founded in 1791, Stadler is dedicated to the planning, production and assembly of sorting systems and components for the waste disposal and recycling industry worldwide. Its team of over 500 qualified employees offers a tailor-made full service, from conceptual design to planning, production, modernisation, optimisation, assembly, start-up, conversions, disassembly, maintenance and servicing of components to complete recycling and sorting systems. Its product range includes ballistic separators, transport conveyor belts, trommel screens and label removers.

Source: Stadler