Offal problem solved by new bucket loader
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• Faced with legislation under the 1969 Meat (Sterilization) Regulations, which will shortly require collectors to move condemned animal waste in closed and locked vehicles instead of transporting it either loose in open lorries or in drums, E. and E. Metcalfe, vehicle operators, of Lancaster, suggested a new method of skip-handling which has now been developed and marketed by Edbro Ltd, of Bolton, Lancashire.
Known as the Edbro-Metcalfe DuoLoader the adaptation comprises intermediate tipping hooks on the bucket loader's lifting arms and a main container with a contoured top profile to provide for small skips to be tipped at an angle of nearly 90 degrees. Metcalfe bought their first bucket loader in 1971 but with an 8-ton container it was not the complete answer to the problem of economical collection of small loads from abattoirs and poultry-packing stations over a wide area of the North West.
After a good deal of trial and error they adapted the basic Edbro design by adding the intermediate tipping hook idea and then placed 30cwt skips at customers' premises. After a trial operational run the system proved a success and the firm now have two KM Bedford-based duo-loaders in use each of which will have three 8-ton and 30 30cwt skips. The skips have lids and the design allows for the container on the vehicle to be enclosed by a polythene sheet held in place by a series of bars. Each of the firm's 16 tons gross duo-loaders is now collecting up to 15 tons of offal and feathers a day compared with vehicle loads of between three and four tons before the Edbro bucket loaders were placed in service.