A large and modern Aluminium recycler

About the client

Benfleet Scrap Co is a family-run business based in Essex with a history spanning over forty years in the scrap and recycling industry. The company was formally incorporated in 1996, expanding its operations to include two additional yards owned and operated by the Leeman family. In 2006, the company obtained a waste transfer license for its Benfleet location. Subsequent expansions include the acquisition of the Thurrock depot in 2012 and the opening of the Basildon depot in 2013.

Over the years, the company has grown from its humble beginnings to now employ a workforce of fifty individuals, with ongoing growth as the company continues to develop. Benfleet Scrap Co specializes in scrap metal recycling, scrap vehicle disposal, and waste skip hire services catering to domestic, commercial, and industrial clients. We had a chance to sit down for a chat with Leo Leeman Director at Benfleet Scrap Co Ltd to talk a little bit about their plant and the collaboration with Eldan Recycling.

The Plant

The new Eldan aluminum plant is situated in Essex, a small town just outside London and is processing different types of aluminum such as Taint tabor, profiles, and aluminium cuttings. They have one of the largest and modern aluminium plants in Europe consisting of e.g. the Dual Shaft Super Chopper, the Tumble back Feeder and the Multi-purpose Rasper (MPR). By using the Eldan MPR, they can liberate the material and are able to achieve 1% max attachment levels, which is a lot higher then other kinds of shredders on the market used to purify aluminium. This was a well-known fact to Benfleet when they were on the lookout for new equipment.

“A lot of the big players in the UK, as well as other companies around the world, have chosen Eldan equipment for material processing. That made us lean towards Eldan. To top that, service and parts support have been second to none which is vital factor in keeping production running”, Leo Leeman explains.

Another important factor in choosing Eldan was that Eldan configure the plant around the customer’s requirements or as Leo put it with a content smile “We envisioned, Eldan designed, Eldan delivered”. This is entirely true since Eldan uses a project team to design the plant and manage the production and installation on site.

Expectations came to life

At Benfleet all the Eldan machines have the same common impression; they are well-built heavy-duty machines. The main feedback Leo gets from the site is that the machines are fast, easy to work with and easy to maintain.

“Hydraulic doors and hatches to carry out inspections and blade changes makes maintenance really easy”, Leo Leeman says. “This is very important as maintenance is an extremely necessary thing to do on the recommended regular basis to keep the machine running perfectly”.

Eldan taking the rains

Part of Eldan’s supply for a complete solution was with equipment from other OEMs but the overall installation was easy.

“Eldan took control speaking to the other manufacturers to make sure everything was in place for all other equipment works in the plant.”, Leo says. In terms of getting value for money Leo says it has met all their expectations.

The plant has been running every day since the installation in early 2023, and Benfleet are producing different aluminium alloys which their customers are very happy with. “We are focusing on aluminium at the moment, but I am aware that we are able to process other materials through the system, this is in our future plans.”, Leo says.