40-year old Hillhead still attracts Bunting

The first Hillhead was held in 1982 and over those 40 years Bunting has manufactured and supplied thousands of magnetic separators and metal detectors for use in the aggregate and recycling industry. Once again, Bunting is exhibiting at the 2022 show, helping companies solve metal separation and detection problems from stand C9.


Bunting is one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of magnetic separators, eddy current separators, metal detectors and electrostatic separators. The Bunting European manufacturing facilities are in Redditch, just outside Birmingham, and Berkhamsted, both in the United Kingdom.

Bunting started exhibiting at Hillhead under the name of ‘Master Magnets’ in the 1980s. Both Magnetic Separators and Industrial Metal Detectors have evolved since 1982, becoming stronger, lighter and more efficient. Hillhead 2022 provides the perfect platform to showcase the latest metal separation technology including the ElectroMax and ElectroMax Plus Overband Magnets.

The development of the ElectroMax Overband Magnet followed user requests for stronger and lighter Overband Magnets for mobile plant. As one of the world’s largest producers of Permanent Overband Magnets for mobile crushers and screens, companies turned to Bunting to design a light and powerful electromagnetic version. When compared with Permanent Overband Magnets, the air-cooled ElectroMax Overband Magnet has an average increase in magnetic power of 185% matched by a weight reduction of 25%. The ElectroMax-Plus further increases the magnetic power of the ElectroMax by at least another 105%. Since the magnetic separator’s launch, the ElectroMax is proving popular with mobile equipment manufacturers and users, as well as static plant suppliers and operators (i.e., quarries and recycling plants).

Total Metal Separation and Detection Solution
In a quarry or mine, tramp metal causes costly and time-consuming damage to screens, crushers and conveyor belts. At Hillhead, the Bunting team will explain how to prevent such issues by installing suitable magnetic separators and metal detectors.
Bunting’s range of Industrial Metal Detectors, including the models TN77, QDC and QTA, detect and enable the removal of tramp iron and manganese steel (e.g., non-magnetic digger teeth). The Metal Detectors are commonly installed with an Overband Magnet or Pulley Magnet to provide the ultimate tramp metal protection.

Recovering Metal
Overband Magnets are also used to recover ferrous metals from recycled materials (e.g., steel beverage cans). However, since the first Hillhead in 1982, the emergence of the Eddy Current Separator for recovering non-ferrous metals was a defining moment for the recycling industry. The technology is now widely used in plants recycling waste from households, construction, wood, plastics and many more.

The Bunting range of Eddy Current Separators continues to evolve, enabling the separation of both large and small non-ferrous metals. Many are mounted on mobile plant for batch processing waste stock piles in situ.

“Hillhead has been always been an important exhibition for us,” explained Adrian Coleman, the General Manager of Bunting-Redditch. “With many of the exhibitors also being customers, the show provides the perfect platform to meet and discuss projects.”