High-sided weighbridge designed for heavy industries re-launched by Avery Weigh-Tronix
Avery Weigh-Tronix, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and suppliers of industrial weighing solutions and service have re-launched a high-sided weighbridge, specifically designed for heavy industries including quarries.
The new J-Series weighbridge has been recently enhanced to offer additional durability, with a 12mm thick deck plate and increased internal steel work than the company’s BridgeMont® weighbridge range. The weighbridge features high sides made of solid steel beams, which guide drivers into the correct position for weighing and prevent vehicles from slipping off the sides of the bridge.
The first installation of the J-Series weighbridge took place at recycling and waste management firm A&M Smith at the company’s eco-friendly site in Portlethen, Aberdeenshire.
Since its establishment in 1994, A&M Smith has expanded to become one of Scotland’s top recycling and waste management companies; with depots in Aberdeen and Peterhead. The company’s continued expansion brought an increase in traffic to the principle site in Bankhead, Portlethen, and when a site upgrade was needed to cope with the additional demand, the company looked to the future to create an impressive, energy efficient site which utilises local, recycled materials.
To maximise the constant flow of vehicles using the facility and minimise the queuing of HGVs and loss of time, A&M Smith optimised the traffic route for the site; moving from one weighbridge controlling both inbound and outbound weight readings, to create separate inbound and outbound weighbridge areas.
When it came to choosing a weighbridge provider, the company were already familiar with Avery Weigh-Tronix, with a BridgeMont® weighbridge installed since 2012 at the Peterhead site, and a J-Series at the Bankhead site which had been in use since 1997! Despite its age, the J-Series bridge was still extremely reliable, and owner Scott Smith was looking to replicate this performance with his next purchase; “The durability of our existing J-Series weighbridge made Avery Weigh-Tronix the natural choice of supplier for the next one.”
Scott and his team purchased a new, Avery Weigh-Tronix J-Series weighbridge to use for controlling inbound weight transactions. As the existing site bridge was still extremely reliable, the company refurbished it to use for outbound readings.
Keeping health and safety in mind, the site’s purpose-built office (which combines the operational and administration functions) is situated directly between the inbound and outbound weighbridges, meaning drivers don’t need to leave their cab to get a weight reading ticket, which reduces the potential for accidents on site.
The two-day bridge installation was run by the Avery Weigh-Tronix Scottish engineering team, including calibration from one of the Avery Weigh-Tronix test units – part of the UK’s largest fleet of test units. As the new weighbridge forms a critical part of A&M Smith’s operations, the bridge is supported by BridgeCare Total™ which guarantees 97% uptime thanks to a UK-wide engineer network.