Innovation

The ALLU Transformer Series and Crushers enable companies to process material on-site, thereby minimizing transportation emissions and recycling costs. Moreover, the equipment can be attached to existing equipment (e.g., an excavator), so there is no need to buy an extra piece of heavy machinery, which saves raw materials. ALLU’s customers can either reuse or sell the recycled material.

The construction industry has large amounts of construction and demolition waste to handle. The material is sorted before it is transported to a recycling center; even there, a lot of the material is not reused and goes to landfills. The ALLU Transformers and crushers can crush, pulverize, aerate, blend, mix, separate, feed, and load materials, transforming them into valuable products on-site. The extra advantage of the ALLU Transformer series and crush buckets is that they can be attached to wheel loaders or excavators on-site, transforming your basic excavator into a mobile processing plant. Concrete and asphalt, for example, can be recycled on-site and can be used as fill material or armor stone for use in combatting coastal erosion.

Natural materials such as tree stumps can also be handled by the ALLU Transformer. The ALLU Transformer screening bucket screens the tree stumps and then separates the topsoil and sawdust from the stumps. The stumps are shredded with the ALLU Transformer screener crusher and used as compost. The topsoil and sawdust can be sold for other applications.

Inspiration

At the age of 12, Markku Jonninen, the founder of ALLU, was given a book on engineering for small appliances by his father, which led to the foundation of the ALLU company 35 years ago.

ALLU’s motto is "one step ahead", and they are constantly developing new innovations, responding to customers' needs, and adapting its products to the changing environment. By developing the Transformer Series and Crushers, Markku Jonninen wanted to address the fact that the construction, earthmoving, mining, and similar industries often have no good way to handle their waste, as said in the interview “it was just sent to landfill”. In mining, landscaping, earthmoving industries, and construction sites, large quantities of material are disposed of during demolition and construction activities. ALLU saw this as an opportunity and developed the Transformer Series and Crushers to efficiently recycle waste on-site.

In 2021 the ‘ALLU Innovation and Research Center Oy’ was created, a new company that represents ALLU’s R&D program. This is a separate entity and its goal is to develop future attachment technology and solutions aimed at making quarrying and construction customers more efficient, productive, environmentally friendly, and profitable. The founder, Markku Jonninen, will head the new company. (ALLU, 2021)

Overall impact

In recent years, more environmentally friendly building materials have been used for construction. This has reduced the amount of materials to be disposed of, however, it has not increased the recycling rate of on-site generated waste. On-site demolition materials such as concrete, wood, metal, rock, etc can often not be reused. They are often sent to landfills directly or transported to and handled by demolition companies. Demolition materials must be directly on-site crushed and processed to be reused or recycled.

The ALLU Transformers and Crushers allow about 30% of the actual building material waste to be recycled and reused directly on-site. Essential resources such as wood and metal can be separated and recycled. Concrete can also be separated and crushed directly in the process, so it can be reused at the construction site as a building material for foundations.

Moreover, up to 90% of the demolition material can be directly or indirectly reused on construction sites, by using the ALLU Transformers and Crushers, leaving only 10% of the demolition material to be disposed of. The screening, crushing, aerating, and mixing in one step eliminates the need for additional machines. By using the materials directly on-site, transport trips are reduced, fuel consumption is lowered, and material usage decreases. All this contributes to more sustainable construction. Through the reuse of material, construction costs are saved. And as said in the interview, ALLU’s products help waste become material.

Business benefit

ALLU’s Transformers and Crushers are a valuable option to solve two issues with one solution as the products are designed as add-ons to an already existing investment (e.g., an excavator). This is especially interesting for construction and demolition companies as they need to bring in less material. Hence, investment and operational costs are reduced as no additional machinery is required and the whole process is carried out by one object only, the excavator. Hereby, the respective company can increase its profitability and strengthen its independence by not being dependent on for example garbage plant operators. (ALLU 2021)

Nowadays, awareness regarding the environmental crisis and the shortage of goods and raw materials is increasing and ALLU’s technology offers a way to tackle that in the construction (and other) business and could have a significant impact on recycling processes at construction sites. Moreover, for the operating firm, this can have a cost-cutting and profitability-increasing effect by allocating the used materials more efficiently (ALLU 2021). For example, ablated concrete can be re-used as under-construction for a new road and therefore, saving resources and hence, money. It helps the company grow more sustainably.

Due to its wide applicability, ALLU products can be used in different industries providing a high variation of potential jobs for existing and potential employees. In combination with its highly transparent application process, as the company stated in the interview, this could lead to a higher attraction and employee satisfaction and hence, retention.

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Social and environmental benefit

Besides the monetary benefits, ALLU also creates environmental ones. A first environmental benefit is the reduction of on-site traffic due to fewer trucks transporting the waste to landfill, hence fewer carbon emissions and less noise pollution, which is also beneficial for local communities near big construction sites or quarries.

Furthermore, ALLU provides a solution for both established and new companies. For older companies, innovative actions are often difficult to carry out therefore, ALLU constitutes an adequate and efficient alternative. Hence, companies can become more efficient and sustainable regarding their waste and resource management. The fact that the products are focusing on increasing a firm’s profitability might lead to a higher and faster adaption which benefits a better sustainability rate, leading to a surplus for society and the environment.

One of the major advantages of ALLU’s products is that it is applicable in a wide range of industries. It is quite impressive to see how one product is used by several companies and institutions belonging to totally different industries. During the interview we were given some examples of diversity, the products are for example used in French vineyards and China, they use them for the maintenance of theme park grounds. Due to their high usability, the ALLU Transformers and the ALLU Crusher have a huge potential to be game changers regarding waste management on construction sites, as well as in multiple other scenarios. Furthermore, ALLU has a worldwide distribution network, so products are available globally.

Interview

Jacqueline Day, Global Marketing Communications Lead