November 23rd 2016 – Staying at the forefront of its field of competences, EBI has recently invested more than $3 million CAD in order to upgrade its material recovery facility located in Joliette, Province of Quebec. In operation since September 12th, EBI Environnement’s facility is now one of the most sophisticated and technically advanced MRF in Quebec.
This major upgrade was completed by Machinex, a company based in Plessisville, specialized in machinery designed for MRFs. The investment permitted the acquisition of state-of-the-art technologies, including a ballistic separator which can sort fibers (newspaper, paper, etc.), containers and fines, as well as a ferrous metal magnet, and an Eddy Current separator that sorts aluminum. Three MACH Hyspec® optical sorters are also a part of the system. The first one cleans newspaper, the second one ejects PET and fibres, and the third one sorts HDPE as well as mixed plastics. The equipment allows to mechanically sort upstream to the room where manual sorting is done.
Now that the modernized MRF is in function, a significant change can be seen in the way that things are done. Employees that formerly had to manually sort an enormous quantity of materials are now working to the final quality control of containers and prints that are arriving on the sorting table.
“For EBI Environnement, continuous improvement of our way of doing things and equipment are the center of our preoccupations”, explains Audrey Castonguay, director of communications at EBI. “With our new equipment we can increase the overall quality of material recovered, particularly with fibers, plastic and aluminum containers.”
“Optical sorting has become a major component of MRF’s upgrades since it can sort a large quantity of materials within a short period of time, and obtain a higher quality”, comments David Marcouiller, Machinex’s Executive Vice-President of Sales Engineering.
“We are really proud to have worked on this upgrading project at EBI, since it has been a Machinex’s long-time client with whom we have established a trusting relationship. It is important to highlight the exceptional collaboration of EBI’s team during the installation of the new equipment. This excellent collaboration with the client has been the key element that allowed us to deliver the project within the deadlines”, adds Mr. Marcouiller.
“Once more, we have trusted Machinex’s expertise and experience, and have not been deceived. Their attention to details, listening skills, competence and equipment’s quality have greatly contributed to the project’s success” says René Sylvestre, Vice-President at EBI.
About EBI
Family business born in 1960, EBI stands out for its innovation, professionalism, and motivation toward energy recovery and environmental improvement. Important economic player in the Lanaudière and Montreal regions, EBI employs more than 500 people in the sectors of waste material management and renewable energies’ production.