Quest Waste Management saves time and improves efficiency with Cappellotto self-cleaning recycler unit
Quest Waste Management, based in Ossett, West Yorkshire, was looking for a dirty water recycling tanker that was both high performing and competitively priced, and had spent some time looking around for a suitable machine and weighing up the many options out there. One supplier was so confident that its machine, new to the UK market, was the right one for Quest that it enabled them to actually try the unit for themselves for an agreed period. Its performance was so impressive, incorporating an effective self-cleaning recycler, that Quest bought it outright – and only a few months later, ordered an additional unit.
Quest Waste Management is owned and run by CEO Ivan Smyth with the support of a strong leadership team. Business is booming, thanks partly to having the right equipment for the job. That equipment now includes a 32-ton Cappellotto recycler, sold in the UK by Williams Tanker Services of Morley. As the Cappellotto was a significant departure from Quest’s previous vehicles, and Williams Tanker Services were confident in the capabilities and performance of the machine, they gave Ivan a ‘try-to-buy’ option. This meant Quest used the vehicle for an agreed duration on a weekly fee basis with the option of either buying or returning the machine at the end of the term. Although Ivan had no previous knowledge of Cappellottos, he was very pleased with the performance of the vehicle.
Ivan continues to be delighted with Cappellotto: “The best thing about it is the design of the recycling system; there’s nothing else like it on the market and it’s the best way of recycling for us. It’s not just limited to foul sewers, road silt and surface water drains, but because it separate s and cleans the water it saves time, replacement filters, repair bills and we are left with water that is not too coarse – well below the micron levels of other machines we’ve seen. Even our jetting hoses last longer as a result.”
Water that is too coarse can cause damage to sewer pipes and faster wear to jetting heads and hoses, so the finer the resulting water from a recycler, the better it is for other equipment used in the process. A self-cleaning recycler means avoiding constant stops to take out and clean the filters, which can add significant time to a job.
Before purchasing his first Cappellotto, a CapRecy 3200, Ivan was able to visit the Morley service facility to be reassured that the infrastructure was in place for servicing and any other requirements. But it was the machine’s performance that really made the difference for Quest.
Superior spec
The 3200 is a standard build but contains several features that elevate it above many of its competitors. These include:
- a vacuum pump that delivers 1,661cfm (2,823m/h) output
- a boom design with 270-degree rotation extending to 6.5 metres
- a five-stage recycling system filtering product to between 50 and 100 microns
- a self-cleaning recycler which saves the operator having to keep removing and cleaning filters
- the ability to handle fat and grease
- 20 metres of 5” boom hose
- 220 metres of 1” high-pressure jetting hose
- full radio remote control operation.
Other standard features include tanks built using stainless steel – unless customers specify a different material, blowers that are well thought out and designed to give customers optimum performance, and highly competitive pricing overall. Williams Tanker Services also provides full UK back-up facilities, a reassurance to any operator purchasing a Cappellotto unit – although Ivan Smyth said that all he’s needed so far has been the odd seal replacement, with no major issues at all.
Although fairly new to the UK, Cappellotto has a global footprint and is the largest brand of its type in Australia and New Zealand. In the USA it has a significant market share. It is Europe’s largest manufacturer of equipment for the removal and transport of sludge wastes, high pressure cleaning of ducts and pipes, the suction of sludge, dry and solid materials, and the transportation of dangerous goods. It is also a leading manufacturer of vacuum excavators, which are increasingly used in the utilities industry for trenchless excavation.
Quest employees were also fully trained in how to operate the new units. By watching those carrying out work on site, the Cappellotto trainers were able to suggest adjusting settings on the machine to make the jobs easier.
Unique boom
Cappellotto design, innovate and engineer their vehicles, rather than just assembling them. The boom is a Cappellotto design that was under patent until its expiry in 2019. Since the expiry of that patent, the company has continued to innovate, and in 2022 introduced a boom that extends to a massive 7.5 metres.
The Cappellotto boom is designed with an integrated jetting hose that also rotates 270 degrees with the boom. This allows the operator significant flexibility, unlike other brands where the jetting reel is fixed to the back of the tank, which means the vehicle must be manoeuvred into a more precise position to allow its use.
Ivan described one of the advantages of the Cappellotto boom to his business: “When we’re doing highways work, because of the way the boom is set up, on motorways there is no difference for us to do north or south side work; we can easily swap over carriageways without causing any disruption to other workers. You just back it up and off you go.”
This boom advantage, along with the fine micron-level recycling, were huge benefits for Quest who had been looking for some time for a vehicle to handle the jobs for which it was required.
Business benefits
John Gabriel of Williams Tanker Services described the popularity of Cappellotto units: “In the UK there are several established tank manufacturers so the market is quite saturated. But once people have tried the Cappellotto it’s a real game-changer for them. Ivan had shown an initial interest in the vehicles but it was important to give him the confidence to buy. Once he experienced its actual performance, he was delighted and so are we that he is finding it so beneficial for his ongoing business.”
Ivan summarised: “It doesn’t just look the part; it performs brilliantly too and our customers love it. Really excellent thought has gone into designing a UK tanker for UK weather conditions which I was able to see when I visited their Italian factory; I even noticed they put different core wires into the UK versions, for example, for our unique conditions. It ultimately makes our operators’ lives much easier thanks to all the thought that went into it. The payload’s good too. We love it.”
