Thailand is responding to the growing demand for electricity with a network of small Waste-to-Energy (W2E) plants. Agon Pacific’s TANA 440DT mobile waste shredder produces fuel for one of these W2E plants from factory-rejected car tyres that are unfit for road use.
Agon Pacific May Sell TANA Shredders
“The benefit of the TANA is that it does not only cut tyres but shreds them, allowing any metal to be separated from the rubber and nylon to be incinerated. The separated metal is so pure that our customers can sell it directly onwards as a recycled material,” says Tommi Ijäs.
Ijäs is the co-founder and CEO of Agon Pacific, which was founded in 2011. Based in Bangkok, Agon Pacific’s main lines of business include manufacturing boiler pressure parts and boiler maintenance service.
“Rather than building new boilers, our job is to make existing power plants operate longer and with better efficiency,” Ijäs says.
In recent years, the company has expanded its operations in Thailand to the booming W2E or Waste–to–Energy business. Since 2019, Agon Pacific has been providing fuel to Green Power Energy Co., Ltd., which generates electricity from shredded tyres.
“Approximately 2 to 3 per cent of new tyres do not meet the quality requirements. Our customer’s boiler requires small pieces measuring about 50 by 50 millimetres, which our TANA waste shredder is easily capable of producing from tyres.”
For Agon Pacific, the mobility of the TANA 440DT is an important advantage. In fact, it has proven to be an irreplaceable advantage, Ijäs says.
“Without the opportunity to offer a quality mobile shredder, the agreement might not have been reached,” Ijäs admits.
Mobile shredders are also more cost effective than fixed shredding lines. They reduce the cost to the service provider, thereby reducing prices of the shredded material to a level that customers are willing to try. If the cooperation discontinues, the shredder can simply be moved elsewhere, Ijäs says.
“Fixed shredding lines are tied to one place, whereas a mobile shredder is equally valuable in any location.”
Agon Pacific’s mobile shredder handles approximately 10,000 tonnes of tyres a year for Green Power Energy. In addition to serving its anchor customer Green Power Energy, the mobility of the shredder has enabled Agon Pacific to expand its Waste–to-Energy business.
For Agon Pacific, Thailand’s energy strategy means a growing investment in the Waste–to–Energy business. The aim is to increase sales of services and, as demand grows, also to begin importing and selling Tana products in Thailand.
“Shredding materials as a service is an important first step, as it has enabled us to concretely show our customers how reliable Tana’s equipment is. Customers here will only commit to buying once the quality has been proven,” Ijäs says.
