Tana Second Life team leader Mikko Poikonen has an open mind when it comes to the fate of all kinds of machines, and he encourages customers to talk more about their machines, whether they be fully functioning or at the end of their lifecycle.

“Even if a machine has reached the end of the road, we still want to know more about it,” says Poikonen. 

Poikonen is an expert on Tana machines and technology. He has over seven years of experience working on the Service team, so it was a natural transition for him to become head of the new Second Life programme. While Poikonen’s primary area of responsibility is sales, Janne Arjanka oversees the seamless function of both the operative and technical aspects of the business.  

Arjanka has over 15 years of solid experience in technical expertise and operative management. Responsible for the technical support, training and commissioning of new machines for the global distributor network, Arjanka has been with the Tana Service organization for a long time.  

Together, Poikonen and Arjanka form a strong team, which strives to offer the customers the best possible experience with Tana’s used and rebuilt machines on the market. 

First Rebuild machine done listening to customer needs 

Indeed, Tana and its distributors have done countless machine rebuilds over the years, but the current demand for rebuilt machines has grown so much that the Second Life programme got off to a flying start. With Second Life, used machines that meet the quality requirements set by Tana are rebuilt, thus enabling official distributors to make Rebuild part of their total product offering in support of machine and spare parts sales. 

The Rebuild program is part of the Tana Second Life offering, whose aim is to rebuild machines and make them as good as new as well as adopt a sustainable approach that enables the reuse of machines. 

The first machine, an 18-year-old G Series landfill compactor, is currently being rebuilt. This rebuild project is crucial to developing the process, as it lays the foundation for meeting future needs and tests new methods as well as their impact on the schedule and budget. 

The programme listens closely to the customer’s needs, with the aim being to provide the customer with a fully functional unit that generates value for them. If the customer’s focus is performance and not appearance, there will be no extra costs added to make visual improvements. 

“Generally speaking, the customer’s need is to get additional hours out of their machine cost effectively. The machine needs to be reliable and maintenance costs need to be predictable, so the focus is on functionality and critical components. As long as a machine does its job flawlessly, what it looks like doesn’t add any real value. Here, we listen to the customer and find out what their needs are,” explains Arjanka. 

Rebuilt machines like new 

Just arriving from the launch meeting for a machine rebuild, Poikonen explains that the 2006 G Series landfill compactor is an outstanding machine to demo.  

“This machine comes from a Finnish customer, which has transitioned to a more recycling-oriented operation, so they no longer need a compactor for landfill duty. Even though the machine has been operated for less than 8,000 hours–which is very little, when you consider a properly maintained and rebuilt landfill compactor can often be run for well over 30,000 hours–it is still fully functional. Despite its age, the machine’s low operating hours make it perfect for our project.” 

The machine is now with Tana’s service partner, VS-Welding, and the work on the rebuild will begin soon. One of the biggest challenges is to stay on schedule and ensure the availability of the right parts as planned. Because challenges can arise in the availability of parts, alternative suppliers are sought, or the refurbishment of parts is considered. 

“Based on historical data and technical expertise, we know which components are the most critical. If some assembly, such as a track in this case, needs to be replaced or rebuilt, we will also work on all the subassemblies related to the track,” explains Poikonen. 

Tana’s modularity a major benefit 

Tana has always striven to also offer spare parts for older machines in order to extend their service life as long as possible. The decision to keep all primary components in inventory makes it possible to rebuild machines dating back as far as the early 2000s, such as this G Series machine. The Second Life team makes every effort to take advantage of this opportunity as extensively as possible.  

“With some components, such as gearboxes, the Tana model has stayed universal – in other words, we can use the same products on a 2006 machine as we use on the current H Series machines.” 

The aim of the rebuild programme is to make a usable machine that is as close to new as possible and meets Tana’s quality requirements. The target timetable for the demo machine is roughly three months, which is largely due to a lack of certain components. Because this is the first official rebuild project, the actual lead time is still difficult to estimate. 

Demand for used and rebuilt machines on the rise 

The demand for used and rebuilt machines in the distributor network is on the rise. This is one of the reasons for establishing the Tana Second Life operating model: to meet demand and offer used machines approved by Tana on the market. 

Tana has found that the demand is divided into two parts. First, there are new markets that are still not ready to purchase a completely new machine but want the experience of a Tana machine. Second, there are countries in which landfill operations are being phased out and a more economical alternative to a completely new machine is being sought for the interim. Used machines are an outstanding choice for these target groups, as the purchase price for used machines is often 20–30% cheaper than a completely new machine.

Old machines sought – even fire-damaged machines draw interest 

Responsible for inspecting the technical condition of machines, Arjanka emphasizes that the Tana Second Life programme benefits many parties. “Our extensive network has enabled a more extensive clientele and improved process efficiency,” he states. Old machines run well and there is a wide variety to choose from, including everything from landfill compactors to shredders. 

“All machines, i.e. landfill compactors and shredders, are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. If a customer has a machine they want to sell, we want them to contact their local distributor or the Second Life team directly,” explains Poikonen. 

In most cases, customers have modified the machines to meet their needs or acquired parts from suppliers other than Tana. “Even if a machine were to be fire-damaged, there still might be something salvageable in it – maybe not the whole machine, but useful components, such as a rotor,” says Poikonen.  

Poikonen also urges customers to contact Second Life whatever their case may be: “We’ll figure out what can be done with the machine, whether it’s a compactor, shredder or other machine manufactured by Tana.”