HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY

A change of direction for any business is a challenge, but restoring an established limestone quarry would be beyond most. However, this is what Swiss enterprise Carrières du Lessus achieved 15 years ago thanks to the vision of owner Luc Briquet. We investigate how one man shaped the destiny of not just his own company, but that of a whole industry

Switzerland is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful countries in Europe and the route between Geneva and Montreux is spectacular. Montreux lies on the north-east shore of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps in the canton of Vaud. The municipality is best known for its annual jazz festival and strong links to such heavy metal/rock legends as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Queen.

It therefore seems appropriate that only 20km from such an inspirational musical retreat is the quarry owned by Carrières du Lessus. Thanks to the entrepreneurial skills of owner Luc Briquet, the business is now famed for its own brand of hard rock and precious metal.

The quarry – near the small village of St Triphon – has been handed down through three generations of the Briquet family. Opened by Luc’s grandfather in 1930, the site was an invaluable source of limestone for the construction of roads and buildings. However, this practice was curtailed in 1994 when the regional authorities removed the company’s right to excavate the stone.

Luc has an engaging personality with a sense of humour to match. His enthusiasm for the site is clear and he is proud of the historical significance that it holds for his family. This passion has extended far beyond the balance sheet to the blood, sweat and tears that have been exerted in the quarry.

He has kept the original site office intact beside the main entrance. It is now used by a local sculptress as a base for her small business and serves as a useful reminder of all the people who have worked there in the past.

“I had to rethink our business strategy when I knew that the quarry had to close,” he explains. “I needed to find another way to continue the family story here and look towards other potential interests.”

Carrières du Lessus was obliged to refill the quarry and restore the countryside to its natural beauty. This helped the company to receive authorisation for the disposal of regular construction materials such as stone, bricks and concrete. However, Luc also had the idea to obtain waste materials for the same purpose.

In Switzerland, all combustible non-recycled waste must be incinerated in appropriate plants. The majority of these materials end up in one of the country’s 28 municipal solid waste incinerators. This became law in 2000 and within four years the incineration capacity had reached 3.29million tonnes.

One of these facilities is on the doorstep of Carrières du Lessus. In light of the decision to close the quarry, Luc applied for permission to process the incinerated waste in 1993. The authorisation was received within three years and this enabled the company to start the transition between quarrying and recycling/waste disposal.

Carrières du Lessus used to employ up to 16 people, but numbers have been reduced as the business has developed. Eight men now work on the site, and two full-time and one part-time members of staff work in the site office. This, however, has not had a negative effect on turnover – sales have increased by 500 per cent during the past 15 years!

Luc puts these amazing statistics down to the purchase of bigger and better construction machinery. “Everyone works hard,” he explains. “We could have a larger workforce at our disposal, but in my opinion it is better to have fewer people. We have invested in larger excavators and wheel loaders, which enable one person to do the work of two operators using smaller machines.”

The current ratio of waste management turnover to recycling is 70:30, so Luc’s idea has grown to become the main business activity for Carrières du Lessus since the turn of the century. The all-important income comes from the retrieval of different sizes of iron and metal that have survived the incineration process and are hidden among the remaining ashes.

“The key to the waste business is that we don’t want to throw everything away,” he reveals. “Our aim is to extract the iron, copper and aluminium, and then sell it on to our customers in France.

“One factory near Paris transforms the aluminium and copper pieces into bars for onward transportation to America, where they are utilised in the manufacture of Toyota cars for example. The iron goes to the north of France to be transformed into girders used in offshore construction.”

Carrières du Lessus has an exclusive agreement with its local incineration plant for all burnt materials. These are transported either by train or truck directly to the site, where they are left to dry for two to three weeks. The ashes are loaded on to a crusher by a Hitachi ZX470LCH-3 excavator and then pass through an electro-magnetic field to extract larger pieces of iron from the debris.

The next stage of the process separates the smaller and larger materials so that two further magnetic devices can remove any aluminium, copper and other metal. The remaining waste runs off the end of the two conveyor belts into large piles before it is dumped into the former quarry.

One of the hills has already been restored to its former glory and there are two more expanses of land to fill. The waste is emptied on top of some tough waterproof material to ensure that there is no leakage. It has pipes running through it to extract any moisture, which acts as a drainage system all the way through to Lake Geneva. The water is tested for traces of pollution, but in ten years none has been found.

“The danger of pollution is the main reason why we only accept materials that have been incinerated at a high temperature,” says Luc. “We transport 40-50,000 tonnes of waste every year, but it would be difficult to gauge how much iron and metal we extract. This figure would differ on a daily basis and it really depends on the luck of the game!

“We can continue working in this way for another 15 years, but the time span depends on many things. We are currently carrying out some tests to identify if we can do anything else with the waste. There are certain limitations in Switzerland, but more opportunities exist in France and Spain, so we must find out what’s possible.

“Other incineration plants are trying to copy our idea, but so far not as effectively as us. I am not happy about this, but what can I do? When something is new, they always try to copy you – just like children. However, I’m not interested in receiving awards or major recognition. For me, to be happy is to be hidden!”

The supply of materials for the recycling business is brought from the region’s railway company to the site by the Carrières du Lessus locomotive. The carriages tip the stone into a loading bay and the Hitachi ZX180W material handling machine – the first of its type in Switzerland – removes the larger rocks.

The Hitachi ZW250 and ZW310 wheel loaders then distribute the stone around the site for the recycling process. Some rocks have to be broken down before all materials are separated into different sizes and washed before onward transportation to drainage, road and industrial railway projects.

Luc is also proud of his company’s achievements in this area of the business: “We have been awarded ISO14001, which is good for our image and provides a form of guarantee that everything is done legally. Legislation has also been passed to ensure that recycled stone is utilised as much as possible in Switzerland.”

The dynamic black and green Carrières du Lessus logo has been specially designed to show that the stone/waste is unhappy when it first arrives. However, the mood of the materials turns into happiness after the recycling/extraction processes are complete.

Luc is quick to point out that the company’s success would not be possible without the support of partners such as Probst Maveg, the Swiss distributor of Hitachi construction machinery.

“Our history with Hitachi is all about excavators,” he smiles. “Our first model was a second-hand 45-tonne UH171, which we bought in 1988. Then we bought a new EX330, which was also very good, so we felt that there was no need to change. Other machines in our fleet have included an EX165 and EX17.

“They have all been sold now and replaced with the new generation of Zaxis excavators. Our policy is to replace the machines after 3,000 or 4,000 hours. Technology moves forward every three or four years and our aim is to benefit from all the latest advanced features. This also helps with the resale value, of course.

“The quality of the Zaxis range is very good. They are well finished, reliable and comfortable for our operators. I am very happy with the service we receive from Managing Director Jean-Marc Probst, Sales Manager Gaston Monney and the rest of the team at Probst Maveg. We have a strong relationship, which is based on many years of friendship as well as business.

“Overall, it’s a winning combination. I have seen for myself the high levels of discipline and organisation in the Hitachi factory in Japan, and that’s one of the reasons why Hitachi is such a strong brand.”

With a limited time span for Carrières du Lessus’s current activities, what does the future hold for this family firm? It is a specialist business that perhaps needs to be expanded before it can move on to the next level. This is certainly Luc’s view.

“We must explore new avenues in the recycling industry and there are many more opportunities,” he reveals. “These may or may not lie in Switzerland and it might be a good idea to introduce what we have learnt into other countries, perhaps even on a consultancy basis.

“Whatever happens, the secret of our success is hard work! My grandfather was an entrepreneur and I’m like him in many ways. He was from the German region of Switzerland and moved to the French part, which was an unusual thing to do at that time. But he did this, even though he couldn’t speak the language!

“I prefer to work alone in an independent and individual way. I like to take responsibility and make things happen. I may have many ideas, but there are only a few good ones. I try lots of new things because of my curiosity and interest to find a solution. I don’t think that this exists in many people.”

Luc’s strength of character and vision have undoubtedly been the driving forces behind Carrières du Lessus. This small, yet highly effective operation is making a huge difference to the region through innovation. Such an approach to business should be applauded in the current environmental and economic climates as the construction and other industries are forced to look to the future.