The Chipmaster of
Tupala-Yhtymä
Tupala-Yhtymä Oy in Lammi, Finland, started making wood chips in Tuulos this spring. Treated wood from municipal waste treatment plants and recycling centres is efficiently chipped there and shipped to Germany. High-grade work takes high-grade machines, so this spring Tupala purchased a Komptech Axtor 4510 chipper from Vimelco Oy, to master the challenge of chipping treated wood.
Tupala-Yhtymä Oy is a good example of what you can achieve with entrepreneurial spirit and hard work. Brothers Jukka and Antti-Jussi Tupala have turned an agricultural operation into a high-performance company in earthworks, infrastructure and environmental works, chipping, demolition, and foundationlaying. The company employs around 50 people including subcontractors. Proof of the high quality they deliver are the contracts they have with companies like Fortum, Lassila & Tikanojan, and Demolite Oy. Tupala has always invested in the quality of its machines: 20 earthmovers, 15 dumpers, one frontloader, plus other equipment. The most recent acquisition, a Komptech Axtor purchased in the spring, is a perfect addition to the company’s machine park.
From test run to order
At the start of chip production, Tupala thought carefully about what features a chipper should have and how high the costs for purchase and operation of the machine would be.
“We were interested in the Komptech Axtor, and quickly received one from Vimelco for a test run in Tuulos. Its features soon won us over, and since the value for money was also attractive, the decision was an easy one. The Axtor was primarily tested with other chippers and gave outstanding results, says Antti-Jussi Tupala.
“The Axtor is in the right size class for us, and its performance meets the needs of our work. Vimelco helped us get the adjustments right, and we made them quickly. Our staff praised the clear design and user-friendliness of the remote control. Due to the nature of the work we do, we had to make some adjustments to the machine, and replaced the free-swinging teeth with carbide blades. That proved to be a good move, since it boosts tool life and gives us good quality in our final product”, notes Tupala.
Economical and safe
“Our employees are very happy with the Axtor’s precise manouvrability and the more than fourmetre-long input hopper, which makes it much easier to handle the long poles we get. We’re thinking about adding detachable sidewalls, but are first monitoring the situation and letting our machine operators gain experience with it. The Axtor has about 800 operating hours behind it, and thus far the maintenance has mostly just consisted of replacing wear parts. We keep a close watch on our machines’ fuel consumption, and when you consider how hard the work is, the Axtor also masters this aspect.”
“It’s not necessary to take the machine apart very often, and replacing parts in the field is easy. It’s just as important that the Axtor is equipped with numerous safety mechanisms, because the wood we chip often contains other materials. Thanks to the magnets we’ve managed to avoid major problems,” adds Tupala.
Driven by Vimelco
Every machine in the chipping line has to be extremely dependable, as any extra interruption is costly. Tupala appreciates the individual service that Vimelco provides.
They always carefully consider the customer’s situation. “Lauri Rahikainen and Sisko Koskinen at Vimelco worked to get everything taken care of, from test runs to retrofits, and advice was just a phone call away. If necessary they sourced information directly from the factory in Austria. All in all the Axtor met our expectations well and another Komptech machine is a strong contender for our next, somewhat larger shredder with a tracked chassis,” continues Tupala.
Another pleasant feature of the Axtor is the ease with which parts can be replaced.
Antti-Jussi Tupala
Tupala is growing fast
Tupala-Yhtymä has invested in a wide range of services, which has proven a very effective approach in the current economic turbulences.
“Our business model rests on many pillars. Last year was good for us, and our orders in hand for next year look promising. The recycling industry is growing, and I’m happy to say that rates for contract work have settled in at a reasonable level. In future we will continue to focus on the reclamation of ancillary waste streams from industry, and together with our partners have set up a new company for the purpose, Re-Star Oy, with its own premises in Kuovola. You always have to keep coming up with something new,” said Tupala in conclusion.
This is the online version of the article „The Chipmaster of Tupala-Yhtymä“ from the Komptech magazine Opportunity / Issue No. 3 (2024) ↗
No liability accepted for changes or errors.
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