In July 2025, a Wanshida Y83Q-4000 (400-ton baler shear) was installed at a scrap processing yard in Gauteng, South Africa.
For years, the company struggled with three persistent problems: unstable electricity supply, rising labor costs, and highly mixed scrap that is difficult to process efficiently.

With the arrival of this machine, the business finally found a way to stabilize production in an environment filled with cost pressure, complex feedstock, and unpredictable power shortages.

• Load Shedding Makes Continuous Production Almost Impossible

  South Africa’s electricity crisis is a national-level challenge.
  Planned blackouts interrupt industrial operations multiple times per day:

  Machines cannot maintain continuous cycles

  Repeated restarts damage pumps and motors

  Production must slow down to avoid jamming when power drops

  As the plant manager said:

  “It’s not that we don’t have material. We simply cannot run steadily.”

• Labor Costs Are High, and Safety Concerns Limit Night Shifts

  South Africa’s labor cost per worker is significantly higher than in many developing markets.

  Adding to the challenge, due to safety concerns, most scrap yards avoid operating during night hours, reducing daily effective working time.

  Traditional cutting or baling equipment requires multiple operators — further increasing operating expenses.

• Scrap Is Highly Mixed: Light Material + Large Pieces + Steel Offcuts

  South African scrap typically includes:

  • Automotive sheet metal
  • Appliances and housings
  • Construction steel offcuts
  • Reinforcing bars
  • Mixed light scrap
  • Farm waste and demolition material

  A single-function shear or baler cannot handle this range efficiently.

The customer needed a machine that could:

• Cut and bale in one unit
• Run reliably even with unstable power
• Operate with minimal manpower
• Increase density to reduce transport cost
• Handle diverse, mixed, and irregular scrap

The Y83Q-4000 matched every requirement.

1. Load-Shedding-Resistant Hydraulic System: Fast Restart, No Jamming

   Wanshida optimized the hydraulic circuit for South Africa’s power conditions:

   No material jamming when power is suddenly cut

   Immediate restart without preheating

   Low inrush current, avoiding electrical stress

   The customer reported:

   “Compared with our other machines, this one suffers the least from Load Shedding.”

2. One Machine Replaces Two: Cutting + Baling With Fewer Workers

   Before the upgrade, the yard used:

   1 shear machine

   1 vertical baler

   A team of 4 workers

   Now, with one Y83Q-4000, only two operators are needed.

   Given South Africa’s labor cost (often 6,000–8,000 ZAR per worker/month), the yard saves an estimated 150,000–200,000 ZAR per year on labor alone.

3. Higher Bale Density Reduces Long-Distance Transport Cost

   Transport is one of the largest costs in the South African scrap industry.
   Scrap is often hauled 300–800 km from inland areas to ports.

   After switching to Y83Q-4000:

   Bale density increased by 30–50%

   Truck loading volume increased by ~30%

   Each trip saves 800–1200 ZAR

   Annual logistics savings exceed 100,000 ZAR

   The customer said:

   “We used to ship a lot of air. Now we ship solid steel.”

4. Ideal for South Africa’s Mixed Scrap Streams

   The Y83Q-4000 excels at:

   Thin sheet and car body parts

   Demolition scrap

   Rebar and construction waste

   Appliance shells

   Mixed light materials

   Oversized pieces pre-compressed before cutting

   The machine compresses large or thin material first, then cuts it, reducing blade wear and lowering the system load.

   5Easy Maintenance + Spare Parts Delivered With Machine

   Since night repair work is unsafe and often avoided in South Africa, the machine was shipped with:

   Spare seals

   Blades

   Filters

   Key hydraulic valves

   This allows on-site staff to solve most issues during daytime, without waiting for external technicians.

After three months of operation, the yard provided performance data:

• Processing rate increased from 2 tons/hour to 3.4 tons/hour
• Labor requirement reduced by 50–60%
• Transport cost per ton dropped by ~30%
• Unplanned downtime dropped by 40%
• Monthly net profit increased by 55,000–70,000 ZAR

Their final assessment:

“This machine fits the South African market.
It handles mixed scrap, it’s stable under Load Shedding, and it helps us move more steel to the port with lower costs.”