Video: Shredding Prime Scrap, Busheling - Wolf 9500 or Hammel 950

Many scrap yards today continue feeding clean, new production scrap—like clips, skeletons, and unpainted prime steel—through their auto shredder, hammermills without considering today’s market pricing dynamics. While hammermills have their place, relying solely on them could mean you're leaving serious profit on the table.

Cost to Operate

A hammermill or auto shredder is one of the most maintenance intensive and expensive pieces of equipment to own and operate. Most operators are spending roughly an hour doing maintenance work per hour they spend shredding material. On top of that, the power or diesel demands to even turn the hammermill on are enormous cost centers.

This is a huge differentiator for a Wolf 9500. This mobile piece of equipment will burn roughly 15 gallons per hour of diesel (electric options available) and costs about $20 / hour to own and operate. 

Having this option available to process your clean, prime scrap separately from the rest of your shredder feed to make a more premium busheling product vs. a frag shred and simultaneously cutting processing costs doing so is a win-win. 

General Differences and Explanations between prices of busheling and shredded scrap (ISRI 211, Frag)

This video from Fastmarkets does a great job explaining the price gap we usually see between shredded steel (frag) and busheling. It details the yield differences at the mill and why busheling typically demands a premium. 

In order to take advantage of this spread, you need an alternative to a hammermill. Ideally, something that has a lower cost to own and operate so you can take advantage of the higher priced busheling while driving down your processing costs. The Wolf 9500 DT and Hammel VB 950 provide a mobile, cost effective solution.

Market Conditions - July 2025

According to Fastmarkets, shredded steel (frag) is currently priced between $320 and $390 per ton depending on your region.

In contrast, prime busheling is commanding a stronger $430 per ton.

Stop Spending More to Produce a Lower-Value Material

Add a Wolf 9500 mobile shredder to your operation, so you can produce high-value busheling for a fraction of the cost of operating a hammermill.

Why Wolf?

Our Wolf Metal Shredders are built for high-output efficiency—capable of producing No. 1 busheling at up to 35 tons per hour, while requiring a fraction of the maintenance that traditional hammermills demand.

Stop spending more to produce lower-value material. Add a Wolf 9500 mobile shredder to your operation, so you can produce high-value busheling for a fraction of the cost of operating a hammermill.

Our Wolf 9500's have the additional benefits of a much lower front end capital cost and requiring no prior infrastructure such as foundations or power to the site. Our Wolf shredders are 100% self contained and drive off the truck ready to shred from day 1.

Improve your Scrap Metal Recycling Operation's Profitability. 

Turning clean, prime scrap into No. 1 busheling—rather than a lower-priced shred—translates directly into higher-value output and improved profitability. By using a dedicated twin shaft metal shredder like the Wolf or Hammel, operators can reduce wear and tear on their hammermills, produce a higher-value output, and streamline production.

With ferrous scrap prices currently favoring busheling, this approach allows yards to capitalize on stronger margins with reduced costs and higher market prices. These high-performance twin-shaft shredders can handle up to 35 tons per hour, delivering the kind of throughput and reliability that modern scrap metal recycling operations demand.

The Right Tool Makes all the Difference

Stop leaving money on the table. Give us a call today at 425-401-2000 or Request a Quote