Do more with what you already have.
In the long human effort to draw more from the earth without endlessly expanding our claim upon it, Metso has introduced the ELL Series inclined screens — machines engineered to increase the throughput of European quarries by up to 20% without enlarging their physical footprint. The technology, built around variable elliptical motion that adapts its rhythm as material travels across the deck, reflects a maturing industrial philosophy: that the next gain need not come from building more, but from thinking more carefully about what already exists. Manufactured at a new facility in Oradea, Romania, the screens are positioned to serve a continent where space, capital, and regulatory patience are all growing scarcer.
- European quarry operators face a stubborn constraint — demand for aggregate is rising, but land, capital, and regulatory tolerance for expansion are not.
- Conventional solutions — bigger machines, more equipment, reconfigured layouts — carry costs that many operations simply cannot absorb.
- Metso's ELL Series attacks the problem from within, using variable elliptical motion to push 20% more material through the same physical space by adjusting speed and retention time across the screen deck.
- Paired with Nordberg HP Series cone crushers, the screens are designed to eliminate the processing bottlenecks that waste the potential of high-capacity crushing stages.
- A new manufacturing plant in Oradea, Romania brings production, spare parts, and wear components closer to European customers — reducing downtime and tightening supply chains.
- The launch signals a broader industry pivot: the next era of productivity may be won not by scaling outward, but by engineering inward.
Metso has launched the ELL Series inclined screens to address one of European quarrying's most persistent frustrations — how to move more material through an operation without the cost and disruption of physical expansion. Designed for secondary and tertiary aggregate applications, the screens deliver up to 20% higher throughput within the same footprint as conventional circular motion equipment.
The key is variable elliptical motion. At the feed end of the screen deck, the motion runs fast to drive volume and keep material moving. Toward the discharge end, it slows — extending the time material spends on the deck and sharpening the separation between size fractions. The result is a machine that handles greater volume without sacrificing the consistency that product quality demands.
The ELL Series was engineered to work in tandem with Metso's Nordberg HP Series cone crushers, creating a balanced system where crushing and screening move material at compatible rates. A mismatch at either stage wastes the capacity of the other; alignment between the two maximizes what the whole plant can achieve.
For quarry managers, the appeal is practical. Expansion typically means land acquisition, layout reconfiguration, and significant capital outlay. Adrian Wood, Metso's Vice President for Screening in the Central Region, described the ELL Series as a direct answer to that pressure — a way to improve output and fraction precision while meeting tightening operational and safety standards, without requiring plant expansion.
Metso is producing the screens at its new facility in Oradea, Romania, which will also supply spare parts and wear components including rubber screening media. The location shortens supply chains and builds regional service capacity, translating to faster parts turnaround and less downtime for European customers.
The launch embodies a shift in how the equipment industry thinks about productivity — less focused on adding machines, more focused on making existing installations work harder through smarter engineering.
Metso has introduced a new line of inclined screens built to solve a persistent problem in European quarries: how to squeeze more material through existing operations without tearing up the ground and rebuilding from scratch. The ELL Series screens, launched for secondary and tertiary aggregate applications, can deliver up to 20% higher throughput while occupying the same physical footprint as conventional circular motion screens—a meaningful gain for operators working within tight spatial constraints.
The technology at the heart of the system is variable elliptical motion, which Metso engineered to move material differently depending on where it sits on the screen deck. At the feed end, where material first arrives, the motion runs at high speed to drive throughput and keep things moving. As material travels toward the discharge end, the motion slows, which extends retention time and sharpens the separation between size fractions. This graduated approach means the screens can handle more volume without sacrificing the precision that customers need for consistent product quality.
The ELL Series was designed as a natural partner to Metso's Nordberg HP Series cone crushers, which are themselves high-capacity machines. By pairing the two, quarry operators get a balanced system where the crushing stage and the screening stage move material at compatible rates. This alignment matters because a bottleneck at either end wastes the potential of the other. Together, the equipment creates what Metso describes as an efficient process solution that maximizes overall plant throughput and control.
For quarry managers across Europe, the appeal is straightforward. Expanding a quarry operation typically means acquiring more land, reconfiguring layouts, and absorbing significant capital costs. The ELL Series offers an alternative: do more with what you already have. Adrian Wood, Metso's Vice President for Screening in the Central Region, framed it as a direct response to what he sees as a key challenge for the industry. "Increasing capacity within the existing footprint is a key challenge for quarry operators across Europe," he said. "With the ELL Series, we provide a solution that delivers higher output and more precise fractions without requiring plant expansion. This helps our customers improve productivity, while meeting increasingly demanding operational and safety requirements."
Metso is manufacturing the new screens at a facility it opened in Oradea, Romania. The plant will produce the capital equipment itself as well as spare parts and wear components, including the rubber screening media that gets replaced as it degrades. The location is strategic: it positions Metso closer to its European customer base, shortens supply chains, and builds regional service capacity. For quarry operators, that proximity means faster turnaround on parts and support, which translates to less downtime when something needs attention.
The launch reflects a broader shift in how equipment makers approach productivity gains. Rather than always pushing customers toward larger machines or more equipment, the industry is increasingly focused on extracting more performance from existing installations through smarter engineering. The ELL Series screens represent that philosophy in practice—a generation of machines designed not to replace what's already there, but to make it work harder.
Notable Quotes
Increasing capacity within the existing footprint is a key challenge for quarry operators across Europe. With the ELL Series, we provide a solution that delivers higher output and more precise fractions without requiring plant expansion.— Adrian Wood, Vice President, Central Region, Screening business at Metso
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does footprint matter so much to quarry operators? Can't they just add another screen if they need more capacity?
Land is expensive, and permits are even more complicated. Expanding a quarry means environmental reviews, neighbor negotiations, sometimes years of delay. If you can get 20% more throughput from the same footprint, you avoid all that friction.
How does variable elliptical motion actually work? Is it a mechanical trick or something in the software?
It's mechanical. The screen deck itself vibrates in an elliptical pattern, but the shape and speed of that ellipse changes along the length of the deck. Fast and wide at the feed end to push material through quickly, slower and tighter at the discharge end to let finer material settle and separate.
So you're saying the Nordberg crushers and these screens are designed to talk to each other?
Not literally talk, but yes—they're engineered to move material at compatible rates. If your crusher can handle 500 tons per hour but your screen can only process 400, you've got a bottleneck. Metso designed these together so neither one starves the other.
Why manufacture in Romania instead of somewhere closer to Western Europe?
Cost, partly, but also labor and infrastructure. Romania has skilled manufacturing, and Oradea is positioned to serve the whole Central European region efficiently. It's not about being cheap—it's about being close enough to customers that spare parts arrive fast when something breaks.
Does this technology work for all types of aggregate, or are there limits?
The source material specifies secondary and tertiary applications, which are the crushed stone and sand markets. Primary aggregates—the big rocks coming straight out of the ground—might need different handling. But for the bulk of what quarries actually process, this is built for that work.