A Baling Trifecta

Tom Sustersic, president of Gateway Recycling Products Inc. of Cleveland, knows that the export market can be a key to success in the recycling industry, particularly paper and plastics. With some 30 percent of Gateway’s stock devoted to export, he needs equipment that can deliver the bale quality and density he needs to be a player in the world market. Sustersic will expand his capacity to deliver export-quality bales with the installation of an AT965HS-100 hinge-side baler from IPS Balers Inc., Baxley, Ga., the third IPS machine at the facility.

An IPS auto-tie and 2-ram baler round out the three-baler team at Gateway. The 2-ram handles the bulkier material—OCC, PET and HDPE plastic and aluminum—and the auto-tie bales the paper generated by Gateway’s secure document destruction branch.

The fully automated hinge-side is taking over the high grade operation, baling sorted office paper, ONP and printer and specialty grades. With transportation costs constantly climbing, the ability of the hinge-side baler to make export-quality bales was imperative in Sustersic’s choice. The uniform 30-inch-by-45-inch-by-60-inch bale size helps Gateway Recycling maximize the capacity of its export containers, railcars and truck loads. "The key to buying this machine was to make sure we could maximize our shipments going out," he says.

Sustersic has high praise for the hinge-side design and the larger, 55-inch charge box, which eliminates the need for pre-conditioning the high grade paper, increasing the efficiency and safety in the baling operation. The hinged sidewall baler also dramatically decreases shearing. "Normally, you’re cutting the whole width of your bale, but with the hinge, it’s cutting 9 inches instead of 30," he says. "If you can minimize that cutting, the hydraulics and the electrical motors aren’t working as hard." Saving on the daily wear and tear of the machines translates into minimal downtime and major savings on maintenance, Sustersic says.

Since 1999, when Sustersic purchased his first piece of IPS equipment, IPS has proven itself time and again with its follow up and customer support. Sustersic says he can find local distributors to supply 90 percent of the parts IPS uses to build its equipment, which makes maintenance and repairs easier. "When you call IPS for answers to your questions, many times you’re talking to the people who designed and built that machine—their customer service is superb," he says.

Not only would Sustersic recommend IPS balers to his colleagues in the industry, "It’s the only baling machine I’d buy," he says.