American Baler - Ram II Narrow Box

Steve Kurtzman, owner of Innovative Recycling, Galion, Ohio, decided to replace his 10-year-old single-ram baler with a Ram II Narrow Box model from American Baler nearly two years ago. Innovative’s old baler was not realizing the production that the company required and was also suffering from a number of breakdowns that would all but shut down the company’s business. Kurtzman says he often had to run into a second shift just to keep up with the OCC coming into the plant, giving him no time to bale incoming aluminum siding, plastics or copper wire.

Kurtzman turned to American Baler, Bellevue, Ohio, because he was already familiar with the high quality of the cylinders used in the company’s balers. The quality of American Baler’s equipment didn’t end with the cylinders, but extended to the baler’s overall design and construction.

The baler’s two-ram design helps to produce dense, neat bales that stand up to repeated handling. Kurtzman says the baler averages: OCC bales weighing 1,400 to 1,600 pounds, UBC bales weighing 900 to 1,000 pounds and PVC bales weighing 2,000 pounds. The bales of aluminum siding produced by the Ram II weigh in at 1,800 pounds to 2,000 pounds, while commingled plastic bottle bales weigh 1,300 to 1,600 pounds.

The baler’s Versa-Door feature also contributes to its versatility, enabling Innovative to switch easily between materials when baling. "That’s one of the reasons I bought the baler," Kurtzman says of the Versa-Door.

The baler’s hydraulic stamper also makes efficient work of baling OCC, pushing material below the shear when the ram encounters resistance, avoiding shear jam.

"It’s a lot faster than my old baler," he says. "I’m baling material in half the time." With the Ram II, Innovative makes quick work of the 750,000 pounds of OCC that come into the plant monthly and has time left over to tackle its nonferrous metals and plastics.

Kurtzman has been so pleased with the reliability of his Ram II baler from American baler, he says, "When I go to get another baler, this is what I will buy." He adds, "I think what impresses me most is there are no problems with it."