Bano’s Stallion a thoroughbred for scrap metal

Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania-based metals recycler and exporter Mazza Iron & Steel is a family-owned business that began operations 35 years ago, but only recently made a key addition to its shredding facility.

In June, it turned on a Bano Recycling Stallion 2500 preshredder for the first time.

“It’s the first one in our history of being in the scrap business,” company co-owner Tom Mazza says.

Mazza Iron & Steel has a shredder facility and a dock facility encompassing 23 total acres. The company currently provides recycled metal export services to the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

The company says its mantra is to “always stay sharp and competitive, using cutting-edge technology and global positioning to provide competitive pricing and unsurpassed customer service.” Staying sharp and competitive meant adding a preshredder to its host of equipment.

“We’d been considering [a preshredder] for several years,” says Tom Mazza, who operates the business along with his brother, Mike Mazza. “It basically takes away the grunt work from a highspeed shredder by prepping the material to an 18-inch-by-30-inch piece of steel instead of consuming a whole automobile.”

Tom adds that the use of the Stallion has led to less wear-and-tear on his company’s auto shredder, more throughput and savings on electricity and wear parts. “With wear parts, the savings is important because most of the metal’s doing the pulverization and the separation in the high-speed mill now,” he says. “Now, we can [perform] full-box shredding in our high-speed shredder.

“It’s like eating the whole submarine or just a bite at a time with your high-speed shredder,” he adds. “So, if you’re prepping the material, it’s more efficient.”

At Mazza Iron & Steel, the Stallion processes 60 tons of scrap metal per hour and typically runs about eight hours per day. Tom says the company mainly feeds it scrap automobiles but also uses it to process baled light iron, baled autos, appliances and more.

The company specializes in ferrous and nonferrous metal buying and recycling; dismantling and rigging services; demolition of structures; end-of-life automobile recycling; plant clean-outs; and transportation via trucks, rail, barge and bulk cargo vessels.

The preshredder has been a worthwhile addition to the company’s shredding operations. Tom says the machine has run smoothly since its installation, with its hydraulics and ease of maintenance serving as standout features.

“The maintenance is minimal and the uptime is very good,” he says. “The hydraulic pack is one of the best out there in terms of maintenance and getting around it and capturing any spills or hydraulic lines that might break. It’s in a confined container that is also a spill control unit. … The machine runs pretty much by itself.”

According to Padova, Italy-based Bano, the Stallion is used to preshred packs of bodywork, light scrap and collection to simplify feeding and make the subsequent shredding operation in the shredder uniform. The company, which also has a North American office in Hamilton, Ontario, says its machine helps eliminate energy releases in the grinding chamber and consequently reduces downtime, optimizing the grinding process with savings in time, energy costs and significantly reducing the risk of breakage and wear of the moving parts of the auto shredder. 

“I watched it get built from day one, from a piece of flat steel all the way to delivery to running it. I visited the shop at least twice while they were manufacturing it. The welders and the machinists are all Class-A guys. The power pack guys, the hydraulic guys are all Class-A. They actually put it together in four days and got it running and we haven’t had a blip since.” —Tom Mazza, co-owner, Mazza Iron & Steel

Additional features of the preshredder include significant reduction of the risk of energy releases in the shredder caused by gas cylinders or other dangerous elements; less downtime and a wider range of input material, optimizing the work of the shredder; maximum production of throughput and improved material selection, resulting in less waste; no peak load, avoiding shredder absorption peaks; and less noise pollution. 

Mazza Iron & Steel did not take its choice of a preshredder lightly. Tom says Bano’s 40-foot-by-40-foot Stallion won him over because of its structure, its hydraulic system, its maintenance-friendly layout and its competitive pricing. The unit’s availability—there was a 10- to 12-month wait from purchase to installation—also played a role in its selection.

Through his visits to Bano’s facility, Tom was able to watch the construction of the preshredder from start to finish.

“I watched it get built from day one, from a piece of flat steel all the way to delivery to running it,” he says. “I visited the shop at least twice while they were manufacturing it. The welders and the machinists are all Class-A guys. The power pack guys, the hydraulic guys are all Class-A. They actually put it together in four days [upon delivery] and got it running and we haven’t had a blip since.”

Both family-owned and operated companies, Mazza and Bano have proven to be a good match. Bano says it believes in specifying the construction of its machines to the needs of its customers while being a reliable, straightforward and present partner throughout the machine’s life. 

Tom says Bano’s customer support throughout his Stallion’s short life, from its purchase to utilizing it at his Fairless Hills facility, has been a real positive.

“Bano is a family-run business, the [family] is very involved, and [Bano] will answer a call any time of day or night,” he says. “They’ve been very supportive; they’re focused on their customer service.”