Equipment Report

Citing an effort to meet continually growing demand for its attachments, Genesis Equipment & Manufacturing, Superior, Wis., has announced plans for a 20,000-square-foot expansion to its current 30,000-square-foot manufacturing and office facility.

Genesis CEO Kevin Bakke says the May groundbreaking has set the stage for an expansion in manufacturing capabilities, the hiring of additional personnel and an increase in planned sales.

"Our growth has been at a much faster rate than even we could have foreseen," he says. "We have already built and sold more than 1,000 major hydraulic attachments from this site, and the level of orders continues to grow. This added space will allow us to expand key areas of the manufacturing process and, in so doing, increase annual sales from $24 million to $36 million. At the same time, we will also be increasing our employee base by 20 percent, taking us to 100 Genesis personnel here in Superior. This is an extremely exciting and much needed move for us."

Genesis President Bruce Bacon says the decision to expand was based on a need to meet customer demand—a simple need that was becoming increasingly difficult to fulfill as product demand has grown. "We are already working three shifts a day and most weekends, so we have no other options for ramping up production," he comments. "The new space will reflect what has always been part of our corporate philosophy: delivering a high-quality attachment in a timely manner.

Bacon notes that the expansion will help newer sister company Blades by Genesis to grow as well. "It will also provide added space for some fast growing newer components of Genesis’ business: Blades by Genesis and our excavator sales division, for example. Both of these have become increasingly vital parts of our business offering and will now be able to better function as such."

The 20,000-square-foot expansion features space for an enhanced machine shop, additional welding centers, an expanded assembly area, a second burn center featuring high-definition plasma cutting technology, an excavator/attachment installation facility and additional warehouse and parts storage space, as well as more office, customer service, training and conference facilities.

"This is a very exciting time for us." says Bakke. "We never envisioned we’d be at this point, this soon. However, the fact that we are says we’ve followed the right paths and made the right decisions. This expansion will make us not just a bigger presence in the markets we serve but, more importantly, one that is even better equipped to respond to our customers’ needs. And that’s ultimately what it all comes down to."

Genesis Equipment & Manufacturing Inc. makes hydraulic attachments for use in demolition, scrap processing, reconstruction, utility and waste handling operations.

Conveyor systems maker Karl W. Schmidt (KWS), Commerce City, Colo., has introducted "maintenance-free" drives as standard equipment on most KWS conveyors.

These shaft-mounted-motor/reducers and variable speed drives can provide the following benefits to end users, according to KWS:

• No chains and sprockets to wear or require lubrication

• No V-belts to inspect and tighten

• No clutch or hubs and sleeves to service

• Simple oil level viewing is all that is required

"This is another improvement for the sake of efficiency in operation and ease of maintenance for our customers’ benefit," says KWS sales manager says Jeffrey Van Galder. "Continual improvement to already successful equipment is our corporate mentality, which brings KWS customers back again and again."

KWS has been making conveyors for the recycling industry and other demanding applications for more than 25 years.

Metal Management Inc. will install Crossbelt Metal Analyzers in its Chicago shredding plants. The Crossbelt Metal Analyzer is manufactured by Gamma-Tech LLC, Cincinnati.

According to the company, the Crossbelt Metal Analyzers will provide Metal Management with the ability to predict residual levels of copper, nickel and chrome in shredded scrap shipments.

"The installation of the Crossbelt Metal Analyzer further enhances the leadership position of Metal Management as the preeminent supplier of scrap iron units to the North American steel industry," says Daniel Dienst, chairman and CEO of Metal Management Inc.

"The Crossbelt Metal Analyzer will enable Metal Management to provide our consumers specific analysis of the metallic components of our scrap metals product," Dienst continues. "Steel manufacturers are exacting customers. It is one thing to speak of a desire to be an extension of their manufacturing process—it is another to make this type of a technological commitment to the relationship. Through this investment and contemplated additional future investments, we intend to raise the quality bar for ourselves and our industry."

Sennebogen LLC, Charlotte, N.C., has added to its North American dealer network by reaching agreements with dealers in Iowa, Ohio, New England and Tennessee.

Among the new equipment dealership companies now carrying the Sennebogen line of hydraulic scrap handlers are:

• Rexco Equipment Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, offering the Sennebogen green line to customers in Iowa;

• Gibson Machinery LLC, Oakwood Village, Ohio, representing Sennebogen in northern Ohio, central Ohio and western Pennsylvania;

• Tyler Equipment Corp., Prospect, Conn., offering Sennebogen’s scrap handlers to customers in Connecticut and western Massachusetts; and

• Bramco LLC’s Power Equipment Co. division, Louisville, Ky., serving customers in Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and Virginia.

Sennebogen LLC (www.sennebogen-na.com) continues to build its dealer network throughout North America to offer its line of German-built scrap handlers.