Equipment report

Otto completes refinancing effort, earns export award

Residential waste and recycling cart manufacturer Otto Environmental Systems North America Inc. (OESNA), Charlotte, North Carolina, has completed its refinancing effort. The company says it spent 18 months going through an operational turnaround as its plants needed extensive refurbishment to handle increased sales volumes. During this period, OESNA says it invested more than $18 million into its infrastructure.

According to the company, the restructuring will result in a stronger balance sheet and improved liquidity.

Looking forward with new molds and machines in place, OESNA says it is poised to increase production by 20 percent. Future investment is geared toward operational systems that increase production efficiencies, cloud-based technologies that improve field-to-desktop fleet monitoring within OESNA’s logistics portal and R&D activities to expand on existing product lines, radio-frequency identification (RFID) projects and market segments.

In other company news, OESNA has received an Export Achievement certificate for 2014-2015 for export sales performance from the North Carolina District Export Council (NCDEC). OESNA Director of International Sales Travis Dowell accepted the award on behalf of the company.

The NCDEC contributes to international trade expertise to complement the U.S. Commercial Service’s export promotion efforts through export business counseling and trade education. The council says nominees are reviewed to ensure strict criteria are met.

Dowell says, “We’ve been successful with exporting to Mexico, to Colombia and to Dominican Republic, not to mention Canada, due to the free trade agreements in effect with these areas. I would venture to say we wouldn’t have the sales we have without them in place.”

Terex Environmental Equipment upgrades facilities

Terex Environmental Equipment (TEE), an industry leader in designing and manufacturing wood processing, biomass and recycling equipment, is benefitting from a $10.7 million investment by Germany-based Terex in new state-of-the-art offices, production facilities and a global spare parts distribution hub in Dungannon, Northern Ireland.

The Farlough site investment boasts office space that accommodates service technicians, design engineers, sales and marketing personnel. Expanded by 23,100 square feet, the factory will be the production facility for the Ecotec product range and will enable TEE to provide greater flexibility in terms of lead times and build specifications, as well as increasing production and operating efficiencies, TEE says.

McNeilus facility earns top workplace safety award

Oshkosh Corp., an Oshkosh, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of specialty vehicles and vehicle bodies, has announced that one of its affiliated company’s facilities has received a top workplace safety designation. The Iowa Occupational Safety & Health Administration (IOSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) has designated Dodge Center, Minnesota-based McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing’s Riceville, Iowa, facility, Iowa Contract Fabricators, a STAR worksite.

“This impressive award is attributed to the hard work and commitment to safety of our Riceville team members both at work and in their personal lives,” says Wilson R. Jones, Oshkosh Corp. president and chief executive officer. “At Oshkosh facilities around the world, our people make our company great. That’s why excellence in safety is so critical: to ensure our team members work in a safe environment and go home safely each day to their families.”

The VPP recognizes employers and workers who have implemented effective safety and health management systems and maintain injury and illness rates below national Bureau of Labor Statistics averages for their respective industries.

Oshkosh Corp. says it has four levels of its safety management system that provide best practices for safety and operational excellence, as well as follow a common process to achieve results. Those facilities that have achieved VPP STAR ratings have lower incident rates, a decreased rate of turnover and absenteeism and an overall sustainable culture of employee-owned safety.

In addition to this safety award, McNeilus has announced Go To Parts, a division of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wastequip’s original equipment manufacturers parts division, has entered an agreement with the truck manufacturer. McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing will now serve as a Galbreath parts dealer in Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Oregon.

The addition of McNeilus to the Go To Parts network follows the brand’s recent announcement that it added 10 other parts dealers as part of its strategy to create a national parts footprint.

“McNeilus is a well-known name in the waste industry and has a reputation as a leader in parts sales,” says Mark Taylor, president of Go To Parts. “With key geographic stocking locations, McNeilus is an important dealer partner that allows us to serve customers in an area of the country where we’ve had little presence to date.”