Got It Handled

Scrap handlers are the unsung heroes of scrap yards everywhere. They quietly go about performing their functions, whether they are loading and unloading trucks and rail cars, feeding auto hulks to a hungry shredder or material into a shear/baler. A yard’s productivity has a lot to do with the efficient functioning of this critical piece of machinery, which comes in tracked, wheeled and even pedestal models.

The existing pedestal crane at the 18-acre Sims Metal Management scrap metal yard in Richmond, Calif., had become a bit of a production liability for Jesse Garcia, the yard’s corporate maintenance manager. Repairs to the pedestal crane were difficult, and Garcia says he often found himself having to lease replacement equipment to keep up production on the yard’s shear when the crane went down.

When it came time to replace the crane, Garcia chose an 840 R Special, a purpose-built material handler from Sennebogen LLC, Charlotte, N.C., that he says gives him the mobility and problem-free reliability and uptime he sought.

"A scrap yard is a tough environment—it’s constant metal on metal," Garcia says. "You need dependable equipment that is built for this application. Sennebogen machines are purpose-built for handling scrap metal, they’re not just retrofitted excavators," he says.

"Our tracked Sennebogen 840 R Special is perfect for this application. We can move it in and out for quick, easy maintenance, and should the shear go down, we can utilize it elsewhere in the yard," Garcia adds.

Sims’ scrap handler is a wide-tracked model mounted on a 7-foot-3-inch pedestal. The machine’s elevating cab enables operators to see at eye level 20-feet in the air, which allows them to see inside the shear’s hopper and some of the high-walled trailers that often appear in the yard. Garcia says the machine’s pedestal offers sufficient height for most of the yard’s routine operations.

Fitted with a 1.5-yard grapple from Seattle-based Young Corp. and offering a 68-foot reach, Sims uses its 840 R Special primarily to off-load 40-foot trailers and feed the yard’s 1335 electric shear from Harris, Peachtree, Ga.

"We chose the crawler model for the stability that its wide stance offered and its mobility when required. The more comfortable and secure our operators are, the more productive they tend to be," Garcia says. "Our operators brag about how quickly and smoothly they can off-load trucks and feed our shear with the same machine."

According to Garcia, the increased mobility offered by a tracked material handler also gives the Richmond scrap yard more flexibility than ever before. This includes the possibility of moving the machine to the dock to load and off-load rail cars when needed.

Since arriving at Sims Metal Management’s Richmond yard, the tracked material handler has logged about 3,200 hours of service as of the end of the summer.

"As an equipment manager, I really appreciate how problem-free the 840 R Special has proven to be," Garcia says. "With no computers on board, the machine’s hydraulic design makes it really mechanic friendly.

"Regularly scheduled maintenance every 250 hours has definitely maximized the machine’s uptime and increased our productivity," he adds.

When it comes to adding additional material handling equipment to the company’s fleet, Garcia says, "We have discussed the possibility of acquiring a Senenbogen hybrid machine. It would use a diesel-powered pony-system for travel and an electric motor for the unit’s hydraulic material handling operations. You could move it anywhere in the yard and just plug it in."

He adds, "With the rising cost of diesel fuel and the company’s corporate position in developing environmentally friendly business practices, it is definitely something for us to think about for the future."

PSC Metals’ Canton Recycling is a 100-acre full-service scrap metal recycling yard that serves Timken Steel, which has a mill adjacent to the Canton, Ohio, scrap yard. It is primarily a ferrous processing facility that shreds, shears and torches inbound feedstock comprised of rails, automobiles, sheet iron, flame cut plates, end cuts and various other scrap.

"In a 10-hour-a-day operation, this facility sees a complete cross-section of customers," says Wally Dawson, yard manager for Canton Recycling. "From a large industrial account right down to an individual dropping off household appliances, everyone comes through our gates. It is a fast-paced operation that requires heavy duty, reliable material handling machines to keep it running smoothly."

Dawson says he has been pleased with the efficiency and economic and environmental benefits of the electrically powered Sennebogen 835 Special material handlers that the company operates.

"Taking into account the soaring cost of diesel, our savings on fuel and maintenance are considerable," he says. "Combine that with decreased vibration, low noise emissions and the environmental benefits of going electric, and you have a real winner."

He adds, "Everything is just so much smoother with the electric motor. The only maintenance required is checking the hydraulic fluid, as opposed to changing engine oil every 250 hours."

The 835 Special, fixed to its spot beside the yard’s auto shredder, is aided by one of the three rubber-tired 835 M models Canton Recycling operates. The electric scrap handler processes about 1,000 tons of scrap daily, keeping the electrically powered 6,000-horsepower shredder from Wendt Corp., Tonawanda, N.Y., well fed.

On its pedestal, the machine offers its operator an eye level of 37 feet and features a 61-foot reach; however, the machine’s hydraulic elevating cab allows operators to get higher to see into the load.

Dawson says he is pleased with the service he receives from Gibson Machinery, the Cleveland-based Sennebogen dealer from whom all four of the Canton facility’s 835 machines were purchased.

"It was great working with PSC Metals on this project," says Lee Gibson of Gibson Machinery, who adds that PSC Metals quickly saw the benefits the electric scrap handler could bring to its operators.

Dawson says, "I couldn’t be happier with the effort that Lee Gibson and his crew make to keep us up and running. They understand what we require of the equipment and what is at stake to maintain the machine’s uptime and availability. They really get it."

This information was submitted by Marketing Strategies & Solutions, London, Ontario, for Sennebogen LLC, based in Charlotte, N.C.