Harris Badger provides a boost

When Morris Scrap Metal Co. Inc. decided it was time to add a baler to its operation, it turned to the Harris Badger.

Neil Morris, the third-generation owner of the Kings Mountain, North Carolina-based metals recycling company that was started by his grandfather, Nelson Earl Morris, in 1931, has major industrial accounts for aluminum products and says he was “leaving money on the table” by not baling and shipping the nonferrous metal directly from his facility. 

Already a longtime owner of a Harris shear, he selected the two-ram Badger to help boost profitability, and since the baler’s installation in March, it has done just that. 

“This is the first baler I’ve ever owned,” Morris says. “I’ve got some big industrial accounts that take aluminum now, so I felt like I could justify one. 

“[What I like about] the Badger is its price point and that it’s really one of the most powerful balers Harris has out at scrap yards. It’s got a small footprint and it does a good job.” 

Morris Scrap Metal uses the baler exclusively for aluminum, but the machine is designed to process a wide range of materials, including paper products such as old corrugated containers and mixed paper, aluminum, steel cans and plastics. According to Harris, the Badger “gnaws” at materials with reliable S-2 and S-4 power units designed with simplicity in mind, and features a solid one-piece body design that provides added strength and rigidity to handle difficult materials in difficult applications. 

Additionally, the Badger utilizes a smart knife system that allows for less downtime, as well as thicker wear liners that give users a longer run time between scheduled maintenance and replacement. 

Morris says the Badger has been a powerful tool for processing aluminum. The machine currently operates between three and four hours a day, five days a week, and produces between eight and 10 bales per day, depending on available volume. The Badger can operate at 50, 75 or 125 horsepower, and the model at Morris Scrap Metal runs at 125 hp to handle nonferrous material. 

And Harris has proven to be an attentive partner. Once the Badger was constructed at his yard, Morris says a Harris technician spent five days on-site making sure it was ready to run optimally. 

The equipment manufacturer also was able to design Morris’ baler according to his particular needs. 

“I actually designed the hopper and they made the drawing for me,” Morris says. “I designed the baler to be able to feed it with a material handler rather than a forklift or conveyor. … From what I’ve seen, when a conveyor goes down, the baler goes down. My material handlers feed my baler, and so far, we’ve gotten great service out of it. My guys like it.” 

As a longtime Harris customer, Morris says he’s always had good luck with the company’s products, including the Badger. 

“It’s been great,” he says. “I’ve never had any issues.” 

The Badger has been a difference-maker at Morris Scrap Metal, which offers a range of services to its customers. The company buys scrap vehicles, buys and sells numerous types of ferrous and nonferrous metals, recycles retail and industrial scrap metal and offers industrial services such as onsite scrap container services, on-site metal value analysis, 24-hour container pickups, demolition and rigging services and more.