Scrap Handler Focus -- Garden State

At the ripe old age of 24, Joe Cinelli Jr. has already learned what most old-timers know about how to make his recycling business successful. It’s all about uptime.

"We’re not like one of the big port operations," says Joe. "We’ve got no spare equipment in the yard. If a crane goes down, our shear isn’t working; we lose that production," Joe says of his family’s scrap yard.

LEARNING EARLY. Joe began working in the family business, Cinelli Iron & Metal Co., when he was 18. His father, Joe Cinelli Sr., started the recycling operation in the 1970s, hauling scrap to recyclers in his pickup truck from machine shops in Jersey City. By the late 1990s, Cinelli Iron & Metal was collecting, processing and brokering a full range of scrap metals through its facility in Hackensack, N.J.

Joe entered the business as an equipment operator. Today, he is responsible for the operation of Cinelli Iron’s brand new site in Secaucus, N.J. The company’s former location in Hackensack continues to process specialty materials, but Cinelli Iron’s large volume of ferrous is focused on the new five-acre yard in Secaucus.

In Hackensack, the Cinelli yard is just one-half acre in size, but as the business grew rapidly through the past 15 years, it drew considerable traffic through its largely residential neighborhood. The Cinelli family decided that moving to another larger location would be best for both the business and the town.

Joe is very proud of the site he manages. "This is a state-of-the-art facility," he says. "All five acres are paved. We have underground sewers beneath it with separators to clean storm water runoff. We have plenty of space now, and we meet all the new state environmental regulations." He adds, "We’re shipping a couple of thousand tons a week and we process all types of steel, right up to I-beams."

PROPERLY EQUIPPED. While much of the heavy equipment from the company’s Hackensack location was moved to Secaucus, Cinelli has also been adding new equipment to handle the expanded capacity. When the company went looking for new machinery, it also made a key decision about its service requirements.

According to Joe Jr., "We were looking for options after our experience with some of the older equipment. We wanted to get all the equipment we needed from one company. That way, if there are any problems, we don’t have to call 100 different suppliers."

Cinelli was familiar with Binder Machinery, South Plainfield, N.J., as the Komatsu equipment dealer servicing its wheel loaders and, more recently, as New Jersey’s distributor for Sennebogen scrap handling machines. Joe had been working with Binder for about six years and, on closer inspection, decided that Binder was the "single source" he was looking for.

"Binder has everything we need," Joe claims, "from utility loaders to scrap handlers to processing equipment. Now, no matter what I need, I have one sales guy to call or one service guy to call. It’s simple."

Steve Mazzarella has been Binder’s sales representative to Cinelli Iron for more than six years. When Cinelli approached Steve with the idea of Binder becoming its single source for equipment, Steve was ready. "I asked our senior people in the region to get involved," says Steve. "Kirk Chagnon, our North Jersey sales manager, and Roy Corriveau, our product support manager, were able to provide the assurances that the customer needed."

Steve believes that, along with dependable equipment, a dependable supply of parts was critical. "Joe already knew the type of service that Binder can provide. We have a lot invested in parts, and we could show how we work with all our OEMs to set the right stocking levels and then put in the procedures to automatically restock as orders go out. We also have a great staff of technicians, so, whether there’s a call for routine maintenance or to look after a machine that’s down, we can get someone out there."

The Binder team works together to keep service simple for customers. In one instance, Joe had a recurring problem with a grapple. "A change had been made in the type of hoses it used, and hoses started breaking. Roy came in and he saw what the problem was and got it fixed."

Setting up the Secaucus yard has required investments in capital equipment, including a Komatsu PC400 with a 4500 model Stanley LaBounty Shear and a Sierra 700 model baler/logger. Binder recently supplied Cinelli with a Komatsu WA320-5 wheel loader. "I don’t know how we’d manage in a yard this size without it," says Joe of the loader. "When loads of new material come in, the loader can just push the whole lot wherever we want it in just a few minutes, instead of taking time with the grapple. It’s a great-running machine, too."

Cinelli Iron also maintains a fleet of 15 trucks, with 11 roll-offs and more than 1,000 containers in service.

A TOUCH OF GREEN. The move to the new site also included relocation of two Sennebogen scrap handlers, and a third one has also been added. Service problems with previous material handlers were a key reason for Cinelli’s decision to "single-source" its equipment needs with the Binder dealership, according to Joe Jr.

He’s been pleased that his new scrap handlers give his operation the uptime he needs to keep his trucks and processing equipment on the go. "The other machines we had were breaking down since day one," he comments. "We spent over $90,000 getting them fixed. These Sennebogen machines have been very reliable; they just don’t break down!"

All three hydraulic handlers are rubber-tired models, well suited to mobile service throughout the large, paved yard. All three handlers are also equipped with elevating cabs, which can raise the operator an extra 20 feet above the chassis for a clear look into the equipment being loaded.

A Sennebogen 835 M model scrap handler is dedicated to feeding material to the Sierra shear, while an 825 M equipped with a magnet shifts between loading or unloading trailers and feeding processing machinery. The newest unit, an 825 M, is fitted with a grapple to load trailers. In a typical day, the Secaucus yard will send out more than 10 loaded trailers to customers.

Joe still likes to operate equipment himself and he says he appreciates the way the hydraulic cranes handle. He describes them as smooth to run and comfortable, with a very strong feel. His personal preference is to work with the magnet, though he admits that the grapple provides higher capacity and faster loading: as little as 15 minutes to fill a truck with the 825 M model. The magnet, however, helps him to keep the yard clean and, he says, it helps to save a step in separating material as it comes in.

The switch to Sennebogen has also led to maintenance advantages, according to Joe. "They’re well built and the service areas are very accessible," he explains. "On the other machine, you had to take apart the whole back end to reach the radiator; now, just open the doors and everything is right there. We try to keep a good stock of parts on hand, but Binder is also good on having what we need."

The close relationship Cinelli Iron is building with Binder Equipment is also a good fit for the company’s family focus. The Cinelli business includes several family members and close friends. While the Secaucus site has a young staff overall (all of the equipment operators are younger than 26 years old), Joe says he believes that traditional "family values" are important to the business and he sees a common ground with the family roots at Binder and Sennebogen.

"Erich Sennebogen was here from Germany a couple of weeks ago," he recalls. "He was a really nice guy; we took some pictures together with the cranes all up. But you can tell he really cares about his equipment. His name’s on it." Joe adds, "When you put your family’s name on your equipment or your business, it’s the same for all of us: It’s your personal promise of
dependability."