Scrap Handler Supplement -- Welcome

Of Cycle Times and Lifting Capacities

The pace of change throughout industry has been staggering in the second half of the 20th century. While the transfer of information through fiber-optic wires, silicon chips and wireless networks has received much of the attention this decade, industrial technology also continues to advance.

At the same time fortunes are being made with newly-created companies (often with a .com at the end of their names), heavy equipment makers with established names are producing record annual revenues, and it’s not because they are standing still.

The booming technology sector of the 1990s has been joined by a healthy steel industry (led by the vigorous growth of the electric arc furnace segment) and a robust construction industry, as well as a productive automotive industry. Thus, computer keyboards and monitors are not the only types of equipment in demand by American industry.

Heavy equipment, such as excavators and large material handlers, continues to be fabricated and sold, with a percentage of it going into the scrap recycling industry. Some manufacturers are making scrap-specific machines, while others are at the very least acknowledging the scrap industry with marketing attention.

And the competitive climate has spurred innovation and attention to performance by the manufacturers.

In this third edition of the Scrap Handler Guide, we present a collection of information that we hope will be worthwhile for scrap processors to keep on hand. Included are overviews of large stationary material handlers, mobile scrap handlers, and attachments most frequently used by scrap processors. In addition, we present the thoughts of one long-time equipment seller on steps to take when buying a scrap handler. We’ve also included a glossary of terms and directory of select companies that supply scrap handlers and attachments.

The pace of change in the scrap industry may not match what is occurring in the field of information technology. But any veteran of more than a decade in the scrap industry will almost certainly vouch that the changes are significant enough to merit attention. Our equipment guide series, we believe, can help processors remain in step with the changes and take a full accounting of what is available in the equipment marketplace.