Scrap Handling Equipment Focus: New on the Job

The Elmira, N.Y., scrap facility run by the Shulman Company is a busy place. Trucks and rail cars are brought in to be loaded with ferrous and nonferrous scrap on their way to mills, foundries and smelters.

Alongside this operation, the Shulman Co. also handles scrap paper and has an industrial refuse removal and container service. The firm was started in 1938. The business is presently being run and operated by Steve and Zach Shulman on a 30-acre site in Elmira. The Shulman Co. is a broker and processor of ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals, scrap paper and operates an industrial refuse removal and container service. The company’s management team recently went shopping for new material handling equipment, ultimately choosing an 88,000-pound Sennebogen wheeled machine that is now fitted with a Genesis GMS 500R shear weighing almost 12,000 pounds.

AN EYE ON EFFICIENCY. "Today, the secret for any successful operator is to make sure that each of your operations is running as efficiently as possible," says Zach Shulman. "Then, the sum total of all the parts will be greater than the whole."

That, according to Zach, is how he and his father Steve run the family operation. As second and third generation family members, they continue to bring a new and modern business perspectives to the operation.

Their search for the right material handler started more than a year ago. Although they have been loyal for some time to one hydraulic material handler company, they began to think that it could be time to change brands. Many of their existing machines did not meet criteria related to their business philosophy.

"It’s not that they were not good machines, but they required too much service and therefore, we were not meeting our productivity numbers," says Shulman. As well, they determined that they were looking for what they considered to be purpose-built machines. With the duty cycles that are built into the scrap business, they felt that they could no longer operate converted or modified excavators. They also felt that it was time to find a unit with a cab that offered their operators the environment they were looking for. Therefore, cab ergonomics and operator comfort was near the top of the wish list.

The other element they felt strongly about was the need for rubber-tired machines. This would give them the mobility and the productivity they needed. They wanted to move faster than a crawler will allow.It also meant that the machines could operate on the company’s asphalt with less damage.

According to the Shulmans, initially they looked at a number of different machines, many of which were capable of doing the job. But the one that impressed them the most was a Sennebogen 835M material handler (rubber tired model), which became their first purchase.

SHOW OF STRENGTH. The Shulmans say the 88,000-pound scrap handler "felt like it was more machine" than some of the other machines they tested. They also liked the stability of the machine while it handled loads and liked the fact that the lifting capacity was greater than they had previously experienced.

Additionally, with the new machine, they could lift the weights they were after without dragging around more weight. This meant that the fuel economy would improve. Furthermore, Zach and his team worked with the people at the machinery maker, and they enjoyed the experience. According to Shulman, "When Sennebogen promises, they deliver. It’s always great to do business with people like that."

The all-round visibility from the cab of the 835M, makes the machine highly productive and operator friendly, the Shulmans report.

According to Kevin Bakke, CEO of Genesis Equipment and Manufacturing Inc., Superior, Wis., "Traditionally, a shear of this size is mounted on a tracked machine. However, we are getting more requests all the time to mount a shear to a rubber tired machine. This combination provides better and faster machine positioning to work efficiently.