Sennebogen--Feeding the Appetite

As the owner of Upstate Shredding in Owego, N.Y., Adam Weitsman has one very, very hungry mouth to feed.

The monster is a 6,000-HP Newell 120/104 MegaShredder, which can consume 150 tons or more of auto scrap, served up three cars at a time—and it will go all day.

As market prices have risen recently, though, the machine’s profit potential has increased, too. Processing as much material through the shredder as possible has become more important than ever.

All this led Weitsman to bring five new SENNEBOGEN scrap handling machines into the business.

"We needed more lifting power and more mobility around the yard," he explains. "It was time to replace my older excavator-style machines. I saw an ad for SENNEBOGEN in the trade magazines, so I made some calls."

The material handlers at Upstate Shredding have to handle a lot of material every shift to keep the big shredder productive and profitable. The facility covers 17 acres under concrete, so Weitsman was looking for machines that cover the ground quickly.

The 835 M material handler from SENNEBOGEN fit the bill, and Weitsman bought his first unit sight unseen.

When he looked up the nearest SENNEBOGEN distributor—Marc Olgin, the owner of M&M Equipment in Buffalo, N.Y.—he found someone who understood his situation very well. "Marc was very convincing about the merits of the SENNEBOGEN equipment. Besides that, he came across as very trustworthy—a real stand-up guy. I didn’t see a demo first or anything; we just bought the first one, and that one sold me on the next four."

Weitsman says he can easily see the increased production coming from the shredder with the SENNEBOGEN machines feeding it. "They have excellent reach for loading the shredder, so the operator can reach farther into the piles without having to move the machine. The elevating cab makes it easier for the operator to get up and see into the load, especially when he’s grappling material out of the trailers. They get around the yard fast, and the rubber tires don’t tear up my concrete."

According to him, the green machines have scored well with the operators at Upstate Shredding, too. "After this, I don’t think I could get them into anything else."

What impresses Weitsman the most, though, is the service and the uptime he gets with SENNEBOGEN. "I think Marc’s the best equipment dealer I’ve ever worked with," he says.

"He’s prompt, delivery is fast, and the machines are low maintenance anyway. He’s got two of my mechanics in a training school in Buffalo right now, for no charge. We really appreciate that." He also admits that SENNEBOGEN’s "no computers" approach to equipment design is an important factor in the reliability of the 835 M series.

After all, with that big appetite to feed, there’s no time for downtime.