Sticking with what works: E.L. Harvey & Sons and Harris balers

When Westborough, Massachusetts-based E.L. Harvey & Sons Inc. installed a new Harris HRB 1545W baler in early 2020, it opened yet another chapter in what has been a more than four-decades-long relationship between the waste and recycling firm and the equipment maker.

“Our first two-ram baler was a Harris HRB 3 we bought in 1976,” comments Steven Harvey, the company’s senior vice president. “We bought our second two-ram HRB 10 around 1988,” he adds, also noting that the two-location family business now has eight balers overall in its corporate fleet. “We are not new to the world of balers or to Harris HRBs.”

The newest addition, the HRB 1545W installed in February 2020, is assigned with the specific task of baling commercial and residential municipal solid waste (MSW), as well as “the residuals that come off our C&D process and our single-stream process,” says Steven. These materials are then wrapped or “bagged” for later disposal.

While initially this may sound like a narrow application, Steven says the HRB 1545W is fed “bulk items such as mattresses, couches, sleep sofas and rugs.” This means the two-ram baler has to be both versatile and sturdy.

After performing due diligence to select a new baler for the MSW bagging application, Steven says, “The choice was fairly simple because we have had great success with Harris over the years and their balers are built to last.”

The performance of the two-ram Harris model has confirmed E.L. Harvey & Sons made the correct choice. “We like the feature of a two-ram because every stroke made by the main ram is against a dead wall, which provides the best compaction,” Steven says of the configuration. “Also, the bale sizes are very consistent, which is necessary to fit into a bag. That also makes loading and storage simpler.”

Steven credits Harris for not only providing reliable balers but also supporting them in the field in terms of installation, training and any follow-up needed.

When a technical question arose during the installation, he says Harris “had two senior technicians here the next day from Cordele, Georgia” who helped provide training to the E.L. Harvey workforce.

Amidst the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, Steven says the installation of the Harris HRB 1545W has been a welcome positive factor in 2020. “It has performed as well if not better than expectations, both in volume and bag weights. The more weight you get into a bag, the fewer bags you use and the cost per ton goes down.”

More information on the globally popular reliable HRB series of two-ram balers can be found at https://harrisequip.com/products/two-ram-balers/hrb/.