True baler redundancy

The Rosemont, Illinois-based company’s newest material recovery facility (MRF), known as the Exchange, began operating in May 2023 and features a pair of identical two-ram balers from Harris, part of the Recycling & Waste Equipment Division of Upland, Indiana-based Avis Industrial Corp. 

The two 1388-200 model balers employed by the Exchange were recommended by Harris because of the inbound material stream of old corrugated containers (OCC), plastics and metals, according to LRS Director of MRF Operations Mark Molitor.  

“We had single-stream material with commercial OCC coming in … so that’s when they recommended these two two-ram [balers],” he says. “These have the precompression lid, so it makes baling quicker and easier, especially when it comes to the larger cardboard.” 

Molitor says a single-ram baler would not fit in the Exchange and that the two-ram balers had been part of the design process early on. In fact, the company designed the facility with the idea of having two machines. 

“This [install] was unique in that we were able to slide the balers in and build the remainder of the system around it,” Molitor says. “When we were designing the system, we knew at that time which balers we would have in place, and that allowed us to ensure we had full access around the baler, so none of the processing equipment got in the way.” 

Harris President D.J. VanDeusen says the equipment company had been included in early design conversations with LRS. 

“Ultimately, the baler redundancy was something that LRS wanted to have, and that was a key element of the entire plant and sort systems designed by CP Group,” he says. 

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MRFs often will employ one single-ram baler and one two-ram baler to process outbound material. The single-ram is typically reserved for fiber, including OCC, while the two-ram is a multipurpose baler that can process fiber, plastic and nonferrous metal, such as aluminum cans.  

VanDeusen says it generally is uncommon for facilities to invest in two identical balers. 

“I have not seen it very often, as most facilities will employ a large two-ram baler accompanied by a smaller horizontal single-ram baler for specific grades or for overflow processing,” he says. “LRS having two 1388 two-ram balers in service is just one of the reasons the Exchange facility is such an impressive one.” 

VanDeusen says a facility aiming for complete baler redundancy would need to install two two-ram balers because of the limited material processing capacity of a single-ram baler, but this can be expensive and is a less common practice for an independent, smaller recycler. 

“Typically, the folks that put the same baler in are ones that are multisite businesses,” he explains. “An integrated recycler, … where they’ve got multiple locations, [has] pretty substantial growth plans in terms of how they are going to bring more material in. They are trying to create … the most capacity [and] flexibility for that facility.” 

The Exchange MRF processes 25 tons of material per hour, 10 more tons per hour than LRS’ Heartland Recycling Center in Forest View, Illinois, and is the only LRS facility to have installed identical two-ram balers. 

The benefits of this level of baler redundancy include reduced parts inventory and reduced wear. Molitor says because both balers can process metal, the material can be alternated between the two machines, reducing internal wear.  

“You don’t have to send your metals into the one baler, which would increase the wear on the plates inside,” he says. 

VanDeusen highlights streamlined maintenance, too, with service teams only having to learn to maintain, diagnose and troubleshoot for one type of machine.  

He also notes that two balers with the capacity and flexibility to bale all types of inbound material will guarantee efficient results. If one machine goes down, the other can continue to process all material streams and “carry the load” of the facility, providing the consistency a high-volume facility needs. 

“One baler can process OCC, while the other baler processes PET [polyethylene terephthalate] or other grades,” VanDeusen explains. “If you are overrun with OCC on your floor, then you can have both balers process the OCC. 

“If one goes down for maintenance, there's no slowdown in the operation at all.” 

Harris’ 1388-200 two-ram baler features a 13-inch main cylinder, a 9-inch eject cylinder and a 200-horsepower power unit. The precompression lid provides additional compression to the top of the bale and puts less stress on the rest of the equipment, VanDeusen says. 

The baler’s combo doors can be opened an additional 7 inches to allow an oversized bale to be ejected, and the knife system allows an operator to adjust the distance between the fixed knife and the main ram blade. VanDeusen says the reversible blade at the bottom of the main ram minimizes the likelihood of jamming from the accumulation of material under the main ram. 

The 1388-200 can yield 25 tons per hour of OCC, 36 tons per hour of old newspapers, 16 tons per hour of used beverage cans and 14 tons per hour of PET.