Omnisource Expands Purpose Built Scrap Handler Fleet Into Southeast Region
Specially developed to fit OmniSource specifications for its Midwest shredder operations, the SENNEBOGEN 840 M “D” is now getting a closer look on the job at its facility in Spartanburg, SC.
Spartanburg, SC – With four recycling yards and a transportation fleet to operate for the Southeast region of OmniSource Corp., making sound equipment decisions is a big part of the job for Regional Manager Mike Winkler. Luckily, when the scrap handler at his shredding facility in Spartanburg, SC came due for an upgrade, he had no trouble getting advice he could trust.
Just a phone call away, Winkler found Scott Gibble, the northern Indiana Division Manager in OmniSource’s Midwest region. Just last year, Gibble took delivery of a new 840 M green machine, a new model that SENNEBOGEN developed specifically to suit his requirements. Since then, SENNEBOGEN has delivered several 840 M scrap handlers to OmniSource sites in the Midwest.
The 840 M was highly recommended by Gibble, and it also had the endorsement of the company’s Vice President of Ferrous Operations, Bob Brewer. Brewer has worked closely with SENNEBOGEN factory representatives as well as his distributor as the specifications for the 840 M were developed. But Winkler’s choice was not an automatic one.
“We do like to standardize when we can,” Winkler says. “Scott told me this was a reliable, efficient machine. Our own purchase decision for Spartanburg, though, was simply based on the operating cost that the machine demonstrated at the Midwest plants.”
“Impressive” parts support
Winkler conducted his own due-diligence before placing his order with ASC Construction Equipment, the SENNEBOGEN dealer based in Charlotte, NC. He was already familiar with the staff at ASC, who also supply the Volvo loaders utilized at his sites. Winkler was impressed with the low fuel costs and maintenance costs reported by the Midwest facilities. Then he paid a personal visit to the head office of SENNEBOGEN LLC, now conveniently located in a brand new facility the company built just outside of Charlotte in Stanley, NC.
“We have our own mechanics to service the equipment,” Winkler explains, “but parts availability was big time for us. And this parts facility just blew us away.” The visit also gave Winkler a chance to get personal with the 123,000 lb. machine. “We all got a chance to get in it and run it while we there. It was very impressive.”
Opened in October 2009, the new 54,000 sq. ft. SENNEBOGEN facility combines sales and administrative offices, warehousing for a comprehensive parts inventory and a dedicated training section with multimedia-equipped classrooms and a cavernous indoor bay that allows visitors to view the equipment from above and below.
Evaluation in progress
The Spartanburg yard now has its first SENNEBOGEN on site. Winkler is continuing to collect data and assess his new acquisition as he puts the 840 M through its paces in varied loading operations. To begin, he assigned the machine to feed his Metso 98104 shredder. “It’s in a stationary application while it feeds the shredder, but I’m rotating operators through it to get different opinions on how it handles,” he reports. “The feedback so far has been all positive. After a couple of weeks, we will try it out loading trucks.”
The rubber-tired 840 M provides excellent mobility on the paved Spartanburg yard. With SENNEBOGEN’s hydraulic elevating cab, Winkler notes, the visibility it allows has earned accolades from its operators. The loading height to the shredder’s conveyor is about 14 feet, while the cab can raise the operator to a seated eye level of 19 feet, providing a clear view of the target and the surrounding area. “We expect this machine will be a lot easier to move around than others we have had,” Winkler says. “The rubber tires will run faster on the concrete, and cause less damage.”
The shredder facility receives material from other feeder sites the OmniSource operates in the region. To keep the heavy-duty shredder operating at capacity, the 840 M is fitted with a 2-yard scrap grapple. Winkler anticipates that he will add a smaller grapple to his attachment inventory for loading trucks, as well as a clean-up magnet to sweep the yard.
Dealer goes “the extra mile”
According to Scott Gibble, the 840 M evolved through very specific requirements OmniSource set down to match the processing equipment in use at its various facilities. “What initially attracted us to SENNEBOGEN was that we had a special need for a rubber tired material handler of a particular size,” says Gibble. “When we were spec’ing machines, the 840 M series wasn’t even in the SENNEBOGEN product line yet. We tried the 835 M and it was too small for our needs; we tried the 850 M and it was too big.”
OmniSource also had clear ideas on the kind of performance their business required: a machine that would be a little quicker and more mobile than existing units that could handle attachments in a specified size range. That’s when Tim Kreider of Brandeis Machinery & Supply, the SENNEBOGEN dealer in Indiana and Kentucky, went the extra mile to get the OmniSource business. “The dialogue between our company and SENNEBOGEN was largely driven by Tim,” says Gibble. “Brandeis deserves a lot of credit for listening to what we needed for our application and then bringing the manufacturer and product to us.”
Constantino Lannes, President of SENNEBOGEN LLC, became personally involved with his customer at that point. “The new machine was specially created to serve the increased demands of high performance operations like OmniSource,” he says. “Our engineers took the best features of the 835 M and 850 M models and created the new 840 M – its specifications and performance is a direct response to customer requirements.”
Custom-built for speed, reach, capacity
“It has proven to be a very good performer,” says Bob Brewer. “It’s a fast machine with ample reach and great cycle times that can drive the attachments in our application. It’s a very stable machine with a low center of gravity and a wide stance – the perfect fit for our special needs.”
OmniSource facilities in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio are already standardizing on the SENNEBOGEN 840 M, and now Mike Winkler is leading the Southeast Region to the machines custom-built to their applications.
With their SENNEBOGEN fleet expanding, Brewer notes again that the after-purchase service support always figures prominently in OmniSource management’s equipment decisions. As he says “It doesn’t help our uptime or bottom-line if we have to wait for someone to drive three or four hours to service our equipment. Good distributor support in the states where the machines are going is a major factor in going with the SENNEBOGEN product line. Since we acquired our 840 M units, our distributors – Brandeis in Indiana, Gibson Machinery in Ohio, ASC in South Carolina – have done a great job supporting us in a timely manner.”
About SENNEBOGEN
SENNEBOGEN has been a leading name in the global material handling industry for over 65 years. Based in Stanley, North Carolina, within the greater Charlotte region, SENNEBOGEN LLC offers a complete range of purpose-built machines to suit virtually any material handling application. Established in America in the year 2000, SENNEBOGEN LLC has quickly become a leading provider of specialized equipment solutions for recycling and scrap metal yards, demolition, barge and port operations, log-handling, transfer stations, waste facilities and the tree care industry from coast to coast. A growing network of distributors supports SENNEBOGEN LLC sales and service across the Americas, ensuring the highest standard of professional machine support and parts availability.
For more information on the full line of SENNEBOGEN green line material handlers, contact:
SENNEBOGEN LLC
1957 Sennebogen Trail
Stanley, NC 28164
Tel: (704) 347-4910 or fax (704) 347-8894
E-mail: sales@sennebogenllc.com