American Baler - PAC Series Process Balers

J.R. Richter, special projects and safety officer for Cummings Printing, Hooksett, N.H., readily admits that he’s a tough customer.

"I do my homework," he says. "When I want information, I want it now."

When it came to shopping for a baler that would be the heart of Cummings’ trim recovery system, Richter talked to three baler manufacturers. "My job was to take all the information from these three vendors and pick it apart. That’s how I came up with American Baler," he says.

Working with Tade Mahoney of American Baler, Bellevue, Ohio, and Todd Hager of Atlantic Recycling Equipment LLC, an American Baler dealer based in Rochester, N.H., Richter selected a PAC 4029-730 baler, which was installed in June of 2006.

In the PAC baler, Richter found the durability and ease of use he was looking for. "It met those criteria hands down," he says. Richter adds that the baler’s reliable performance means Cummings has little downtime to contend with. "It does not break down."

Cummings uses air conveyors to transport trim from its two saddle stitchers and paper cutter to the baler, where electronic eyes in the hopper trigger the ram to engage.

The PAC Series features a large charge box and feed opening that keep pace with Cummings’ production, which includes 135 monthly publications. The company produces two tractor-trailer loads of printers’ mix bales per week that it ships directly to a paper mill.

Because Cummings’ baling area lacks storage, the baler includes a run-out table that can accommodate four bales, Richter says. Bales are immediately transported from the run-out table to the scale and then loaded into a trailer for shipping.

Prior to the installation of the PAC baler, Cummings collected its trim in Gaylord containers that it transported to a local recycler. Richter projected that Cummings would see a 10 percent increase in its paper recycling revenue as a result of the baler’s installation. In actuality, the company saw a four-fold increase in revenue, he says.

When it comes to recommending American Baler, Richter says, "I have already and I will in the future."