Classified Credentials

Shredding and baling have been standard procedure for nearly four decades at a company serving defense and aerospace industries.

 

In 1966, North American Rockwell Co. (NAR) quietly opened its doors in Anaheim, Calif., to begin work on projects that would ultimately help the United States reach the moon and win the Cold War. NAR would eventually merge with Boeing, the designer and developer of the B17, B29, B52, Minuteman Missile and Lunar Orbiter defense and aerospace systems for the U.S. government.

As the aerospace industry began to take off in Southern California, the need for the destruction of classified documents quickly became apparent. The work being done for the U.S. Department of Defense was highly secretive and dictated a thorough and verifiable method of destroying classified documents.

When ex-Marine John Newman joined Document Destruction Inc. (DDI) in the early 1960s, the solution of mobile paper shredding seemed obvious. DDI already had such a truck-mounted unit—though not fully operational. Newman volunteered to fix it.

With a functional mobile shredder, the DDI truck could drive to the customer’s location and destroy the classified material right on site in a thorough and verifiable manner.

The business of destroying classified documents started to soar.

PIONEERING THE CONCEPT

DDI’s self-designed and built mobile unit may well have been the first "hands-free" unit in the country. The on-board hammermill shredder could grind classified papers to 1/32 inch, which in the 1960s and ’70s was the standard for government classified document destruction.

Starting out, DDI shredded about 20,000 pounds of classified documents each week for Rockwell/Boeing.

In those days, document destruction was still a nascent industry and standards were yet to be adopted. "Many recyclers were being paid for shredding, but not all followed through and did it," Newman recalls.

"I decided to do it properly," he says. "Having a mobile unit in which the destruction process could be witnessed by a company representative was key for the customer’s peace of mind and for our growth and reputation."

By 1968, DDI began to shred non-classified documents for the aerospace industry, as well.

From Shreds to Bales

Baling equipment is made for one purpose—to compress aggregated material into a dense cube that can be more easily transported.

But beyond that unifying purpose, the ways balers can be designed and the materials they are asked to bale are nearly limitless. Baler purchasers may seek a unit that is best for cardboard, newspapers, aluminum beverage cans and plastic milk jugs or they may seek one that is best suited for an assortment of materials.

As document destruction has grown as an industry, requests from company owners and plant managers seeking a baler that is best suited for shredded paper have helped push baler companies toward considering these needs.

NexGen Baling Systems, Vernon, Ala., often recommends its PC-Series auto-tie balers, which the company says are "designed for a wide variety of applications, such as shredded or air conveyed recyclable materials weighing four pounds or less per cubic foot of infeed capacity."

Auto-tie baler models are also suggested by International Baler Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., whose models are equipped with dust control features and can be configured with an optional air system.

Balemaster, Crown Point, Ind., says its E-Series balers are "engineered to meet the performance and profitability demands of document destruction operations." The models include an encapsulated frame design and proper seals and gaskets on the baling chamber, access doors and the baler ram to provide primary dust control assistance.

Van Dyk Baler Corp., Stamford, Conn., offers a Bollegraaf HBC 60 baler with an air delivery system that runs directly from the output of the shredder to the input of the baler. The machine’s patented TurboPress "facilitates express delivery of light, shredded material into the bale chamber, allowing the speed of the baler to be maximized rather than compromised," according to company literature.

The Max-Pak Baler line was designed by recycling company Waste Processing Equipment Inc., Rainsville, Ala., with the intention of creating machines that "operate for a long period of time with very little maintenance necessary." The company’s horizontal balers come in a wide variety of sizes.

Baler companies designing and making models for document destruction firms have been reporting healthy sales as the industry has grown in the last several years.

American Baler Co., Bellevue, Ohio, reports that sales of its PAC Series balers have been brisk in 2004 and 2005, with some 11 models sold to nine different document destruction firms during the previous 10 months. – Brian Taylor

The need for an off-site operation, where documents could be hauled away to be shredded, was becoming apparent to Newman. Construction of a new facility in Gardena, Calif., would provide DDI with new headquarters and a place to perform in-house shredding of non-classified documents. The Gardena location was central to surrounding thoroughfares and to the firm’s aerospace customers.

Early on, Newman identified the opportunity to recycle shredded documents through baling and to avoid unnecessary landfill disposal.

The by-product of classified document shredding would be too small to properly bale. With non-classified document destruction, however, the paper was shredded into strips as large as one inch wide. These strips were ideal for compressing, baling and reselling as recyclable scrap paper.

To accomplish this, Newman purchased a large horizontal 10,000 Series baler from American Baler Co., Bellevue, Ohio, in 1968. The baler, which was considered state of the art for its day, featured automated operation and auto wire tying. This was the only baler that DDI used at its headquarters plant for the next 35 years.

Newman estimates that since that installation, DDI has baled and sold millions of tons of shredded paper.

Aaron Wheeler, operations manager for DDI says, "Most balers won’t last 20 years; our baler from American Baler lasted 36. Even after all that time, the last bale was as dense and as solid as the first."

DOWN TO EARTH EXPANSION

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As the size of the aerospace industry in Southern California began to decline by the mid-1980s, DDI diversified its business to include more non-classified shredding. By 1990, the company purchased a new Williams Hammermill paper grinder for shredding at the Gardena facility—a machine the company still uses today.

DDI was shredding about 20,000 pounds of paper per day at its headquarters facility. By 2000, in addition to classified and non-classified documents, the company was destroying computers, electronics, cosmetics and some types of hazardous materials.

Newman says DDI now uses outside contractors for destruction and collection of cosmetics and hazardous materials. Some non-classified orders are also contracted to third parties.

Additionally, Newman says his priorities have also shifted from his previous hands-on work as the company entrepreneur. He now spends more of his time as a consultant to larger accounts and in verifying proper destruction for classified document clients.

A SOLID FOUNDATION

Newman attributes his success to several factors. He is quick to point out that "establishing a good reputation by doing the job right was important from the start." In addition, he sought to establish a good rapport with everyone, talking to customers, drivers and operators every day. "They are the key to a successful business," Newman says of DDI’s employees and customers. If there were any complaints, he handled them all personally.

"Plus, I have had some very good employees over the years," Newman adds. "Aaron Wheeler, our operations manager, has been with DDI for 31 years. I could not have built the business without Aaron."

Newman’s and Wheeler’s sense of loyalty to their customers and to each other was mirrored in their recent decision to replace the aging 10,000 Series baler with a new PAC Series baler from American Baler Co. in the first quarter of 2005.

Newman says, "When Aaron and I started this business in the 1960s, we never would have thought that a piece of equipment would perform so consistently over the years.

"When someone or something works so hard for so long, you stick with it." He chuckles, "Aaron, me and this new baler will probably just keep plugging along for another 35 years." n

This story was submitted by Jim Edmondson of Pyramid Creative Group Inc. on behalf of American Baler Co.

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June 2005
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