Self-sufficiency through training

“It’s difficult to find heavy equipment mechanics, generally,” says John Anderson, director of maintenance for ABC Recycling’s operations in British Columbia. “If we don’t have the people we need on our own payroll, we can end up waiting a long time for machine service. Having our own team of factory-trained technicians makes a huge difference.”

Anderson’s goal of self-sufficiency is one reason ABC, headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, has been growing its fleet of Sennebogen material handlers over the past 10 years. Logan Strohm of Great West Equipment, a Sennebogen dealer with locations in British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada, is sympathetic to his cause. “We have 11 service branches here in BC, but that still leaves our techs with a lot of territory to cover,” he admits. “That’s why we recommend that customers take advantage of the free factory training that Sennebogen offers.”

With eight recycling yards under the ABC Recycling flag in British Columbia and one in Alberta, the firm has been operating in the region since 1912. A service crew in Burnaby supports the company’s material scrap there and in nearby Surrey. The fleet includes 835 M and 830 M models, equipped with grapples and magnets.

“We’ve had very good success with these machines,” Anderson says. “The 835 seems to be the right machine for everything we do: whether feeding stationary shears and balers or loading trucks and rail cars.”

Anderson’s maintenance staff and operators have attended the Sennebogen Training Center in Stanley, North Carolina. The Training Center, part of Sennebogen LLC’s 100,000-square-foot head office complex, provides classroom instruction and hands-on training with a demonstration module and full-size machines in a three-story high indoor bay. The Level I course and the Level II advanced program for technicians are five-day programs offered free to dealers and their customers.

“It’s a very impressive facility,” Anderson says. “And while you’re there, you also get to see the extent of their parts inventory. As well as regular and routine service items, they also have a huge inventory of major components on hand, such as pumps, engines, cylinders, axles and even boom and stick assemblies. You can see the company has invested heavily in parts for North America.”

ABC’s technicians and operators take an active role in ABC’s purchase process for new equipment. Anderson says the company’s maintenance team appreciates how Sennebogen simplifies access to routine service points, with most service and diagnostic items accessible from ground level. Additionally, a autolubrication is standard equipment on SENNEBOGEN machines, which further simplifies maintenance tasks and extends the life of major components.

Anderson listens to his operators’ recommendations. “They are in the machine eight hours a day. We want to be sure they have a comfortable operating environment along with good functionality. They like the Sennebogen Maxcab for its visibility and its two-camera system. They tell us the seating is comfortable and the machine is easy to handle.”

The parts warehouse also attracted ABC to Sennebogen machines. Anderson the company uses commonly available parts wherever possible for power, hydraulics, electrical and other service requirements. This approach advances Anderson’s goal of self-sufficiency, he says, adding, “We can get all the parts we need from our dealer, of course, but we can also source parts locally. With their Cummins engines, we can find routine parts almost anywhere. Some parts might be a challenge for us to bring across the U.S. border, but our dealers (Great West in British Columbia and Strongco in Alberta) are able to help with expediting that too.”

In the long run, the simplicity and serviceability of these scrap handlers lead to a lower life cycle cost for ABC. “We do track all that detail here,” Anderson says. “Run time, fuel, maintenance labor and spare parts, all go towards our total cost of ownership analysis. Using standard components and Cummins service parts saves money for us. With our own crews and easy parts supply, the Sennebogen equipment needs little downtime for service and repairs, so that brings down our total operating cost.”