Tom Bishop, with the scrap metal recycling facility Berry Iron & Metal, was considering a demolition project at an abandoned 14-acre rail yard. However, his interest changed so that instead of demolishing the rail yard, the company opted to convert the site into an indoor scrap yard.
"While I was walking through the grounds and buildings with the demolition contractor, I was picturing in my minds-eye how the site was an indoor scrap yard already in place and I got interested in buying it," recalls Bishop. "We took possession of the property in 2007 and set about converting it to our application. In 2008 we opened our doors to the public as Recycle West Virginia - a state-of-the art indoor recycling and metal-shredding operation that takes all kinds of scrap, including junk cars, copper, aluminum cans, radiators, brass, batteries and white goods."
To feed the facility's new mega-shredder and move materials in and around the yard, Bishop acquired two Sennebogen material handlers - an 830 M D Series and 840 M - from Adam Sanders at Power Equipment Company in Kingsport, Tenn.
Bishop already had significant amount of experience working with Sennebogen products. In 2003 Bishop had purchased a Sennebogen 835 M C Series fitted with a quick-attach for a magnet and 1 ¼ yd scrap grapple for use at his Chilhowie, Va., scrap metal yard. He added two additional machines for the yard - an 825 M in 2006 and an 835 M in 2008.
At the company’s new Recycle West Virginia facility, Bishop acquired two rubber-tired Sennebogen machines last year - an 830 M and an 840 M. Fitted with a 2 yard grapple, the 840 M is dedicated to feeding the yard's Harris 98115 Shredder fitted with a 4500 HP motor. Housed in a 56,000 square foot building - the site's largest building - the scrap handler/shredder application is unique, according to Bishop.
"Having the shredder indoors is a little bit out-of-the-ordinary, but it's worked out really well for us" says Bishop. The Harris Shredder is capable of operating at up to 180 tons per hour. While the Sennebogen machines don't actually operate inside, their versatility and ability to zip around the yard wherever we need them, especially the 830 M, is very important to us."
Fitted with a mag-grapple, the 830 M is used for general yard duty, unloading trailers and staging material for the 840 M to feed into the shredder. Both of Recycle West Virginia's Sennebogen machines are in operation 5 days a week 8 hours a day. Bishop went with rubber-tired machines for the mobility and speed he required on the Princeton facility's concrete base. He has high praise for the visibility afforded by the elevating cabs on his Sennebogen machines and says that being able to see into the end of the trailers is a great benefit in terms of efficiency and safety. He especially likes the sliding door feature on the new 830 M D Series machine.
"The folks at Power Equipment have been super and have met our support and service needs in a timely manner," says Bishop. "Any parts we have required have always arrived the very next day, maximizing our uptime."
"We are proud of the role that Sennebogen machines have played in this unique application. We wish Tom continued success with his operations," says Constantino Lannes, president of Sennebogen LLC. "We also congratulate Power Equipment for developing the kind of business partnership with Mr. Bishop that has resulted in his trust in Sennebogen products and distributor after-purchase service and support. This is typical of our dealer network. We hear this story coast-to-coast."