Dependability: A Top Baling Priority

In the paper baling industry, reputation can make or break a deal.

Tom DeVivo of Willimantic Waste Paper took the reputation of the company into account almost as much the actual product he was considering purchasing, he says. “The company you deal with is as important as the machine itself,” the Willimantic, Conn.-based processor says. “Look for the people who build the machines who care about you, where you know they’ll be there if you need them.”

Willimantic chose the particular baler that it did (a Signature 150 from Excel Manufacturing, St. Charles, Minn.) because of the company’s good reputation for service and the history of the company. The number of service technicians that “came” with the baler also impressed DeVivo. “That’s a big plus in our mind,” he says of the Excel staffing level.

Mitch Covington, group sales VP of national accounts with Marathon Equipment Co., Vernon, Ala., agrees that reputation goes a long way. “The quality reputation of the manufacturer and its ability to stand behind the product is important,” he says. “It is such a large dollar purchase for most companies that they have it in their mind that it is OK to buy when the reputation and the manufacturer’s financial stability to stand behind a large ticket item are there.”

There are a number of factors to take into consideration when purchasing a baler, including reputation of the manufacturer, the efficiency of the machine and what type of baler will best serve the company. A baler is a significant, long-term investment for a company and a little research can go a long way when making a purchase.

ONE PRIMARY UNIT

The type of baler that a company purchases tends to depend on the needs of the particular company, but the trend seems to be that processors are looking for larger machines, says Scott Jable, midwest regional manager for Van Dyk Baler Corp., Chicago, Ill.  “What we’re finding across the board is that processors are going to larger and more dependable machines,” he says. “There is a very large paper recycler who has done some internal investigations and has found that the most efficient operation is a single, high speed baler that can process multiple materials.”

And part of the trend of going to one piece of equipment that can bale multiple materials is the efficiency and versatility of the unit, Jable says. “Again it is efficiency,” he says. “One set of parts, one baler that you know how to do the maintenance on and it takes up less space and less overall dollars. If you’re putting all of your eggs in one basket, you have to make sure it is a good, dependable machine.”

Roger Williams, sales application engineer for American Baler Co., Bellevue, Ohio, is also seeing companies veer toward machines that are capable of handling a variety of materials for better efficiency and production. “What we have seen right now is probably a tendency toward machines that will do a multitude of materials,” he remarks. “So companies are looking at larger machines so that they can get one machine to run several different grades of material instead of having [several baling lines] to reduce their equipment costs,” he says.

DeVivo, who purchased an Excel Signature two ram baler with an 11-inch cylinder, is very satisfied with the consistency of the product, he says. “There are single-ram balers out there, but we wanted a two-ram baler to bale every ram the same,” he says. “If you buy a single ram and have different products you have to load different ways. With a two ram, even if it’s not automatic, you end up with the same consistency.”

And even though materials may have different weights, the bale will be the same size for each bale made, he says. 

THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR

Baler operators have a number of issues to take into consideration when looking to purchase either a new or used piece of equipment, and at the top of that list for some operators is saving money through increased efficiency.

While makers of larger balers are finding a market among multiple-material processors, others are still finding the need for niche machines. “We see them buying specialized balers,” says Marathon’s Covington of his customers. “Most people buying a baler have a specific need for a specific product. They are looking to minimize labor, and if the volume of material they are generating justifies the cost [to purchase a machine], they want to totally minimize the amount of labor it takes to make a bale.”

“People are looking for machines that are fully automatic and operator free, and service friendly,” says  DeVivo. “They want something simple to repair and that has no operator.” Being able to operate a machine with a minimal number of operators can be money saved for the company.

Overall efficiency is one quality that most paper recyclers seem to demand when shopping for a baler. This can include a faster bale cycle time, a machine that takes fewer operators to run and that can reduce electrical costs. “It’s a big factor when they look at balers—they look at what it is going to save them in regards to labor costs,” notes Williams. “If they can warrant replacing one or two people, that will make the decision for them, or if they see they are going to have larger savings on utilities.”

Making larger investments can mean an increased payback in the end, says Jable, and some baler purchasers are starting to realize this. “I think people are buying larger machines, which is more of an investment, but they have come to realize that the payback is better because they are looking at automated machines that don’t need an operator and can provide computerized information about what they have baled,” he says.

“The important thing is that they are finding efficiency over the life of the baling system,” Jable continues, “and it seems that people are starting to look at balers as long-term investments. They want a machine they can count on for many years and that can be efficient for a long time,” he adds.

Other changes that can help increase efficiency include improved sorting systems. Reducing the amount of hand sorting can save the company money on labor costs. “Sorting takes a lot of labor and if they can find ways to automate the sorting it can help,” says Covington. “The recycler has to ask if the labor put into it is worth the cost.”

Improving upon sorting systems can increase profit for the processor. “In MRFs, if they are able to upgrade their sorting system it allows them to increase or improve the bale return cost as far as what they are able to sell the bales for,” says Williams. “I think what we have seen in the last two or three years is that the money spent on balers has been redirected to the sorting systems.”  

VIVA MEXICO

While secondary fiber markets are improving in the U.S., the paper recycling market in Latin America is also making some positive strides. “The paper prices have definitely increased and that has definitely improved baler sales in a place like Mexico,” says Eric Goettsch of Goettsch International Inc., Cincinnati. Goettsch International, an equipment manufacturer’s representative, is active in the export markets to Mexico and South America.

Yet, even though paper prices have risen in countries such as Brazil, the condition of the currency in that nation is still not conducive to baler sales, he says. “The future does look very good though, throughout Latin America, as long as paper processing rates continue to rise or stabilize where they are.”

And as in the U.S., paper processors in Latin America seem to be following the trend of a single piece of equipment as opposed to multiple piece operations. Another factor that has helped sales of baling equipment in that portion of the world is that many companies have older baling equipment or are adding recycling facilities where there had previously not been any, Goettsch says.

Improved sorting methods are also finding their way south. Typically, Mexican facilities had very labor-intensive sorting methods, perhaps with little sorting going on other than hand sorting. To achieve better quality, many companies are trying to improve sorting and to segregate materials to achieve a better quality product, he says.

LOOKING AHEAD

Williams suggests taking future growth into consideration when purchasing a baler because the cost of the equipment is such a high-end, long-term investment for the company.

“The one thing to consider when purchasing a baler or sorting system is always oversize it for growth—usually 20 to 25% more than what you see in your plan at that point in time,” Williams says. “If you get it sized for what you have right now then you are not going to have the ability to add on materials later. With the cost of machinery, it would be expensive to increase at a later time.”

While planning for the future of a business is important, with the increased consolidation in the recycling and waste industries, the circumstances at those companies merging or consolidating could change equipment needs at many facilities, Williams says. “It’s changing the needs of the companies,” he says. “Seemingly, they may not require new equipment because they have older, used equipment. But the used equipment may not meet their specific specifications in regards to their new operations. This is one reason why I think we are seeing more requests for new machinery.”

With paper prices continuing to rise and stabilize, improvement in the market could be seen in the near future. “We’re expecting an increase in our baler sales,” Marathon’s Covington says. “We are seeing a drastic increase in 1999, and expect 2000 to be a solid year.”

American Baler is seeing improvement in baler sales as well. “We have seen an increase in requests from recyclers and from the industrial side for balers and have seen an increase in purchases over the last three or four months,” Williams says. “We are expecting that to continue for at least the first half of the year 2000.” The author is the assistant editor of Recycling Today.