Gaeta Recycling: Driving efficiency and sustainability with SENNEBOGEN material handlers

Gaeta Recycling, a family-owned business in Paterson, New Jersey, has been a cornerstone of the community since 1935. Led by fifth-generation owner and President Michael Portannese, the company specializes in solid waste and recycling. It manages 30 municipal contracts and handles up to 720 tons of material daily at its transfer station.

At the heart of the Gaeta operation is a commitment to community and efficiency supported by SENNEBOGEN material handlers.

The evolution of Gaeta Recycling

Gaeta Recycling continuously has evolved to meet its community’s growing demands. The firm operates a public and private transfer station that handles a mix of construction and demolition debris, municipal solid waste (MSW) and recyclables. Every Monday through Saturday, roughly 100 trucks dump material at the facility.

Once there, the material is sorted, packaged and shipped out. Its fleet of SENNEBOGEN material handlers has allowed Gaeta Recycling to efficiently manage its operations.

“We’ve had seven SENNEBOGENs over the years, starting with an 818 and working up to the 825. At one point, we had six operating simultaneously. Currently, we use five—three 821s and two 825s purpose-built for the facility—with one more on the way,” says Portannese.

In 2021, Gaeta Recycling made a game-changing investment in rail infrastructure and added a Harris 1545 MSW baler. This upgrade enabled the company to bale MSW into leak-proof bags. The bales are then transferred to an intermodal container yard, loaded onto rail cars using SENNEBOGEN 825s and shipped to Ohio.

“The investment in baler and rail infrastructure has drastically reduced our carbon footprint, saved fuel and minimized liability while removing a significant number of trucks from the road,” adds Portannese.

Why SENNEBOGEN?

For Gaeta Recycling, the choice to rely on SENNEBOGEN material handlers was simple for two reasons: reliability and performance. “We’ve used almost every manufacturer of material handlers in the past, and nothing has compared to the reliability we’ve experienced with SENNEBOGEN,” says Portannese.

“I find myself operating the machines once or twice a week just because I enjoy it,” he continues. “They’re easy to use and make the process of loading materials incredibly efficient. We have very little downtime. Thanks to our service schedule, there are no major breakdowns or issues. They go to work in the morning and shut off at 6 p.m. with no issues. If something does go wrong, SENNEBOGEN’s same-day service has us back up and running in no time.

“We went from one SENNEBOGEN to a fleet of six because we realized how beneficial they are to our operation,” Portannese continues. “They’ve allowed us to grow both our transfer station and rail facility. To be honest, we don’t see any other equipment that we’d like to operate.”

Gaeta Recycling’s operators are enthusiastic about SENNEBOGEN machines. “Our operators love them,” says Portannese. “They know the machine they left the night before is going to start the next day and they’ll be able to work their full shift. With other brands, we had machines down regularly.”

A standout feature that Portannese praises is the hydraulic lifting Maxcab. “It’s a huge safety improvement from other equipment. Instead of climbing up a ladder to achieve the overall height to see the material, operators get in at a very manageable height, and the cab raises hydraulically.”

UPtime kits set SENNEBOGEN apart

According to Portannese, SENNEBOGEN’s UPtime kits have made maintenance a breeze. “From time to time, you’ll blow a hose or need a fitting. The UPtime kits contain all the necessary parts, taking the guesswork out of maintenance so you can continue to run.

“We’ve had other material handlers, and we’d be down for days because we couldn’t get a part. SENNEBOGEN always ensures we’re fully stocked. That’s something that separates them from the competition.”

Unmatched reliability

Summing up his experience with SENNEBOGEN, Portannese says, “We’ve used SENNEBOGEN machines in all kinds of scenarios—from our hot, dusty transfer station to our outdoor rail facility in the elements—and they’ve never failed us. Whether it’s hot or cold, they start up and go to work every day.”

For Gaeta Recycling, SENNEBOGEN is a key element in its commitment to sustainability, reliability and efficiency. “You have to be able to depend on your equipment. We have multiple contracts which stipulate that we must service them every day. If a machine breaks down, we feel that, which is why we have so many SENNEBOGENs—because they have not failed us. There’s no other equipment out there we trust as much as SENNEBOGEN.”