Material benefits

Photo courtesy of Sierra International Machinery

Hydraulic material handlers have not been as widely embraced by the waste industry as they have by the recycled metals industry. Haulers tend to stick with what they know—typically excavators or wheel loaders.

What operators might not realize, though, is that equipment makers have been customizing material handler designs with transfer station and recycling plant operators in mind, says Tom Hickson, director of material handler sales with Bakersfield, California-based Sierra International Machinery.

While excavators, wheel loaders and material handlers share many parts and components, excavators are primarily designed for construction applications that involve digging, so using them in a waste management environment requires machine adaptations. Wheel loaders make sense in applications such as loading shredded scrap metal, but not so much when it comes to the low-density material commonly found in the waste industry. Neither offers the agility and visibility of a material handler.

“They’re not the most efficient uses” of these machines, Hickson says.

That hesitancy to embrace the newest iterations of material handlers is driven by a few key misconceptions about the machines. Most operators don’t realize compact material handlers, ideal for navigating tight indoor spaces, are common, for instance, or that fully electric options are available.

Another misconception is that operating costs for a material handler will exceed those of an excavator or wheel loader. While the initial capital expenditure indeed could be higher, across the life span of the machine, operators often see an overall cost savings.

“It’s definitely a misconception,” says Colleen Miller, sales and national accounts manager for Sennebogen LLC, the North Carolina-based subsidiary of Germany-based Sennebogen GmbH. “Operators will say, ‘Well, it’s a material handler; it’s going to be big, so it’s ... going to be too expensive.’ It’s not the case that we’re too big anymore. Material handlers are available in the 30,000- to 40,000-pound range.”

For waste operators, the benefits to using a purpose-built material handler include speed and agility, increased visibility, precision loading, optimized hydraulic controls and cost savings.

Speed and agility

One of the biggest advantages to using material handlers in a waste industry setting is faster cycle times, Miller says. Sennebogen offers material handlers with reaches that range from 30 to 130 feet, and its 821E electric material handler is a compact model purpose-built for the recycling and waste markets.

Material handlers can offer increased performance even under tough operating conditions, Miller says, because of a well-thought-out design, high-performance engines, optimized hydraulics and modular design for individualized configuration.

Increased visibility

The next major advantage for material handlers stems from their unique design, which boasts a lifted cab that can be elevated when conditions call for it, providing operators with a bird’s-eye view of the operating environment.

“You can see what you’re doing and where to place materials,” Miller says.

According to a brochure from Concord, North Carolina-based SMH-Group— Atlas Material Handlers, adding to that excellent all-around visibility are glare-free interiors and narrow steering columns.

Manufacturers also cite increased safety thanks to the elevated cab, which minimizes the risk of injuring workers.

Precision loading

Photo courtesy of Sennebogen LLC

With a long arm that provides far more reach than an excavator or a wheel loader, material handlers can provide optimized handling and control of material. Material handers offer 30 to 40 feet of reach or more, Miller says, with a grapple that can easily separate out and grab undesirable material from a conveyor belt.

Loading conveyors is also far more efficient with material handlers than with a skid steer with a small bucket, Hickson says. In any scenario in which sorting is involved, material handlers offer the ability to pick up material using a grapple attachment and drop some in one location and some in another, he says.

“Efficiency and speed are always very important,” Hickson says. “[Material handlers] are the most efficient in many applications, especially when it comes to loading up trucks or compacting materials into trucks.”

Optimized hydraulic controls

Sennebogen material handlers are hydraulically controlled, a major advantage, Miller explains. Electronically controlled equipment that relies on sensors has the potential to fail in the dusty and dirty environment of a waste facility.

Hydraulic fluid systems allow the arm and handler of the machines to perform optimally, Dave Foster, vice president of marketing and communications at Shippensburg, Pennsylvania-based Volvo Construction Equipment, says. Most material handlers use dedicated attachments, such as grapples, so it’s crucial to provide a hydraulic system that can be set to match the specifications of any attachment the operator might want to use, he says.

Cost savings

Material handlers can provide substantial cost savings courtesy of a compact design and associated fuel efficiency, low maintenance costs and a long service life, according to SMH-Atlas.

Additionally, faster loading times in a transfer station, for instance, can translate into increased productivity for operators, which means higher profits.

Plus, Miller says many operators don’t realize grant funding is available to offset initial investment costs for electric material handlers. Some Sennebogen customers have taken advantage of grant funding to integrate electric equipment, including one company that received a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency that covered 65 percent of the cost of an electric material handler as well as the full cost to provide power to the site.

Hickson says he’s excited about the future of electric machines, which he calls a large growth area in the industry. Sierra’s E9.6 material handler is equipped with a battery-powered electric motor and, with zero emissions and reduced noise levels, it’s designed to work indoors in applications such as loading conveyors in a waste or recycling setting.

Electric material handlers are almost maintenance-free when compared with their diesel counterparts, Miller adds. While diesel machines sometimes have difficulty starting in extreme temperatures, electric material handlers start regardless of the working conditions, she says.

“Especially because these facilities are indoor facilities, electric is a huge advantage,” she says. “Running a diesel engine with all of those fumes inside a building, it’s not great to breathe in.”

Above all, Miller adds, material handlers offer a lot of flexibility in configuration, allowing operators to customize everything from attachments and mounts to elevating operator stations to handle the specific needs of their facility.

The author is managing editor of Waste Today and can be contacted at smann@gie.net.