Equipment report

LoadMan teams with Soft-Pak on weighing system

Creative Microsystems Inc., Waitsfield, Vermont, the developer of the LoadMan weighing system, and Soft-Pak, a software solution provider for the waste and recycling industry based in San Diego, have announced a technology partnership and integration. The partnership is designed to provide their mutual customers with a comprehensive solution delivering accurate, real-time customer, load and route data to the driver and back-office instantly.

“We’re very pleased to partner with Soft-Pak to deliver an integrated solution to our joint customers,” says Larry Santi, president of Creative Microsystems. “Having accurate and reliable data is critical to the success of haulers in managing their businesses, and the combination of LoadMan scales with the Soft-Pak on-board computer (OBC) and fleet management software is a powerful solution.”

LoadMan’s on-board truck scales designed for simple installation on the full range of refuse trucks and work seamlessly with Soft-Pak’s Mobile-Pak OBC. Patented weigh-in-motion technology from LoadMan weighs each load and net vehicle weight with a date and time stamp. Mobile-Pak receives the information and makes it available to Soft-Pak users.

“We rely on the LoadMan/Soft-Pak system to accurately and reliably weigh loads and provide the data our customers require to measure waste diversion,” says Michael Allgeier, director of information technology at Creedmoor, Texas-based Texas Disposal Systems. “From an IT perspective, LoadMan and Soft-Pak work together seamlessly, the installation is simple and maintenance is low.”

Demolition industry veteran finds niche market with electric skid steers

Triple E Equipment, based in Pompano Beach, Florida, was founded in 2013 by Alex Berg as a forward-thinking construction and demolition equipment company. Alex has deep roots in the demolition industry, noting his grandfather Buzz was the first paying member of the National Association of Demolition Contractors (now the Washington-based National Demolition Association). Alex’s father and uncle both operate demolition companies today.

While attending Bauma, an international trade fair for the construction industry, Alex says he and his father Richard Berg were looking for equipment that would help save on labor costs on a renovation project at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport.

They came across a machine that they thought would do the job. The pair worked with a Netherlands-based manufacturer to design a machine suitable for the construction and demolition industries in the U.S. Alex says, “We started bringing them to the U.S. early last year. It has gone really well.”

The Sherpa 100ECO is one of the only fully electric mini skid steers on the market. According to Alex, it is capable of accessing areas of buildings that were previously inaccessible by equipment powered by fossil fuels.

“Working inside active hospitals and schools or occupied office buildings and apartment buildings is no longer an issue with the Sherpa 100ECO,” the company states.

The company adds that the electric motor emits no fumes and has a running time of eight hours on a full charge. “At the end of your working day, just plug the machine into your standard 110-volt or 220-volt outlet and get ready for a productive day tomorrow,” the company says.

Benefits of the Sherpa 100ECO, according to the company, include:

• unobstructed access to occupied buildings because of no exhaust fumes;
• 30.7-inch width is designed to allow travel through doorways with the door still on the hinges; and
• hydraulic capabilities allow for numerous possibilities of attachments.

More information is available at www.eeeequipment.com.

Meese Orbitron Dunne changes name to MODRoto

Recycling product manufacturer Meese Orbitron Dunne Co. (MOD), based in Ashtabula, Ohio, has announced it has changed its name to MODRoto.

According to the company, building on more than 80 years of experience as Meese and nearly 40 years as MOD, the new name brings the company’s expertise in plastics rotational molding to the forefront while staying true to the MOD heritage companies, Meese Inc., Orbitron Industries and Dunne Plastics. The MODRoto name consolidates several company names and brands to present the company, its products and capabilities uniformly and consistently to a variety of markets, the company says.

“Most recycling professionals know us as either Meese or Poly-TruxR and that they stand for quality and durability,” says Bob Dunne, president of MODRoto. “But not everyone knows our ability to keep coming up with new recycle carts and containers comes from our decades of experience in product design as a custom plastics rotomolder. At heart, we’re really a design and manufacturing team that likes to solve problems with plastics.”

Caterpillar introduces fourth model in line of material handlers

Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar has introduced its Cat MH3027, which is the fourth and smallest member of the new wheeled material handler line that the company has launched in the greater-than-25-ton size class. The Cat MH3027 has an operating weight of 62,832 pounds and is powered by a Cat C7.1 ACERT engine that meets U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 4 Final/EU Stage IV emissions standards. With a swing radius 8.3 inches less than the Cat MH3037, the company says the Cat MH3027 delivers a strong performance in a smaller package.

The new Cat material handlers are purpose-built to work productively and reliably in solid waste and scrap recycling applications, the company says. The MH3027 is available in configurations for waste handling, featuring a straight stick, and for scrap handling, featuring a drop nose stick. A debris-resistant cooling package with a hydraulic, variable speed, auto reversing fan and plug-resistant coolers is designed to equip the machine for challenging conditions, according to Caterpillar.

The Cat cab avoidance system, using sensors on the front linkage, is standard equipment designed to help ensure that the work tool will not contact the cab.

New with the MH3027 model is the option to select from two hydraulic cab riser options: the cab-to-platform configuration or the patented “ground level entry and exit,” with a step-in cab that lowers to the front or the side of the machine to enhance convenience and safety for operators and service personnel, Caterpillar explains. The hydraulic cab riser escalates the operator up to 18 feet for optimal job-site visibility, according to the company. Additionally, the cab features joystick steering control, which eliminates the steering wheel.

More information about Cat material handlers is available at www.cat.com/MH3000.

Builtrite Handlers line under new ownership

The Chicago-based private equity firm TJM Capital Partners has announced the acquisition of Builtrite Handlers from Northshore Manufacturing, Two Harbors, Minnesota.

According to a news release from Builtrite and TJM, the business will now operate under the name Builtrite Manufacturing and “will continue to design and manufacture the brand’s market-leading material handler and attachment products.” Administrative and manufacturing operations will remain in a Two Harbors-based facility leased from Northshore.

Builtrite Manufacturing’s management team includes Tom Cavallin, who recently assumed the role of president and CEO, and Uwe Kausch, who has been appointed senior vice president of sales and marketing. Bill Van Sant will serve as executive chairman of the company’s board of directors. Northshore founder John Anderson will be retained as a consultant to Builtrite Manufacturing.

“TJM Capital Partners and its investors are particularly pleased to have the opportunity to acquire Northshore’s Builtrite Handlers business,” says Van Sant. “One of the many benefits that will result from this change in Builtrite’s ownership is the availability of growth capital to support the company’s plan to grow and build value for all stakeholders, and most importantly, its base of loyal customers,” he adds.

Peterson recognizes 2014 Dealer of the Year

Peterson Pacific, a Eugene, Oregon-based manufacturer of horizontal grinders, drum and disc chippers, blower truck and screens, has announced Barry Equipment Co. of Webster, Massachusetts, as its 2014 Dealer of the Year. This is the third time in three years that Barry Equipment has won the award.

“Barry Equipment Co. has achieved this award three times in a row due to their assembly of a world-class sales and product support team,” says Brian Gray, Peterson’s Eastern sales manager. “Their support after the sale is unsurpassed within our industry and Barry’s dedication, focus and vision to the Peterson product line, and the markets we serve, make them a tremendous partner and raises the bar for dealer performance.”

He adds, “Peterson is honored to have Barry Equipment Co. as a dealer and proud to present the Dealer of the Year award again to recognize their superb performance in 2014.”

Charlie Bagnall, Peterson’s northeastern sales representative, adds, “Barry Equipment winning the 2014 Peterson Dealer of the Year award for the third year in a row underlines the unparalleled service they provide. The customers in the New England and New York region expect the highest standards from their Peterson dealer and Barry Equipment delivers that every time. We are proud to be their partner and look forward to many years of success in the future.”

Barry Equipment was established in 1985 and is a family-owned and operated equipment dealership located on Interstate 395 in Webster servicing New England and New York state.

Moros, Kinshofer announce distribution alliance

Moros Industrias Hidráulicas s.a., a Spanish manufacturer of shears and balers for the scrap recycling market, has entered into a North American distribution agreement with Kinshofer USA, based in Sanborn, New York.

The two companies made the announcement during the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) Convention & Exhibition in Vancouver, British Columbia, in April 2015.

Kinshofer, a maker of mobile shears, processors and other attachments for the scrap and demolition industries, now will be the distributor for Moros company products in the U.S. and Canada.

Since the 1980s, Moros has sold several machines in North America, including the H-P-1400 model with angular side adjustable precompression box, and the GC-S-800, a high-density vertical compression and cutting system designed to process 60 metric tons of material per hour.

Moros has been in business for 60 years, offering a wide range of stationary and mobile shears and balers. The company says its success has been customer driven either by matching the proper standard unit to an application or by custom building products to meet the needs of its customers.

The North American distribution agreement marks the next step in an ongoing relationship between the two companies. “Kinshofer and Moros already collaborate in Brazil, Spain and other countries, and working together in the USA and Canada will only strengthen our relationship,” says Francois Martin, general manager of Kinshofer North America.