Results and reputation

Ener-Con Inc. stakes its claim as the largest wood recycling company in Wisconsin, producing high-quality mulch for large landscape companies and garden centers. The company also supplies a full range of landscaping products, including decorative stone, aggregate stone and topsoil.

Ener-Con has a reputation for innovation. It was one of the first companies in the United States to purchase a mulch coloring machine, which helped the company provide new options for a growing customer base.

Ener-Con, headquartered in Hartford, Wisconsin, strives to keep pace with customer demand by investing in horizontal and tub grinders that can efficiently process upward of 800 to 1,000 yards per hour. Even at this pace of production, strong seasonal demands can result in long hours for the grinding crews. Most of the company’s products are sold in a three-month window, so they must be available when customers need them.

“Labor is always a big challenge,” says Jeff Justman, co-owner of Ener-Con.

By increasing throughput, a grinder enables the crew to work fewer hours and still meet production goals, thus maximizing Ener-Con’s most important asset: its employees.

A giant emerges

Prior to forming Ener-Con, founder Ken Goeman and two of his sons built bottom boards and pallets to hold hot metal casings. The family received its lumber from logging mills and noticed the mills stored giant piles of chipped bark created from debarking logs. Ken and his sons recognized the opportunity to recycle this waste into a usable product, and Ener-Con was formed. The company soon grew to become one of Southeast Wisconsin’s leading landscape suppliers.

Today, Ener-Con offers custom grinding services that transform bark, pallets, stumps and other wood materials into new products. Producing the volume of end products needed to meet ever-growing demand requires employing a reliable high-production tub grinder.

Ener-Con always is exploring ways to maximize production with its current workforce. To increase product throughput, the company purchased a Vermeer TG9000 tub grinder, which was engineered for large wood processing applications and features an 11-foot tub opening.

“They brought the machine in … for a demonstration—a different TG9000—and we were so impressed with its production and the way it was built,” Justman says. “We were so happy with the simplicity of the machine and production of the machine that we decided to order one.”

This tub grinder has proven reliable while helping boost production rates compared with the company’s previous grinders, he adds.

“The TG9000 is very consistent, very reliable and very high production. We have been upward of 1,400 cubic yards per hour of finished product through that machine,” Justman says. “It gives us an advantage over our competition. It can almost do the work of two machines. If we didn’t have the TG9000 on our site, we would have to rely on two more workdays per week, which we don’t have in the busy season.”

Machine productivity saves work hours

Retaining employees is critical in a tight labor market. The speed of the Vermeer TG9000 tub grinder helps a key employee fulfill production requirements in less time. As a result, he gets more time with his family.

“It is faster than anything I ever ran. I can barely keep up with it,” says Kyle Wolf, manager at Ener-Con. “Working with other machines, the day just dragged on. I had to work 14 or 15 hours a day. Now I get out of here in nine hours, and I have twice as much done. The Vermeer TG9000 tub grinder gives me a lot more time at home.”

Justman adds that the machine’s simplicity has helped reduce maintenance and downtime.

Selecting the appropriate screen configuration for a grinder is a vital step in achieving the desired end product while helping maximize production. The crew saves time with this task, too.

“Sometimes during the day, I have to go to a different product or make a finer product. Sometimes it’s two or three times a day. I have to change the screens and can get it done in 15 minutes. It’s given me a lot more time to get more stuff done,” Wolf says.

Grinding inconsistent source material

Paper mills and sawmills provide Ener-Con with a steady source of material. However, every supplier has a different procedure for removing bark, which produces inconsistent source material that varies widely in size. This can create challenges when attempting to achieve a consistently sized end product.

The TG9000 tub grinder processes this material and produces a consistent end product for Ener-Con.

“The consistency of the product is great,” Justman says. “We don’t worry about going back and looking for spears or inconsistency in our product. Everything comes out perfect the first pass through the grinder.”

Ultimately, minimizing the need for second passes during the grinding process helps save Ener-Con time and labor.

The scale of the machine has allowed the company to increase throughput, as well. Justman says the bigger barrel on the tub and a larger mill and conveyor system have helped increase throughput by 30 percent to 40 percent.

“The belt that takes the material away from the mill is wide and fast, so it takes a lot of material,” he says. “We have an ultimate ceiling on what our production can be. I mean, … you can get up to 1,200 yards per hour out of this machine; it’s really, really fast.”

Dealer support provides advantage

Ener-Con also decided to maximize its throughput by investing in machinery supported by local dealerships.

After operating competitive units for nearly 25 years, Ener-Con switched to Vermeer grinders because of the diligence of the team at Vermeer’s Wisconsin dealership. Ener-Con’s main contact at the dealership is Brad Van Rheenen, a recycling and forestry specialist.

“Grinders are a unique animal,” Justman explains. “A lot of people are not familiar with grinders. It’s hard to just call a repair shop and have a grinder fixed. It’s nice to have a team close by that can answer questions and help with repairs. Brad is always there.”

Van Rheenen draws on 30 years of experience visiting mulch facilities and applying what he’s learned to help maximize customer efficiency.

Tub grinders are great for regrind because the gravity feed system minimizes maintenance and has no infeed chains to maintain, he says.

During a plant tour at the Vermeer manufacturing facility, Justman learned that Ener-Con could order a custom-colored machine. This was an opportunity to differentiate the company from its competition.

“We wanted to make a statement,” Justman says. “We wanted something that would be bold and strong. We decided to paint it black.”

The author is a brand experience lead for Vermeer Corp., based in Pella, Iowa. She can be reached at kphillips@vermeer.com.