Through three generations of continuous growth, George’s Salvage has always kept a close eye on how the company utilized its patch of property in New Jersey.
“My grandfather bought this yard in 1961,” recalled Mike Miller. “He was a peddler who collected all kinds of scrap and took it to recyclers in a fruit truck: metals, rags for making paper, you name it. Finally he decided to cut out the middle man and George’s Salvage has been here ever since.”
Miller’s father, also named George, got his start in the business at a very young age. The range of equipment on the site expanded with the times, including shears to process the metals, a baler to compact cardboard, and various loading machines. As the business grew, however, he began to increase its focus on the commodities with the greatest return. To make best use of its 3-acre (1.2 ha) site, George’s now deals only in metals, including ferrous and non-ferrous and alloyed material.
The latest space-saving change at George’s Salvage is a pair of new, specially equipped Sennebogen 835 M scrap handlers.
“We compared a bunch of machines before we bought the first one,” Miller explained. “Sennebogen was definitely the top one we looked at. We have purchased a few excavators for our shears in the past. The dealer, Binder Machinery, has always given us tremendous service and support. So when the Binder sales rep, Rob Fornini, told us they had taken on Sennebogen, we decided to try them out.”
Six months after the first Sennebogen machine arrived at the yard, the Millers ordered a second one. The two green machines now handle all scrap handling operations in the yard, from loading and unloading trucks to feeding the shear. Both are fitted with a custom coupler designed by Miller that allows operators to switch the grapple attachment to or from a lifting magnet in less than two minutes.
“Our other machines just couldn’t have kept up with the flow of material we need,” explained Miller. “We would have had to buy more machines to keep up. Now these new machines are doing the work of four.”
Less equipment in the yard, naturally, means more room for material and traffic. But the Millers see other ways that the new Sennebogen machines improve the efficiency of their site.
“The reach with these is phenomenal,” said Miller. “The first one came with a 52-foot reach and the newer one is 6 feet longer.
“The difference from our old machines is night and day: the extended reach really spoils you. You can stack material higher; you don’t have to stop and pick up the outriggers as often. It’s much easier to load dumps from the back, so that simplifies our traffic in the yard and saves wear on the pavement. Like they say, they really are ’purpose built.’”
The 835 M machines are rubber-tired models that further reduce maintenance needs in the yard. According to Miller, the paved yard remains free of ruts and potholes. Routine service work is easy to perform on the new machines, too.
“Access is readily available; the valves are all ’right there’ and we know the Cat engines well. All the hoses are standard, so having ’off-the-shelf’ parts sure beats waiting 2 or 3 days for delivery. Binder gets parts to us by next day. It keeps you going.”
Having spent most of his life helping out the family business — he began operating with a forklift when he was young — Miller appreciates Sennebogen engineering from a hands-on viewpoint, too.
“I’m an office guy now,” he admitted, “but I still get into the cab once in a while. With the elevating cab, you can see everything while you’re loading and swinging that hook around. It’s more efficient and it’s an important safety benefit, too. Our operators love these machines, and that’s important to us. The cab is comfortable, powerful, quiet.
“The Sennebogen machines have done everything we ask them to do. They’re a good machine, very solid, and Binder is always there for us too.”
For more information, call 877/309-0099 or visit www.sennebogen-na.com.
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