Page 32 • May 24, 2014 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT GUIDE
Terex Fuchs Material Handlers Assist All Metals Market People often think fondly about how business used to be conducted. A day where a person’s word was his or her bond, a handshake is all it took to complete a deal and serving the customer was, above all else, the primary objective. While other companies have long forgotten about this business style, Kevin Yount and All Metals Market (AMM) of Fremont, Neb., still put this into practice. From walking curious customers through its scrap training and education facility to assisting peddler traffic through the drop-off process to offering quick turnaround container service for its commercial customers, AMM’s mission is to provide superior customer service. “We make sure we have a customer-friendly operation and walk anyone through the process,” explained Yount, owner of AMM. “This gives them a reason to come back.” For its commercial customers, if there is a company from Omaha to Lincoln generating scrap, AMM has a roll-off container there. Whereas other companies take the philosophy of picking up a full container when it fits into their schedule, AMM is much more proactive. “We have 15 trucks dedicated to this service and make sure we turn a container within 24 hours of receiving a call that it is full,” said Yount. While this type of business philosophy may seem a little old-fashioned based in today’s business environment, there’s nothing oldfashioned about its results. The company has experienced significant growth, especially since the 2007-08 timeframe. When Yount took over the business in 1987 from his retiring father, who started AMM as a side business, Kevin was the only employee. For the first few years, it was a good day to see 2 to 3 trucks come into the yard along with local peddler traffic. “But today we receive up to 20 of our containers and five to ten trailers each day,” said Yount, and the business is poised for future growth. Although growth is good, it begins to show areas where an increase in efficiency is required to maintain the desired level of cus-
Starting as a one-man operation, All Metals Market has experienced significant growth since 2007.
tomer service. One area requiring improvement for AMM was in how it handled its scrap material. “The short reach of the excavators at the yard hindered operators from keeping up with the inflow of material,” explained Jay Young, scrap and recycling sales manager of Roadbuilders Machinery and Supply Company, an authorized distributor of Terex Fuchs equipment. “They were handling material two and three times before processing it and that wasn’t efficient.”
demanded efficient unloading. The converted excavators on the yard offered limited elevated vision, which did not help the situation. Yount worked with Roadbuilders Machinery to find a purpose-built material handler solution that would more efficiently offload high-wall trailers and stockpile material. “After discussing his needs, we determined that the Terex Fuchs MHL350 D material handler was the right fit for the operation,” recalled Young. One change from the tracked excavators on the yard, the new material handlers had a rubber tire drive system. As AMM transitioned more of the yard from a hard aggregate base to concrete, a tire machine was the right choice. “Plus,” said Yount, “the material handlers with tire drive get around the yard quickly, and they can pick a considerable amount of weight.” The primary benefit for AMM, however, turned out to be machine reach. “We bought the MHL350 D handler for its reach,” added Yount. This model offers a standard 52.5ft. (16 m) reach, nearly twice as far as the excavators on AMM’s yard. This extended reach enabled the processor to reduce the number of times the scrap material was handled, boosting efficiency. As an added bonus, AMM’s operators discovered significant benefits of switching to a material handler that offered an elevated cab design. The MHL350 D handler features a hydraulically
To keep up with increasing material inflow, All Metals Market switched to Terex Fuchs MHL350 material handlers, which offer longer reach and improved efficiency compared to the excavators previously used.
Long Reach, More Efficient Of greater concern facing AMM with increased material inflow, operators had to stack material higher. This made visibility an issue, as stockpiles of scrap grew and high-wall trucks delivered material more frequently, which
Recently, the company entered into a contract to process out-ofspec metal tubes, and up to five truckloads of the recyclable material enters the yard each day.
All Metals Market added a 2,000-ton (1,814 t) guillotine shear and a third Terex Fuchs MHL350 material handler to efficiently process the out-of-spec metal tubes.
see TEREX page 64