Refurbished Historical Rail Yard Is Site of Recycle West Virginia, in Western Virginia
PRINCETON, WV - What started out as a potential demolition job at an abandoned 14 acre rail yard ended up becoming a labor of love for Tom Bishop, a Virginia entrepreneur and self-proclaimed history buff. Bishop, who is involved with a number of Virginia-based business interests, including Berry Iron & Metal and Berry Home Centers, recognized the economic potential of the former Virginian Railway (VGN) manufacturing and repair yard in Princeton, WV when he visited it in the summer of 2006. Rather than bidding on its demolition, he chose instead to purchase the historic site and convert it into an indoor scrap yard.
"While I was walking through the grounds and buildings with the demolition contractor, I was picturing in my minds-eye how the site was an indoor scrap yard already in place and I got interested in buying it," recalls Bishop. "We took possession of the property in 2007 and set about converting it to our application. In 2008 we opened our doors to the public as Recycle West Virginia - a state-of-the art indoor recycling and metal-shredding operation that takes all kinds of scrap, including junk cars, copper, aluminum cans, radiators, brass, batteries and white goods."
To feed the facility's new mega-shredder and move materials in and around the yard, Bishop acquired two SENNEBOGEN material handlers - an 830 M D Series and 840 M - from Adam Sanders at Power Equipment Company in Kingsport, Tennessee.
Bishop puts his trust in SENNEBOGEN
Before he opened Recycle West Virginia, Bishop was already familiar with SENNEBOGEN's reliability and durability. In 2003, Bishop acquired a SENNEBOGEN 835 M C Series fitted with a quick-attach for a magnet and 1 ¼ yd scrap grapple for use at Berry Iron & Metal, his scrap yard in Chilhowie, VA. Impressed with SENNEBOGEN quality and performance, he acquired two additional machines for the yard - an 825 M in 2006 and an 835 M in 2008.
"SENNEBOGEN were the new kids on the block at that time. I was originally looking at a competitor's machines, but availability became an issue," recalls Bishop. "I'm always in search of the best equipment available and I'm not afraid to try new brands. SENNEBOGEN had a machine available when I needed one, so I went with them. Prior to that, we had always used retro-fitted excavators. But once we had the SENNEBOGEN machines, we realized the value in having purpose-built material handlers. They have cut our load-up time in half."
Recycle West Virginia's SENNEBOGEN application
To keep his new Princeton facility running smoothly, Bishop acquired two new rubber-tired SENNEBOGEN machines in 2008 - an 830 M and an 840 M. Fitted with a 2 yard grapple, the 840 M is dedicated to feeding the yard's Harris 98115 Shredder fitted with a 4500 HP motor. Housed in a 56,000 square foot building - the site's largest building - the scrap handler/shredder application is unique, according to Bishop.
"Having the shredder indoors is a little bit out-of-the-ordinary, but it's worked out really well for us" says Bishop. The Harris Shredder is capable of operating at up to 180 tons per hour. While the SENNEBOGEN machines don't actually operate inside, their versatility and ability to zip around the yard wherever we need them, especially the 830 M, is very important to us."
Fitted with a mag-grapple, the 830 M is used for general yard duty, unloading trailers and staging material for the 840 M to feed into the shredder. Both of Recycle West Virginia's SENNEBOGEN machines are in operation 5 days a week 8 hours a day. Bishop went with rubber-tired machines for the mobility and speed he required on the Princeton facility's concrete base. He has high praise for the visibility afforded by the elevating cabs on his SENNEBOGEN machines and says that being able to see into the end of the trailers is a great benefit in terms of efficiency and safety. He especially likes the sliding door feature on the new 830 M D Series machine.
According to Bishop, his operators love the SENNEBOGEN machines and only use the yard's older competitor's equipment as back-up. He speaks of one operator, Jeff Harris, who has become so efficient with the machines that he can "literally lift a coffee-cup with the grapple and flip it at another guy hitting him in the head with it. He's the best I've seen - he's really got a knack for it."
Power Equipment has been a great partner
Bishop bought his first SENNEBOGEN machines from Larry Shuck, the recently retired Senior Vice President of Bramco, Inc., Power Equipment's parent company. Recent acquisitions have been done through Power Equipment Sales Representative, Adam Sanders.
"The folks at Power Equipment have been super and have met our support and service needs in a timely manner," says Bishop. "Any parts we have required have always arrived the very next day, maximizing our uptime."
Is there another SENNEBOGEN machine in the future for Recycle West Virginia? Bishop says he has considered acquiring a SENNEBOGEN 305 C Multihandler. "With its elevating cab, it would be perfect for cleaning out bins and general uploading duties - so who knows?"
Would Bishop recommend SENNEBOGEN machines to a colleague? He says that one of his business goals is to always buy equipment that will make it easy for his operators to do their jobs. "We're very pleased with the performance of our SENNEBOGEN machines in meeting this goal. We've been successful with them and we've stuck with them. So I wouldn't hesitate to recommend SENNEBOGEN machines."
"We are proud of the role that SENNEBOGEN machines have played in this unique application. We wish Tom continued success with his operations," says Constantino Lannes, President of SENNEBOGEN LLC. "We also congratulate Power Equipment for developing the kind of business partnership with Mr. Bishop that has resulted in his trust in SENNEBOGEN products and distributor after-purchase service and support. This is typical of our dealer network. We hear this story coast-to-coast."
SIDEBAR
Change & continuity - Past meets the present
At their peak in the first-half of the 20th century, the Virginian Railway shops and yards employed hundreds of people and had transformed Princeton from an isolated farming community into a thriving, commercial town. By the 1980s, however, all of the shops had been closed and abandoned - victims of changing technologies and other modes of transportation. By 2006, many of the derelict buildings had come under the wrecker's ball. Enter Tom Bishop.
"When I made the decision to purchase the property I didn't have the full picture of putting a shredder into the facility yet, but I did see the potential for an under-roof scrap yard," recalls Bishop. "I got in touch with the property's owner, and discovered that the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I investigated what would be involved in restoring the site and converting it to our needs and we worked out a purchase price. Local officials and the West Virginia Economic Development Authority were very supportive of our project and have worked with us towards its completion. Work on the site started in 2007 and was completed by the summer of 2008."
Restoring the existing structures and rebuilding the ones that had been damaged beyond repair since the yard had closed down presented a unique but exciting challenge for Bishop. In light of the yard's official Historic Places status, he had to ensure that the new and refurbished buildings would resemble the original ones as closely as possible. The largest of the five buildings required 56,000 sq. ft. of space to house the yard's mega-shredder. In addition, Bishop set out to make the site as neat and tidy and environmentally-friendly as possible, securing a green rating for its electrical system. "Being under-roof, Recycle West Virginia certainly doesn't look like your typical scrap and recycling yard. Most of our operations are contained in the buildings and as a result, the yard is pretty tidy."
Recycle West Virginia is located in the Virginian Industrial Park, which also hosts the new Princeton Railroad Museum which pays homage to the Virginian Railway and town's rich railroading heritage.
About SENNEBOGEN
SENNEBOGEN has been a leading name in the global material handling industry for more than 50 years. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, SENNEBOGEN LLC offers a complete range of purpose-built machines to suit virtually any material handling application. A growing network of distributors supports SENNEBOGEN sales and service across the Americas, ensuring the highest standard of professional machine support and parts availability.
For more information on the full line of SENNEBOGEN green line material handlers, contact:
Constantino Lannes, President
SENNEBOGEN LLC
2835 Jeff Adams Dr., Charlotte, NC 28206
Call toll free: 1-877-309-0099 or fax (704) 347-8894
E-mail - sales@sennebogenllc.com
Visit the web site at www.sennebogen-na.com
