Lift trucks: Recycler conquers rough terrain with industrial lift truck

Dallas-based Gold Metal Recyclers is one of the largest metal recycling organizations in the United States. The company’s Dallas processing yard encompasses about 38 acres and ships approximately 200 to 300 trailers of scrap metal and concrete—about 1.5 billion tons—a week. After deploying a series of industrial lift trucks, the company was able to reduce maintenance costs and increase uptime.

The processing yard operates seven days a week with two 11-hour shifts a day. “We transport large pieces of metal and concrete, often in 100 degree heat,” says Joel Back, production manager for Gold Metal Recyclers. “It’s a rough and dusty application, with slick spots, large potholes and ruts, and big pieces of rebar sticking out of the ground like landmines. And, that’s on a good day.”

Back’s No. 1 challenge with his fleet is downtime resulting from overheating and broken steer axles. “With our old lift trucks, I’ve had to replace four transmissions in the last nine months at $3,300 each. I’ve had to replace four steer axles in the last 12 months at $2,700 each. And I typically replace the brakes on those forklifts every 15 to 16 months, which costs about $700 each.”

Additionally, the older lift trucks are in the maintenance bay at least 15 to 20 minutes per day for manual clearing of the radiator to prevent overheating. When lift trucks are down, it can cost the company a further $1,000 per minute.

The new trucks are designed to push the limits of gas forklift performance and durability, and deliver advantages Gold Metal, which was seeking improved power and strength, comfort and safety, and service and uptime.

The trucks feature an industrial engine, a proactive approach to engine cooling and radiator clearing with an on-demand cooling system. In fact, one of the main features of the forklift that quickly caught Back’s attention was the cooling system that automatically clears itself of debris and provides precise cooling to effectively manage heat in intense and dirty environments. Each time a user starts the vehicle, the system’s radiator-clearing feature reverses the fan direction to dislodge any debris. Two years later, the new lift trucks already have an average of 8,000 hours of use and Back says they have performed much better than competitors. “I haven’t had any overheating issues or axle or brake problems,” he says.

Crown Equipment
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