Best practices make perfect.

What started as a side business in 1965 has grown to four facilities and 330 employees. Ray and Barbara Mathews founded Ray's Trash Service with one truck in Clayton, Ind., west of Indianapolis, to keep their three sons busy.

In 1982, Don Mathews became president, and about 15 years ago, the hauling service started to recycle. Mathews realized the necessity of recycling and decided to be a leader for the industry. Currently the company processes about 2.000 tons each day from its own hauling service and from several other companies.

Mathews turned to Sierra International Machinery for help in setting up a scrap metal processing facility. "John Sacco of Sierra was recommended by a friend. John visited me, we looked at another facility, and the 500 looked like the piece of equipment we needed," he says. The shear/baler/logger has been operational since March 2004.

For a man who believes in hard work and dedication to the industry, Mathews appreciates Sierra's straightforwardness. "John gave me the timeline for delivery, the machine was shipped from Italy and it got here on time. Everything John has said has been true," he says. In addition, Sierra helped set up the machine and train six of Ray's employees. Even more importantly, Mathews indicates that he has had no problems with the machine since its installation.

Mathew's tries to keep the product moving. With the Sierra 500, Ray's can capitalize on the current boom in steel prices. "We take great pride in the fact that our material is prepped and ready to go," he says. "When it's shipped to the mill, it's what the mill asked for. We inspect everything before it leaves the yard and know if it's grade one or two. It's totally ready for the end user."