Choosing the right piece of equipment is important for scrap dealers operating on inland waterways.

Demand for ferrous scrap is putting greater stress on suppliers to get their material to their customers as quickly as possible. While it is widely known that China has been soaking up a significant amount of scrap material, what many people forget is that the resurgent domestic steel industry is also consuming much more ferrous scrap.

Many of these steel mills are located on inland waterways, giving some scrap processors access to an effective way to ship material. Shipping scrap via barge can involve a number of considerations when it comes to setting up scrap handling equipment, often pertaining to increasing lifting capacity or tons moved in an hour.

Before simply buying the largest available material handler, however, recyclers can look at a number of ways to make sure they have the right equipment on hand to load up barges with scrap.

SHOPPING LIST. Nell LeBlanc of Caterpillar, a Peoria, Ill.-based manufacturer of cranes and attachments, says the overarching issue that scrap recyclers should consider when purchasing a crane and/or attachment is that the system will boost productivity. He says scrap dealers should weigh the equipment's speed, cycle time and durability.

LeBlanc says that the governing factor when companies look for a crane to load and unload barges is the material handler's lifting capacity. However, he cautions that buying the scrap handler with the greatest lifting capacity is not necessarily the wisest decision. The equipment should correspond with the scrap yard's requirements.

While lift capacity and cycle time are important, LeBlanc stresses that serviceability and durability are two key considerations when a company is shopping for scrap handlers for barge applications. The expense of the machinery and the need to avoid maintenance-related downtime requires that the material handlers stay in operation for as long as possible.

Alan Walker with Northwest Recycling Inc., a scrap recycling operation that is seeking to open a port facility in the Houston area within the next year, says that with the current health of the port business, scrap recyclers with direct inland port access would be wise to make sure their equipment is performing at optimal levels.

Walker echoes LeBlanc's statements about durability being key. In light of the stressful work environment, companies must establish routine maintenance, from daily greasing and cleaning of equipment to changing of various parts to ensure effective operation of the equipment.

While the need to take advantage of scrap yard's barging capabilities is important, it is amplified by the fact that so many domestic steel mills are located on inland waterways.

TURNAROUND TIME. No one says that shipping ferrous scrap via barge is faster than ground transportation by truck or rail. However, the advantage that barges can offer is the ability to ship greater volumes of material than any other mode of transportation.

Walker estimates that around 1,500 tons of cargo can be loaded onto a river barge, far more than can be loaded on a truck or a gondola car, meaning that moving ferrous scrap by barge is less expensive on a per-ton basis.

With an effective crane and attachment, a scrap yard can load a barge in as fast as eight hours. Furthermore, if a company is using multiple cranes, the load time can be even quicker.

While the cargo can be loaded more quickly, depending on the location of the consumer, it can take from two to three weeks for the material to arrive.

While ensuring that the equipment can operate in a heavy-use environment, LeBlanc also points to a number of additional features that companies should look at when deciding on a crane or attachment to load barges. The reach of the crane, both vertically and horizontally, is an important attribute. Also, while the payload is important, LeBlanc cautions that companies should not necessarily "oversize" their scrap handler, essentially paying for something they won't use.

Scrap companies should also consider whether the crane will be able to reach below the water level to load the vessel.

ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. Because the equipment operates in a highly intense work environment, the mantra echoed by equipment companies, as well as by scrap dealers, is to perform routine maintenance on a regular schedule. Cleaning, greasing and inspecting the material handlers on a daily basis can extend its lifespan to as many as 20 to 30 years, LeBlanc says.

OmniSource Corp., based in Fort Wayne, Ind., is one of the largest scrap processors in the country. Along with moving scrap via truck and rail, the company moves a significant amount of scrap metal via barge.

During periods of high demand, a scrap company can guarantee barge space by locking up contracts for an extended period.

Phil Bedwell, in charge of OmniSource's barging segment, says that if a scrap or steel company feels it is going to have a good year, it can put in a guaranteed contract to lock in barges for the year.

If a scrap company displays the confidence that markets will be strong enough to guarantee a steady flow of barges, it can benefit from the cost savings available by shipping material by barge as opposed to other modes of transportation.

This method of transportation also allows some ferrous scrap consumers to maintain a floating inventory of material, freeing up space that otherwise would have been needed for storage.

Also, to maximize barge shipments, recyclers should try to reduce the number of times a shipment has to be loaded and unloaded. If the barge reaches its destination and the material doesn't have to be stored somewhere else for an extended period of time, that reduces the overall cost of moving the material.

Another key factor in successfully loading barges, Bedwell says, is making certain the type of equipment a company has matches up with the type of material it is loading and unloading.

"People need to be specific to their type of equipment," he says. "Every operator is different, and the material they handle could be slabs, pig iron, heavy melting steel. You need to get the equipment that matches your needs."

While knowing the type of equipment that is needed to optimize the loading of scrap metal into barges is important, a company loading barges must consider a host of other factors, from ensuring the vessel is loaded safely to knowing the depth of the water that the barge will be traversing. The equipment operator's skill also comes into play when loading a barge.

The cargo has to be evenly distributed throughout the vessel, and the operator needs to know the total weight so the company can put in enough material to maximize the shipment, while ensuring the barge does not exceed the water levels and run aground. If this happens, Bedwell says, many extra costs come into effect.

To ensure even loading of a barge, Bedwell says that OmniSource uses only portable track-type cranes. With this type of crane, a company has the flexibility to position the crane to allow for better loading of the barge. He adds that a barge should be loaded evenly, avoiding loading a disproportionate amount of weight on one side.

Jeremy Johnson, manager of engineering and service for E-Crane International, with a U.S. office in Bucyrus, Ohio, notes that the size of the crane is relative. E-Crane provides cranes that are from five to 30 tons in payload, a fairly wide parameter, depending on how fast the material needs to be loaded.

While OmniSource uses portable cranes with attachments to service its barge business, E-Crane says the overwhelming majority of the cranes that it sells are pedestal mounted. The big advantage with a pedestal crane is the cost benefit associated with a fixed crane.

Johnson notes that while magnets and grapples offer unique advantages, with magnets certain maintenance tasks must be performed regularly to ensure that it is operating effectively. For grapples, there isn't the need to energize the equipment to extract the material, something that can be effective for scrap yards that need to run their machinery around the clock.

Further, Johnson says that with grapples an operator can be more selective with the type of material he is loading. A grapple could feasibly collect the targeted material without disrupting the surrounding material. Many scrap processors opt to use grapples in the earlier stages of loading and unloading ferrous scrap.

However, with turnaround time for barges also playing a more important role, magnets can quickly extract much of the residual ferrous scrap from a barge.

Those who opt for magnets can see additional advantages, as well. A consistent load is always a big plus for scrap consumers, and with a magnet, the operator increases his chances of pulling out only the ferrous scrap, leaving nonferrous metals, as well as wood and concrete, among other materials, uncollected.

SERVICE WITH A SMILE. A key area when deciding on the type of equipment to purchase is the level of service and parts availability. Like any type of large, expensive equipment, a scrap handler can be cost justified when it is running at peak performance. Because this type of equipment operates in an extremely harsh environment, it is imperative that the equipment supplier have an outstanding service policy.

This requires mote than performing routine maintenance and having the equipment checked when there are problems. A key factor is having the parts on hand needed to fix the equipment. When a scrap dealer has to wait a long time for a needed part, the resulting downtime is damaging to his bottom line.

Walker says Northwest bases scrap handler purchases on the manufacturer's parts availability and its ability to keep its machinery operating for as long as possible.

For OmniSource, the choice of how many cranes to use to load a barge also depends on the time requirement a barge company gives the customers. While demurrage charges aren't necessarily high, they do play a factor in how quickly the barges are loaded. "If we know we have five days to both load and unload the cargo, we will adjust our operations accordingly," Bedwell says.

Regardless of what type of equipment a scrap dealer ends up using, companies must do their due diligence, he says.

The author is senior and Internet editor of Recycling Today and can be reached at [e-mail].