Forward motion: wheeled Fuchs scrap handlers keep metal moving at Sand Springs Metal Processing.

Operations Manager Brian McCuistion has to make sure ferrous scrap is loaded, unloaded, properly stored and then properly blended at the Sand Springs Metal Processing Corp. (SSMPC) yard in Sand Springs, Okla. His job has become more manageable with the addition of a fleet of four Fuchs scrap handling machines.

The yard creates scrap charges for the adjacent Sheffield Steel Corp. electric are furnace mill in Sand Springs. Keeping a steel mill fed with scrap means downtime must be avoided at all costs and gains in productivity are welcomed enthusiastically. McCuistion says the Fuchs machines score on both counts.

SSMPC took delivery of its first Fuchs 360 machine nearly three years ago, and the company has subsequently added two more 360s as well as a Fuchs 350 handler. All of SSMPC's Fuchs machines move around the yard on rubber tires. As they have been phased in, they have replaced tracked models that the company formerly operated.

"We noticed a big difference right away in the loading of scrap into rail cars," says McCuistion of the Fuchs difference. "We can also get over and unload a truck a lot quicker."

The increased mobility has helped the four machines quickly perform a variety of tasks on the 13-acre site. The wheeled Fuchs models are also able to cross railroad tracks without the risk of damaging the steel rails.

In addition to being able to cross tracks with confidence, McCuistion says operators also like the user-friendly joystick controls and the air conditioned cabs. "It can get mighty hot in Oklahoma in the summer," he notes.

SSMPC is also happy with the five-tined grapple Fuchs sells with its machines. "We handle a lot of borings, turnings and shredded scrap," McCuistion remarks. "Before the five-tine grapple, a lot of the smaller material was falling out as we loaded a car. Now it is retained in the grapple, meaning we can load faster and all material stays in the blend for a better mix."

Fuchs provides another advantage with its rapid attachment change-out time. "It used to take two people 30 to 45 minutes to change attachments. Now one person can get it done in 20 minutes," says McCuistion.

McCuistion credits Fuchs and his Fuchs dealer, Roadbuilders Machinery in Kansas City, Kan., with fulfilling SSMPPC's scrap handling requirements to a tee. "Roadbuilders and Fuchs have done a fantastic job."