by MARY M. COX
Manufacturer List
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Recycling centers continually pop up around the country and the law requires that the scales used by these facilities for buying and selling be certified per the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP).
American Weigh Scales offers low cost, reliable NTEP industrial solutions to meet industry requirements. “From crane scales for the on-the-move business, to bench scales, floor scales and truck scales for recycling center locations, we have a scale solution to meet your weighing needs,” said Beth Brown, industrial sales specialist.
Brown continued, “Right now, we offer special pricing on 4’ x 4’ and 5’ x 5’ floor scales in 5,000 lb. and 10,000 lb. capacity for recyclers that have seen us in American Recycler. Available in many sizes and capacities, these units are plug-and-play and set up is done within a few minutes. All scales are pre-calibrated and most sizes are readily available for same day shipping. Our scales will keep you legal for trade in all 50 states and we’ve been in business for 12 years. Our experienced industrial specialists are skilled in recommending the best scale for your application and recommend checking with your state department of Weights and Measures to see if the scale you need must be put in service by a licensed scale technician before using.”
“B-TEK Scales is proud to be one of the largest truck scale producers in the world. We are fortunate to be involved with many different industries and we supply weighing equipment for many different applications. A couple of industries which have helped make B-TEK a household name over the past 25 years are construction and recycling,” Brett Kaufman, national sales manager explained.
Although relatively nascent on the manufacturing side, B-TEK has quickly gained market share by doing things differently than their competitors. “Our roots date back over 80 years in the service industry, primarily focused in the Midwest and the ‘rust belt.’ Engineering expertise and product quality are two of the strengths which established our manufacturing presence and we’ve been able to retain those qualities as we’ve moved forward. In 2003, we became one of the first scale manufacturers to introduce a standard, over the road, truck scale that was rated for a 100,000 lb. concentrated load capacity. This scale offers a 270,000 lb. overall capacity. We named this scale the Centurion and 12 years later, we still regard this as our flagship product,” said Kaufman.
Kaufman indicated that many of the design features in the Centurion have carried the company into the manufacture of larger, off road vehicle scales and heavier applications commonly found in the construction industry. For example, B-TEK’s Big Bertha model has the same principles as the Centurion – an open beam design, up to 5/8” deck plate, SSPC-SP6 steel preparation – but it is geared for dump trucks and loaders commonly found on construction sites. “As our economy has continued to climb back and new building has increased, we have seen more and more of our business focused on the construction and demolition sectors. We look forward to what the next 5 to 10 years have in store and we’re poised to handle the growth that we expect from not just construction but the American economy as a whole,” Kaufman said.
“The Quick Clean Roadweigh II truck scale from Emery Winslow Scale Company is the most important truck scale innovation in decades. It is designed specifically for recycling, waste, scrap and transfer stations, where environmental factors cause frequent scale failures,” Rudi Baisch, vice president stated. He said that the average waste facility may spend many thousands of dollars each year to replace load cells, replace cables and recalibrate scales. “The Quick Clean Roadweigh II is starkly different than all other scales. First, the load cells are hydrostatic (non-electronic) and guaranteed for life against failure from water, rodents, lightning, flooding and power surges. Second, the scale platforms can be removed quickly for easy pit cleaning, without calling your scale service provider!”
Baisch also explained how the Quick Clean truck scale consists of two or three axle scale platforms, usually 10’ x 10’, up to 11’ x 15’ each, positioned so that the steering, drive and trailer axle groups are all sitting on a scale platform. The individual axle group weights can be displayed and recorded, as well as the gross weight of the truck. This allows the trailers to be filled to capacity, yet not exceed legal load limits, and thus avoid costly fines. The scale platforms can be lifted directly off the load cells with a typical pay loader, for complete access to the pit for high pressure wash down and cleaning. This removal procedure takes less than 10 minutes, and there are no special tools required. After the pit is cleaned, the patented alignment pins allow the scale platform to be lowered back onto the load cells, and the scale is back in operation. There is no need to call a scale service company, and no need for scale recalibration and the scales work with most existing scale instrumentation and software.
The industrial truck scales built by Rockwell Scales are available with steel or concrete decks. Any deck length needed is available and deck width can be built to 12’ in size. “Our most popular item is our steel deck truck scale, The Hulk,” said Nick Rockwell, president. He said The Hulk features up to a 135 ton capacity and a 3/8” deck. Rockwell said, “A 3/8” deck eliminates the possibility of deck warping and cracking over time, which occurs with lighter deck plating. Unlike other encased structures that include tubing and foreign U-beams that don’t allow the metal to breath and dry, all Rockwell scales feature an open I-beam understructure and industrial paint, which limits rust development. All of our scales are welded by hand using American steel in our plant in Montana. Our customers like our willingness to fight for their business, our quick response to questions and our ability to ship orders in a timely manner. We are able to produce one 70’ Crusher cement deck truck scale in 5 days and a 70’ Hulk steel deck truck scale in 7 days. We’re building a larger manufacturing plant and expect to relocate later this summer. This new factory will allow us to increase production three fold.”
“We provide rapid installation worldwide. A cement deck can be installed in four days and a steel deck can be installed in three days. We are especially proud of an installation in Billings, Montana. The site is a landfill where our crusher model scale is used. That scale has weighed hundreds of vehicles per day since 2000, with near perfect performance. One of our Mega Hulk mining scales is used at a gold mine in Nevada. That scale weighs 400,000 lb. loads each day. We are proud of all our products, but these two are certainly performance stand outs. We have been in business since 1980 and we’ve noticed a surge in the industry recently: Chinese-made scales that use a weaker grade of steel along with enclosed structural design. Weaker grades of steel will not stand up to constant deflection and eventually fracture and cause problems. These inferior products pass the industry NTEP evaluation, but that process doesn’t reflect fitness for long term durability. Typically, the Chinese scales won’t last as long as American-made scales,” said Rockwell.
Published in the August 2015 Edition of American Recycler News