5/19/2011

California scrap recycler to accept obsolete tractors; adds rotating shear.

By: Recycling Today Staff

Modesto Junk Co. Inc., Modesto, Calif., has added a CAT 365C hydraulic rotating shear to its equipment fleet and has been approved as a recycler for a regional farm tractor trade-in program.

According to a news release issued by the company, Modesto Junk Co. has been approved to take part in the Tractor Trade-in Replacement Program managed by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD).

The SJVAPCD works to improve air quality and lower emissions in the Valley. One of its current programs, the tractor replacement program, strives to get older, higher air-polluting off-road agricultural equipment out of operation. Owners of the equipment are compensated by the SJVAPCD when they purchase new machines. The older units are scrapped as the new units are put into use.

Modesto Junk checks identifying information on the old tractors and ensures that they are fully and properly dismantled as scrap metal. Agents from the SJVAPD check and certify the destruction of the old tractors. Farmers, ranchers and others are being encouraged to contact the SJVAPCD at www.valleyair.org to take part in the program.

The scrap company also announced that it recently purchased a new Scrap & Demolition 365C rotating mobile shear made by Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, Ill. Modesto Junk says the shear “is the first of its kind on the West Coast [and is] a showcase installation for both Modesto Junk Co. and Caterpillar Inc.”

The rotating shear is designed to enable the operator to do more work in less time without having to re-position while cutting and handling scrap material. According to Juan Rodriguez, the Modesto Junk Co. employee who operates the shear, it takes 50 to 75 percent less time to cut up material compared to the older (non-rotating) shear he had been using.

The shear rotates a full 360 degrees in either direction in less than eight seconds. It is mounted to a 70,000-pound Caterpillar 330DL excavator. Both machines were purchased from the CAT/Holt of California dealership.

According to Modesto Junk Co. President Keith Highiet, the employee roster at the company has grown by 20 percent in the past two years. From its two-acre site in downtown Modesto, the firm has grown from 25 to 30 thirty employees in the past two years.

The company handles ferrous metals, appliances, nonferrous metals, California Redemption Value (CRV) beverage containers, auto batteries and cardboard.

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