FACILITATING GROWTH

Magic City Enterprises, Cheyenne, Wyo., cuts out overtime and ships more loads using its IPS baler.

Since 1971, Magic City Enterprises, Cheyenne, Wyo., has been providing services to people with developmental disabilities. The nonprofit organization began operating its Eco Center in 1991, employing people with disabilities to separate and sort recyclables for the city of Cheyenne, area businesses and F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

Prior to March of this year, Magic City’s Eco Center operated a manual-tie baler, which had trouble keeping up with the 550 tons of material the facility received per month, mostly in the form of OCC (old corrugated containers) and ONP (old newspapers). At that time the nonprofit added an AT-865-HS-50 Hinge-Side Auto-Tie Baler and a 60-Inch Wide Conveyor from IPS Baler, Baxley, Ga.

Magic City worked with IPS dealer J.R. Fulmer of JDM Equipment Inc., Denver, to install the baler. “J.R. sold us on the baler. He told us what it could do and how we could get more bales and loads out,” says Mac McCracken of Magic City Enterprises.
The new IPS baler has positioned Magic City’s Eco Center for future
growth, says Regina Meena, Magic City development director, enabling the nonprofit to begin servicing a new community 50 miles north of Cheyenne while also eliminating overtime.

“We had close to 40 hours of overtime per month to try to maintain loads of product,” Meena says of the Eco Center’s old baler. The IPS baler, however, keeps up with the incoming volume of ONP and OCC without losing a beat, says Mike Kenworthy of Magic City Enterprises. The old manual-tie baler took 20 minutes to create a bale of OCC, while the IPS baler typically takes seven minutes, Kenworthy says.

“The IPS baler is a good fit for us. It has the productivity and capacity to handle the materials that we have,” Meena adds.
The staff at the Eco Center also appreciates the density of the bales, which weigh 1,700 to 1,900 pounds on average for ONP and 1,100 to 1,200 pounds for OCC with dimensions of 30 inches by 45 inches by 60 inches, Kenworthy says. “It packs a lot tighter than the old baler.”

Since adding the IPS baler to its operation, the Eco Center has been able to ship an additional four to five truckloads per month, McCracken says. “The new baler has helped Magic City get to the next level. It’s doubled—almost tripled—some of our outputs.”

The IPS AUTO-TIE 865 baler keeps up with the incoming volume of ONP and OCC without losing a beat.