TWICE AS NICE

Tennessee’s Hamblen County keeps two IPS balers busy processing MSW at its landfill.

Bale landfills offer operators a variety of benefits, including increased compaction, decreased need for daily cover and ­cleaner operations overall. The Hamblen County/Morristown Solid Waste System, Morristown, Tenn., has embraced the benefits of baling municipal solid waste (MSW) since it established its landfill in 1989. Today, the landfill operates two balers manufactured by IPS Balers, Baxley, Ga., but it first turned to IPS in 2002 with the purchase of a model TR-1388 200 with a pre-compression lid.

Ronald Brady, director of solid waste operations for the Hamblen County/Morristown Solid Waste System, says the landfill’s positive experience with the IPS baler it purchased in 2002 to replace an aging machine from another manufacturer influenced the purchase of the second IPS model TR-1388 200 baler in 2005. Brady says he has been pleased by the overall quality of the IPS balers, as well as by the bales the units produce, which weigh from 2,300 to 2,500 pounds on average.

The landfill keeps its IPS balers busy, processing from 4,000 to 4,500 tons of MSW per month.

“Since the time of our first purchase in 1989, we decided to install two systems to allow for downtime,” Brady says.

Unlike the operation’s previous balers, however, the IPS two-ram balers feature a pre-compression lid, which the landfill uses regularly. The pre-compression lid is designed to help eliminate knife jams and to extend the life of the wear liners. Brady has seen these benefits firsthand, saying this feature also helps to extend the life of the shear knives, in addition to improving productivity and bale density.

The balers’ quality construction and innovative features appeal to Brady, but so does IPS’s commitment to customer service. “As a company, IPS has been there when and if we needed them,” he says. “Parts are supplied in an efficient time frame, and service has always been considerate and efficient

IPS TR-1388 two-ram baler features a pre-compression lid designed to help eliminate knife jams and to extend the life of the wear liners.