SHEAR EXCELLENCE

Having been in the scrap business since 1970, the Triesch family are experts in metal recycling. Operating in San Antonio, TX, and the surrounding areas, the owners of Bracken Recycling have honed their processes and built a reputation for top customer service and environmental commitment. One key to this success has been their partnership with Wisconsin-based equipment manufacturer ShearCore.

Owner of Bracken Recycling, Hunter Triesch, has been running their San Antonio site since 2014. This site deals with household and commercial metal waste from across the region, including everything from plumbing, electrical and HVAC items to demolition scrap. Here, the team completes each recycling stage to process and clean both ferrous and non-ferrous materials.

To do this efficiently, Hunter has a range of equipment on-site including shears, loggers, magnets and non-ferrous bailers. Priding themselves on customer service excellence Bracken Recycling’s machinery has to meet the site’s specific needs and stay efficient in the hot, harsh Texan environment. Part of the Exodus Global group, ShearCore has helped the metal recycling business do this with quality attachments and servicing.

SHEAR-AFTER-YEAR

For Hunter and the team, building long-term relationships with partners is as important as those they make with customers. It’s an approach that’s helped the business grow and meet greater client demands. In particular, working with the team at ShearCore has given them access to quality equipment that could keep them running.

As Terry Sturgell Jr, Senior Director of Business Development at ShearCore, explains, “We have had a relationship with the Bracken Recycling team for a long time. We delivered their first shear, an FS45R, in May 2018 and have been working with them ever since. I don’t remember who called who, but Hunter and I hit it off right away.”

This trust and reliability meant when the site needed new shear equipment, Terry and his team were the first portof-call for Bracken Recycling’s General Manager, Dominic Rundio. He says, “We needed a larger shear to deal with bigger scrap items. After using the FS45R, we knew we wanted a Fortress shear. The quality of the equipment, paired with the knowledgeable service team made it an easy decision to purchase another attachment from them.”

PROCESSING POWER

Manufactured in the US, ShearCore’s shear series is designed specifically for scrap recycling and demolition. Each attachment is built for top on-site performance. In particular, the FS55’s features prioritise long-term durability and a high strength-to-weight ratio. Its powerful tip has an upper and lower jaw milled from six-inch high-yield plate steel, meaning it can handle any metals that come onto the Bracken Recycling site.

When describing the attachment’s power, Dominic exclaims, “It’s awesome, it makes it so much easier for us to process heavy steel. Before, with our smaller shear, we had to sit out with a torch to cut thicker materials. Being in San Antonio, it gets up to 100F in the day and for everyone’s safety, you have to get layered up while using a torch. It makes our safe torching window super small. This would hold everything up.

“The FS55 has drastically cut down our processing time on all of our heavy gauge steel. It’s probably reduced our overall processing time by 65% to 70% for materials we had to torch before. Our torching needs are minimal now and any time we can avoid extra heat, we’re happy.”

It’s awesome, it makes it so much easier for us to process heavy steel...

HUNTER TRIESCH OWNER Bracken Recycling

DOMINIC RUNDIO GENERAL MANAGER Bracken Recycling

TONYA LAND DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE COMMS Exodus Global

With features that make the attachment more durable and easy to maintain, the FS55 has continued to perform in the three years since its purchase. This is key for the Bracken Recycling team, who need to keep running in harsh conditions. All the hydraulic circuits of the FS55 are duty cycle tested to typical operating pressures, flow and temperatures before they’re delivered to customers.

There are also large removable access panels for straightforward component replacement.

As Dominic explains, this makes the FS55 “Super reliable, it barely ever goes down. The blades are amazing, they can cut up so much before they go bad. I definitely get my money’s worth. It’s one of my favourite pieces of equipment in the San Antonio yard. Plus, we use two other Fortress shears at our Great Northwest Recycling site too.”

“Every time we have a question or need parts, there’s someone we can call who knows exactly what we mean. It’s great to speak with someone who knows the industry and can get us exactly what we need. Our experiences with everyone at ShearCore, Bladecore and Exodus Global have been great. We’ll continue working with them anytime we need to upgrade our equipment.”

MATCHLESS SUPPORT

Having a long-term relationship with Terry and ShearCore doesn’t just help Dominic and his team find the right equipment for their site, it keeps the site running efficiently too. With an expert service team on hand, they can deliver excellence to their customers and meet their environmental commitments.

He explains, “If a manufacturer doesn’t have a great support team to help customers long term, it won’t matter how great the equipment is. Over time, all machines break. The quality of the backup from Exodus Global makes those moments less impactful on our overall production. ShearCore offers fantastic customer service. Our uptime is amazing.