Baling Equipment Efficiencies You Can Use Right Now

Baling equipment can streamline your waste-handling processes, especially if your facility generates many tons of recyclable waste per week. Just ask Mike Blais, Regional Sales Manager at Maren Engineering Corp., a leading provider of baling systems located in South Holland, IL. Maren is now part of Komar Industries, a leading designer and manufacturer of industrial waste compacting and recycling processing systems, which acquired Maren on Feb 3.

Blais says there are many benefits to using automatic baling equipment. Manufacturers who automate the bundling of their recyclable loads of paperboard, fiber, and corrugated waste can handle and transport waste material in a neat, compact, and cost-effective format.

“It’s always important to shop around for the right baling equipment,” Blais says. “Selecting a baler that’s too small or too slow will lead to inefficiencies while a baler that’s too large or fast can waste money, increase energy costs and require a longer return on investment (ROI). We offer many baler configurations and work with each customer individually to ensure they get a model that’s right for them. Specially designed shear blades are one feature clients rely on in our ProPak series. The shear blades prevent jamming when baling Old Corrugated Containers (OCC).”

Automating with help from Mid America Paper Recycling can make a big difference in your recycling efficiency. An industrial-quality paperboard baler can reduce scrap material volume by as much as 90 percent, depending on the baler model. Taking Mid America Paper Recycling’s Waste Audit Survey can assess how much waste your company is producing. Then we can help you select the baler that’s right for you.

Despite the changing market for recyclable corrugated waste and continued supply chain issues, Blais says baling equipment is a wise investment. “Even as the market for corrugated isn’t what it was during the pandemic, investing in an industrial baler best suited to the manufacturer’s recycling operation is more cost-effective than having waste hauled to a landfill. Baling is especially beneficial if the business produces a lot of waste. You pay quite a bit to have recyclable waste hauled to a landfill – even if it doesn’t have much current value, you’ll save thousands of dollars annually baling instead. You’ll also save quite a bit of space storing the corrugated waste at your facility.”

There are other cost advantages to using automatic balers. Tighter, heavier bales also help meet trailer load packing requirements, Blais notes. “Loose, light bales may not meet the requisite 20-ton (40,000-lb) weight requirement set by most pulp and paper mills. If the bales aren’t tightly compacted, they could topple in a trailer, which isn’t safe. Shear-bladed balers provide bales with perfectly flat tops, so they stack well and don’t wobble.”

Saving on bale wire usage is also important, considering the high steel prices today. “Wire savings is an advantage,” Blais adds. “If you make a lot less bales per week, there is a great savings in bale wire costs when you make fewer bales.” 

Equipment updates

Baling equipment continues to improve with technology updates, and Maren Engineering’s equipment is no exception, Blais adds.

Selecting the right baler size and output for your facility that has the features you need saves on labor and labor-intensive processes in the long run, Blais points out. “It can increase safety because it eliminates using box cutters to cut up shipping boxes into smaller sizes the facility can work with.”

Most balers today feature new technology that can handle various recyclable waste. They have more memory and conveyor controls that allow the operator to select upper or lower photoeye activation.

“They allow users to make a tighter, heavier bale, which saves on labor costs and shipping costs. They come with sophisticated operator interfaces, computerized controls that provide machine status graphic displays, and remote interfaces. Our WS Legacy Series extrusion balers include models with feed hoppers as wide as 45 inches and can be used in various industries, so they’re versatile.”

Maren Engineering’s new A-frame model



Maren’s AI60W A-frame-style model with replaceable double-edge shear blades, for example, is a newer design that makes wider bales measuring 45 in. w and 40 in. tall, at weights up to 2,500 

lbs., Blais says. “The automatic-tie horizontal machine designs prevent jams, provide less cleanup, longer-lasting constructions, easier servicing, and heavier bales. New technology simply produces better quality bales.”

To help you determine your equipment needs, request a free, quick, Waste Audit Survey from Mid America Paper Recycling at https://bit.ly/2OI2o0Z.