As a unique operation, Raptor Recycle & Transfer invested in electric material handlers and found they were critical to the company鈥檚 success.
By Uwe Kausch
Whether in New York, Dallas, Minneapolis, Phoenix or any other city across the globe, municipal solid waste handling has a unique smell for those that work and visit these facilities. Along with the aroma comes blowing trash, wastewater run-off and a variety of critters, and not those that you would like to see your five-year old cuddle with.
In 2017, Kit Starr and Shawn Polowniak started a roll-off dumpster company called 鈥淢y Dumpster Guy鈥�. When their roll-off trucks rolled into their local waste transfer stations, they could not help but notice not only the smell, but also mountains of trash spilling out on slick, slimy waste transfer floors. This is not to mention the chaotic scenes of having multiple trucks unloading their waste at the same time, in conjunction with trying to navigate around large front-end loaders that are used to push trash into the pits to waiting trucks down below. This very typical scene is what sparked an idea and resulted in the birth of their company, Raptor Recycle & Transfer.
Selling the Grandview City Council in Ohio on plans to build a 14-acre facility designed to handle hundreds of trucks and up to 2,800 tons of waste per day, adjacent to a residential area is no easy task. Starr indicated, 鈥淲e had to convince the Grandview City Council that this facility and how it would be operated would be different from other, more typical transfer stations, in order to secure the necessary permits to move the project forward.鈥�
Transferring Waste
Their idea was simple, yet brilliant. Instead of having trucks dump their waste onto the transfer floors, they have them dump their loads directly into long-haul semi-trailers, staged in one of four pits below. This waste is live screened and mechanically sorted inside the hauling trailers, and because the waste never hits the transfer floor, they avoid the negative issues associated with typical transfer stations.
Rather than contracting with trucking companies to transfer the waste, Raptor purchased their own fleet of trucks and trailers and hired their own drivers to carry the waste to the landfill, thereby ensuring truck and trailers would be ready when they needed them. To reduce waste from spilling along highways during transport, Raptor personnel designed and implemented a more efficient tarping system for their trucks.
The scale operator can see which of the four trailers below the pits have capacity for unloading, then directs the incoming traffic accordingly. The key component to their idea was to place two, electrically operated, stationary electric material handlers, one between two pits, to remove hazardous waste, recapture recyclable material, and one to spread and compress the waste into the trailers. These handlers also provide an additional service to customers by cleaning out trucks and roll-offs when waste may be stuck.
鈥淭his system is very efficient,鈥� Steve Tucker, President of Raptor, exclaimed. 鈥淲e are in a very competitive environment in the Kansas City Metro Area. Time is money for the customers that bring us their waste. Faster turn-around times allow them to get back to the business of collecting waste from their customers. It is imperative that the equipment we employ is of high quality, has a high degree of uptime and we can get the service when we need it. Our average turn-around time for our customers is under six minutes, which is pretty impressive, when comparing us to traditional transfer stations.鈥�
He went on to say, 鈥淐leanliness is also extremely important. Our transfer station floor is repeatedly swept and kept clean throughout the day, to prevent any debris from blowing around or causing any trip hazards or sharp items that could cause tire damage. Our end goal is to make visits to our transfer station fast, clean, safe, and efficient. When we do, word spreads fast and our customer base grows.鈥� It is obvious that their business model has caught on, as this transfer station now handles roughly 1,000 tons of waste daily.
Investing in Material Handlers
After originally purchasing another manufacturer鈥檚 stationary machines, Raptor Management decided to switch to two new stationary electric material handlers from Two-Harbors, MN based, Builtrite Manufacturing. The model they chose was the 2150-SE, which provides the adequate lifting capacity and reach to do the job with the utmost efficiency. The 2150s deliver, using their patented variable frequency drive, which ramps up the electrical horsepower slowly, thereby eliminating spike loads upon startup, saving energy. These electric material handlers use less than half the energy required to operate than diesel powered units, require less than half the maintenance of their diesel counterparts and they do not give off any Carbon Monoxide, Nitrous Oxide, or any other pollutants inside of the transfer station building or the neighboring community. 鈥淭he stationary cranes are critical to making our operation a success. We just did not get the uptime and performance from the first units we had and thus started looking for a better alternative. Builtrite engineers looked at our facility layout and designed units that would match our facility perfectly. We are extremely pleased with their performance to date and are very happy about making the switch,鈥� explained Tucker.
Going Forward
After seeing their initial plans, the city put their full support behind the project, which is now in its third year of operation. To say the least, it has been a smashing success. As promised, there is little to no smell or dust emanating from the facility, any garbage that may happen to escape is quickly rounded up and noise is minimized through fencing and native landscaping around the perimeter of the facility. Raptor鈥檚 process is so unique in fact, that they were able to secure a patent on their process. Raptor Founder and Owner, Kit Starr added, 鈥淥ur unique and patented process is getting a lot of attention from other waste haulers and transfer station operators. We see this as the future to how waste is handled going forward, especially in urban environments like ours.鈥潀 WA
Uwe Kausch is a 35 year, sales and marketing veteran in equipment manufacturing. He can be reached at [email protected]. For more information on Builtrite Stationary Electric Material Handlers, visit
For more information on Raptor Recycle & Transfer, visit .