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The rolloff container is the silent partner, often in the background on busy job sites. By Peter Hildebrandt
Until the rolloffs show up, the hard work of demolition, scrap metal collection and construction or yardwaste cleanup can’t get very far. Here, some rolloff companies and related manufacturers highlight their tough product lines and their customers comment on the hand they receive in the rough daily workloads they’re dealing with. Long History, Tested Product Line Rudco covers the Eastern Seaboard. With two plants already located in New Jersey, one in South Carolina, and plans for more in New England and central Florida, the company is expanding operations to serve an ever-growing customer base. Rudco recently introduced a detachable rolloff system to expand into other markets, while also still serving the waste industry. The bodies for the detachable rolloff system include landscape industry, a storage body, a dump body, machine carrier, salt-spreader, hydro-shear, and many others. The unit is offered in three lifting capacities, which are 12,000, 15,000 and 20,000 pounds. These are mounted on chassis that do not require a commercial driver’s license for the piece of equipment being driven. In a Busy Casino City “But we also have sales people available at all times. They give out their home phone numbers to customers; it’s the same thing with our managers. If the sales people are unavailable, a manager will be ready to speak to them or to our plant managers. Service to our customers is what we stress a lot, on top of building a quality product. It’s always frustrating to call a place and simply get a voicemail on the phone. Our people check their voicemails quite often and our response time is the best, I think.” Cifaloglio uses Rudco’s truck-mounted hoist lifts, compactors, and their rolloff containers. The company is in the solid waste and recycling business. Delmo Cifaloglio, company owner, appreciates that Rudco has been involved in this business for many generations. Cifaloglio’s father, Henry started out in septic service in 1949 before moving into solid waste and recycling in the 1960s. “My dad dealt with Mark Rudolph’s grandfather and father, and I’ve now had the pleasure of dealing with Mark’s father and Mark,” says Cifaloglio. “As far as the equipment goes, we had the first rolloff truck which they ever built, as well as the first self-contained compactor that they ever built. “Due to our proximity to them, the great working relationship we have with them, good pricing, customer service and their ability to spec anything that we want, we find their equipment practical and economical. They work very hard to stay on the leading edge of their industry.” Unique Design, Long-Term Survival At the bottom of the side sheets of their rectangular rolled bottom containers, a semicircle radius has been placed. The radius prolongs the life of the container through protecting the side posts on the outside of the container from rust. It’s standard on all Thompson containers. “The vertical side posts on a rolloff container is normally the first place to rust as water, condensation, grit, and ice get in behind the post and rust it from the inside out,” says Madasz. “This often happens at the bottom of a container. With our rolled bottom, constant airflow occurs behind the posts. Water or condensation building up behind the posts dries while the container sits on the job site.” The same feature helps save on maintenance costs through fewer repairs on side posts of containers when they start to rust off. Those posts also give the container its side strength in attaching it to the floor. In the winter, if moisture gets between the sides and posts in a standard rolloff, expansion then becomes a problem and will further weaken the side posts. “This design, and the fact that we use a heavier gauge steel in the construction of our containers, is what sets us apart from our competitors,” adds Madasz. “We use 10-gauge steel in the side construction on our standard rolloffs. Most of the others use 12-gauge steel on the rectangular containers. I view our setup as something like a bicycle kickstand. A kickstand always gives the bike added strength in keeping it from falling over. Extra strength is definitely a plus in an environment where rolloff sides are constantly being banged up.” The design was the brainchild of company owner Jeff Thompson in the early 1990s. Thompson was in the container business prior to starting his own business. One of the reasons he went out on his own was to use this distinctive design in the construction of his rolloffs, according to Madasz. “We have a standard spec, a heavy-duty spec, and we also build to the customer’s spec,” says Madasz. “Many of the haulers out there have very specific needs and we do our best to meet those. It depends on our customers and the size of truck they own, what their equipment needs are.” In addition to heavier sidewalls, the company also uses heavier tubing for the main rails under the container and three-sixteenths flooring (standard for the industry). If customer feedback shows the need for any enhancements of containers, Thompson will research this and look into making the changes across the board. If that does not appear feasible, Thompson will readily work with the customer to make some personalized changes to their product. “We have no problem with doing something exclusively for one customer,” adds Madasz. “There haven’t been too many things they’ve come up with, but we’re here for them if they contact us. If we have a customer suggestion, we can switch things up to make them more suited or specific to their requests, whether it’s reinforcement through extra welding or extra gussets.” The company supplies containers to landscaping contractors who haul mulch in their rolloffs. This gives the added benefit of being able to take the mulch right to the jobsite, as well as the ease in working with the mulch right out of the container without the need to dump it directly on the ground. Thompson sells containers to firms that actually make the mulch for hauling. In addition to the mulch and landscaping industry, Thompson also supplies rolloffs for those involved with C&D debris, scrap metal recycling, as well as plastic and fiber recycling, gravel hauling, or tail-gating of sand. Liquid waste or watertight containers for sewer waste are other areas where Thompson rolloffs come into play. “The rolloff container’s life expectancy though, is always only as good as the care given by the equipment’s end-user,” says Madasz. “And though ours are solidly built, if that client really wants to take care of a rolloff, our containers will last longer due to a lack of the rusting factor. But our product’s construction has also only helped the situation because we get return business, referrals, and when the product’s on the street it stands alone and folks start to stand up and take notice. Most people would be shocked at how many containers are needed across this great country of ours. Our sales include even some in Canada, as well as Alaska and Hawaii.” Rolloffs for Varied Needs Rolloff Systems Inc. also does municipal work for many different municipalities and wastewater treatment plants. “These industries require liquid-proof containers and we’ve purchased those from Thompson, too,” says Garrett. “They construct a really good sludge container, which we’ve never had any problems with when it comes to leaks or spills.
“We haul the biosolids from wastewater treatment plants. We provide a container for the solids, and after they run their sludge through the belt press to deliquefy the solids remaining, they’ll place those in the containers and deposit those at the landfill. There are residual liquids remaining, and with Thompson’s hinge design on the tail-gate, including a tightening of the bottom, there is never any problem with leaking on the highway.” Garrett finds that the workmanship on the Thompson containers is among the best in the industry. “The containers Thompson produces hold up really well, longer for me than containers my competitors use,” says Garrett. “With all the materials and parts they’re using—whether on the hinges, the hook in the front, the rollers, the nose-rollers, cross timbers, latches, or gates—corners are never cut. This is different from what others in the industry are doing. “Aside from offering a superior product, Thompson’s rolloffs are also competitively priced. They are real good at customization, too. If there is one area of the container we want to beef up, they’re great at providing input, working with us, and doing what we need to get done.” Other factors Garrett appreciates are Thompson’s record when it comes to on time delivery of their products and customer service. Rolloff Systems Inc. has been doing business with Thompson a long time and is especially pleased with what Garrett considers a partnership between his company and Thompson. “We do a lot a business with them and expect to do even more in the coming years,” adds Garrett. “The workmanship is exceptional, everything from higher quality welds, the metal used, to the consistency in the product, and if we ever need parts, they’re there. “We do a lot of demolition work and sometimes our customers will rough the containers up pretty bad with their equipment. But the Thompson cans hold up better than any other container we’ve ever had. If we have hinges or latches that we’ve broken in the course of this heavy work, they can quickly replace those. Thompson makes any size we need; we purchase mainly four different sizes from them, plus they make compactor-receiver containers, too. “In the long run we simply find that the Thompson containers last longer and hold up better. There are lots to choose from out there. It’s good to have a great working relationship with someone.” One Way to Save Money on Vehicular Purchases The company’s business consists of three integrated operations, including building new trailers and trucks, rebuilding and service on trailers and trucks and their parts operation. “These all build on and support each other,” adds Brown. “We’re not just a ‘car dealership.’ We take care of you forever. The company maintains files/specifications on every trailer and truck built since the 1970s. “We also have an online parts store,” says Brown. “Customers are able to buy any part for our trailer, or a Galbreath Trailer for that matter, directly from our Web site. This was of the first in the industry, as is our parts catalog. We also have a 24/7 helpline, and the industry’s first training video is available on our Web site.” Rolloff trucks are about six times the market of rolloff trailers. “Customers purchase rolloff trucks because they’re short and maneuverable. But rolloff trailers typically are up to 47 feet in length. Until a year ago, the most popular trailer was the 40-foot tri-axle,” says Brown. Greg Brown had OmniSource’s Jeff Krusen approach him about building him a short trailer. During discussions, it came up that Krusen was dissatisfied with the expense of his rolloff trucks. “Jeff told me that when the trucks have problems with things such as suspension systems, he still has a $100,000 power unit attached sitting idle,” says Brown. “Though he loved our Benlee rolloff trailers, they were 40 to 47 feet long, meant for big boxes. As a result, we constructed a 26-foot trailer for him, which we call the Super Mini.” Brown adds that 80% of the bins in the US are a length of 22 feet inside and 23 feet outside. They are 20-, 30-, or 40-yard boxes with heights that vary. Benlee’s new Super Minis are attachable to a tractor so that the whole thing is as short as a truck and is meant to carry these 20-, 30-, and 40-yard boxes. “A rolloff truck is like a school bus in terms of maneuverability; but a tractor-trailer pivots, despite the length being the same. Therefore, our new, short, robust trailer gets into a tighter spot than a rolloff truck can. People buy rolloff trucks because they’re short and maneuverable; the Super Mini is as short, but more maneuverable. We think that with the economy going the way it is, saving up to $100,000 dollars (the extra money involved with purchasing a rolloff truck) will be a great selling point.” Benlee’s Super Mini uses the exact same axles that are used on their popular 40-foot trailers, along with the same Parker control valve, same 3,000-pound high-pressure hoses and 4-inch rollers with bronze bushings. “We don’t feel we’ve skimped on anything,” adds Brown. “And when your tractor may be down in the shop, you can still be running with a trailer—and able to keep working.” Benlee’s Super Mini is engineered to keep the weight as low as possible (13,000 pounds). This means more payload can be transported—as much as 43% more than a rolloff tri-axle truck in most states. “It’s amazing; we rarely sell more than one 40-foot rolloff trailer at a time, but customers are buying two or three Super Minis at a time. Our Super-Mini trailers are as short as a rolloff truck. “They’re also more maneuverable, carry more weight, and are great for keeping businesses going with cash flow. Between our videos, the online parts store, and our catalog, we feel we’re being responsive to the marketplace. In addition to these developments, these online tools answer many of our customers’ issues and questions.” Peter Hildebrandt specializes in science and engineering topics. MSW - May/June 2008
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