Page 20 from: West Coast report + Plastics Special
A U T H O R Martijn Reintjes
20
The best of both worlds
S i e r r a R e c y c l i n g & D e m o l i t i o n a n d S i e r r a I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a c h i n e r y
‘We do what you do every day.’ John Sacco, owner and president of US-based Sierra International
Machinery, loves the company’s new campaign slogan. ‘It says it all,’ says Sacco. ‘We are recyclers
ourselves, we know from experience which machinery and technology specifics are required to do
the job properly. This helps us design and build only the very best for the industry.’
Sierra is widely known as a major recy-
cling equipment manufacturer, Sierra
International Machinery. 2-Ram balers
carrying the Sierra logo are in opera-
tion across North and South America
and well beyond. Sierra’s other activity
is recycling ferrous and non-ferrous
metals (Sierra Recycling &
Demolition), and recycling is what you
see when you visit the company head-
quarters and main scrap yard in
Bakersfield, California, a two-hour
drive north of Los Angeles.
THE GEORGIA BRANCH
‘Don’t expect any machinery produc-
tion here,’ says John Sacco, second
generation owner of Sierra.
‘Equipment manufacturing takes place
at our facility in Jesup, Georgia.’ Why
is that, asks Recycling International.
‘To put it mildly,’ he continues,
‘California is not exactly entrepreneur
friendly. Too much tax, too many rules
and regulations.’ This in contrast to
Georgia which has a much more busi-
ness-friendly climate, according to
Sacco.
The 4 500 m2 facility in Jesup is run-
ning overtime. Demand for Sierra bal-
ers has seen spectacular growth dur-
ing the past two to three years and in
response the firm has recently ramped
up capacity and extended the produc-
tion hall.
SPECTACULAR SALES JUMP
In 2018 Sierra introduced its REB-4
(REB stands for Recycle Everything
Baler) stationary baler which has been
‘an unbelievable success’. And now
the REB-X Press, a mobile two-ram
machine unveiled at the latest ISRI
Expo in Los Angeles, has also proved
to be a big hit. ‘This year’s ISRI show
was probably the best show ever for
us,’ says Sacco. ‘We had already found
a customer for the unit on display and,
during the two-day expo, we sold two
more units.’
MOBILITY IS KEY
Sacco is proud that his company and
team have delivered ‘a brand new
innovative machine’ for the recycling
industry. ‘The REB-X Press will give
waste and scrap recyclers throughout
the world the flexibility to manoeuvre
John Sacco: ‘The scrap and recycling business is in our roots.’
‘WE KNOW YOUR CHALLENGES’
Sierra International Machinery supplies and manu-
factures a complete range of recycling solutions,
including stationary and mobile two-ram balers,
material handlers and conveyers.
‘The scrap and recycling business is in our roots,’
says Sierra’s president John Sacco. ‘We design our
machines to fulfill the needs of the processor. We
know the challenges, so we try to eliminate as
many as possible for our customers.’
According to Sacco, there isn’t a problem custom-
ers will experience with Sierra equipment that
Sierra has not already come across themselves. ‘We
get recyclers up and running the fastest because of
our hands-on knowledge and years of experience’,
he promises.
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