by Diana Barnum, Correspondent
(left to right) Randy Tigar, Vice President and Co-owner, holding a
box of raw material, Gary Diaaz also Co-owner and President of American
Soil and Mulch, holding a box of finished product.
Photo provided by
T.H. Glennon
Marketing specialty, or niche, products might appear on the surface to
be selling to a smaller target market, limiting income possibilities. On
the contrary, it can open up some pretty hefty expansion opportunities as
two wood recycling facilities discovered; American Soil & Mulch, Inc.
and Sunshine Mulch, Inc.
American Soil & Mulch, Inc.
Established
only three years ago, American Soil & Mulch, Inc., a wholesale company
dealing in bulk quantities of organic mulches, playground surfaces and
blended dirts, started out with only one screen, one grinder and a couple
of loaders and produced roughly 40,000-cubic yards of total
product.
“We were not looking to be the biggest, but to have a top
quality product,” said Gary Diaz, president and co-owner of American Soil
& Mulch, Inc. “We invested in a lot of equipment.”
Now, three years
later, his company has grown to 20 employees and a huge assortment of
equipment including large rubber-tire loaders with 5- to 9-yard
buckets.
Gary’s Current Equipment Includes:
WA-500 Komatsu loaders
Kawasaki Z95 loader FR 35 and FR 100 Fiat loader Kobelco LK 900 loader
Case W 36 The company also has a Cat 977 track loader, Peterbilt and MAC
tractors, Dorsey and Fabrex walking-floor tractor trailers, a Wildcat
Windrow turner, three tub grinders, all on wheels; a Toro 5000, a Jones
Giant and a Haybuster HD-12, two Mulch Color Jets, a Morbark 3000-P
colorizer, and two portable screens on wheels; a 830 trommel from
Powerscreen and a double-deck CEC 616.
Total output
today:
60,000-cubic yards colorized mulch 60,000-cubic yards regular
mulch 30,000-cubic yards soil 10,000-cubic yards playground material “We
colorize using the Mulch Color Jet attached to the Toro,” explained Diaz.
“The Toro is the largest grinder on site and puts out about 60% more
volume than the next largest grinder, the HD-12.” The Mulch Color Jet,
manufactured by T.H. Glennon Co., Inc., (see below), accurately meters,
calibrates and monitors liquid colorant to grinding equipment during the
grinding process. The company’s colored mulch product line currently
consists of black, dark brown and gold.
American Soil & Mulch, Inc.
was originally established about 15 years ago in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
as a satellite site of a company called Advanced Recycling, with
headquarters in New Jersey. Around 6 years ago, Casella Waste Systems
(CWS) took over all of Advanced Recycling’s operations, including this
site, then named American Supply, focusing on wood waste and a little yard
waste handling. But financial problems, coupled with an overextension into
non-core businesses not tied into their land operations, caused CWS to
sell off many of its non-core businesses..
Their site manager, with
14-years on the job, was Diaz, who saw things a little differently when he
helped clean up the site to resell.
“I saw an opportunity to get the
site developed to the point where it could be a real force in the
marketplace and an asset to the community,” said Diaz. “The site had been
allowed to decay and was not being managed properly.”
Diaz had owned a
small wood recycling business before working for CSW that was purchased by
Advanced Recycling. With a goal of slow growth and the possibility that he
might hook up with a larger player, Diaz purchased American Supply in
2001, changed the name to American Soil & Mulch, Inc., and ran
operations solo, as president.
Six months later his partner came
onboard, long-time friend and main source of wood for colorized materials,
Randy Tigar, who also owns a pallet business with his brother; T&M
Pallet. Tigar became VP and co-owner of American Soil & Mulch, Inc., a
fully permitted PADEP 50-acre facility.
Products and services include
soils, mulch (including colorized and natural), clean soil disposal,
composting, wood and vegetative recycling, playground materials,
(Playmat), and firewood. End users are most often nurseries, garden
centers and landscaping contractors, “If you’re setup properly, there’s
nothing more efficient than a Mulch Color Jet,” said Diaz. Using the Mulch
Color Jet during the wood grind, “We can put out as much as 200-cubic
yards per hour with the Toro. Realistically, with a 7-hour day, we average
around 1,400-cubic yards a day. We re-grind and colorize right in the Toro
tub grinder.”
The future of American Soil & Mulch, Inc. is focused
on cash flow and sustained growth. Within two years, its owners plan to
reach an annual production rate of two hundred thousand cubic yards. In
the near term, the company plans to set up its own mulch bagging
operation.
Colorizing rubber tire chips for playground surface may be a
future addition to the product/ service line, but is reported to be
somewhat expensive at this point in time.
For more information, contact
American Soil & Mulch, Inc. at 1600 Freemansburg Road Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania 18020. Call: 610-882-1555 (ph); or 610-882-1557 (fax). Visit
them online at: americanmulch.com or email them at:
CustomerSupport@AmericanMulch.com
Sunshine Mulch, Inc.
Another
opportunity for expansion was with Sunshine Mulch, Inc. In 1987, when
owner Mike Hickey first started his land clearing operations, he hadn’t
heard of colored mulch. But after he learned about it from a friend in
1996 and added it to his operations on 5 acres in Cocoa, Florida, his
company grew to 25 acres in just a few years.
“We use a Mulch Color Jet
attached to one of two 1300 Mobark tub grinders,” said Mike Hickey, owner
of both Sunshine Mulch, Inc., and P&M Custom Grinding and Land
Clearing. “Our 25-acre landfill takes in nothing but wood waste in
Rockledge,(Florida).”
With about a half dozen employees, Hickey’s
workers mainly clear highways and subdivisions. They clear the land and
recycle debris into colored mulch by mixing in colorants from T.H. Glennon
Co., Inc. during the wood waste grinding process.
“We use 4,000-lb. net
totes of T.H. Glennon colorants; red and gold are the most popular,” said
Hickey. “We have been coloring with the Mulch Color Jet for four and a
half years and it has proven to be very effective”.
Generally, Hickey’s
crew loads the following equipment, along with one or both tub grinders,
onto Kenworth and Mac trucks to haul to job sites: two trackhoes; a
Komatsu PC 150 and a Daewoo 220LC; and three rubber tire wheel loaders; a
Komatsu WA250, a Volvo L9OC, and a Dresser 520. Once onsite, the steps in
their operations are:
Clear the land with wheel loaders and trackhoes
Pile up debris Send logs and stumps back to the yard for grinding and
turning into colored mulch Plow palmettos Chop up and grind debris onsite
Return to their yard to grind large stumps - usually weekly or every few
days Remove dirt with 727 Morbark screen Grind second time while adding
colorant with the Mulch Color Jet To stay competitive, Hickey is taking a
look at coloring sand and crushed concrete / gravel products for
landscaping home and business environments. His contacts tell him this is
already ongoing in California.
T.H. Glennon Co., Inc.
The Mulch
Color Jet, manufactured by T. H. Glennon Co., Inc. of Salisbury, MA, is
designed to attach to tub grinders so that the coloring and regrinding of
the wood mulch occur simultaneously. While this approach is the most
efficient use of the equipment, the Mulch Color Jet may also be attached
to screw augers, compost mixers, trommel screens and other mixing
equipment to easily color mulch . Different Mulch Color Jet models are
offered, based upon the size/output of the auger, grinder or other
equipment to which the unit is attached. The Mulch Color Jet models are
rated to color from a low of 25 to a high of 450 cubic yards of product
per hour. T. H. Glennon Co., Inc. manufactures four different types of
colorant for the recycling industry:
Wood mulch or chips Rubber
surfacing (popular on playgrounds) Crushed concrete rock / gravel Sand
(popular in children’s sandboxes) T. H. Glennon Co., Inc. was established
40 years ago. It was purchased by Brian Shea, a chemist who bought the
company from his dad, Richard Shea, now a Board member. Lab and production
facilities, staffed with 16 employees, are located in a 15,000-square foot
building in Salisbury.
“We help people get profitable faster than
anyone else in the business,” said Brian Shea. “With the Mulch Color Jet,
it takes me less than one hour to set up a tub grinder to produce
saleable, colored mulch. Wood recyclers can be in the colored mulch
business for less than $10,000. Other mulch coloring equipment can cost
from $65,000 to $100,000, or more to produce the same quantity and quality
of finished product”.
T. H Glennon Co., Inc. sells worldwide with a
focus on U.S., Caribbean, and West European destinations. The company’s
focus is on increasing the profitability of its customers by helping them
make the most out of their grinding equipment.
Future of Mulch
Coloring
As Shea sees more and more low-cost high-production equipment
sold every year, he made some prediction about the industry:
“Mulch
coloring is going to go to appliances / attachments, instead of full-size
pieces of equipment,” explained Shea. “For example, the Mulch Color Jet’s
dry-feed and liquid coloring systems cost less to install and less to run
on a daily basis than the stand-alone coloring machines.”
“For people
who want to size with trommel screens instead of grinders, used
stand-alone coloring equipment is available.”
“For those generating
chip,(tree work), for example, grinding and coloring can be done for less
money than by using only a coloring machine. A small tub grinder of
roughly 40-60 yds. capacity with a Mulch Color Jet is cheaper than a
full-sized coloring machine.”
“Quality of mulch improves with more, and
smaller, grinding,” said Shea. “Smaller mulch keeps water in, turns to
soil quicker and looks better.”
Popular colorants at T.H Glennon Co.,
Inc. are:
#1 – Red (several shades)
#2 – Brown (dark, light,
cocoa)
#3 – Black
#4 – Gold blends
#5 – Blue and green shades
(tie)
For more information, contact Sunshine Mulch, Inc., 635 Brevard
Ave., Cocoa, FL 32922. Call: (321) 288-2200; or fax inquiries to: (321)
638-2449. Or contact T. H. Glennon Co., Inc., 26 Fanaras Drive, P.O. Box
5311, Salisbury, MA 01952. Call: 978-465-7222 (ph); or 978-465-3228 (fax).
Visit them online at: www.mulchcolorjet.com ; or email:
info@mulchcolorjet.com |