When Oakley of Foothill Ranch, Ca., expanded beyond sunglasses to a complete line of sporting apparel, distribution center management knew it needed a baler in the new DC. Not only did Oakley want to play a personal part in recycling its scrap, it also wanted to capture the revenue generated from baled corrugated boxes.

Since the baler would be located outside of the facility, it was also apparent that an automated system was required. The solution is an automatic tie baler, which requires minimal maintenance.

The baler features a clear opening of 41.5 inches by 60 inches, which means Oakley employees do not have to spend time breaking down, flattening, or dismantling boxes. Employees simply put the boxes on a conveyor in the DC, which delivers the boxes outside to the baler for processing. No one handles the boxes again until the completed bale is stored or loaded on a truck for delivery to a paper mill for reprocessing.

Because the baler requires only 22 seconds to tie a completed bale, the facility does not have to cease operations waiting for the baler to clear the trash line. This keeps the operation running smoothly even during the busiest time of the month.

Oakley ships the completed bales directly to the paper mill, assuring the highest possible price for the scrap even during down markets when paper mills are particular about what scrap they will accept. Since properly tied bales require less handling at the mill, recyclers prefer customers who can produce mill-ready bales.