Page 27 - MetalForming-Jul-2018-issue
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  pany cited by Hagood shreds and dumps 50,000 trailers per year, and similar companies dot the landscape.
He saw opportunities in salvaging trailers, and set out to convert trailer materials into other useful products.
So, nearly four years ago, Hagood started EcoVet, a company that not only would reclaim trailer materials, but employ veterans in the process.
“Ultimately, we are a recycling com- pany, and we demo 53-ft.-long cargo trailers to build furniture, bases and frames. We are trying to change the habit of landfilling trailers,” Hagood says. “We specialize in reverse logistics and end-of-life product management, helping give new life to old products and materials. Our team of veterans design and build handcrafted furniture using materials reclaimed from those decommissioned semi trailers.”
Dependability a Must
Early on, EcoVet worked out deals to sell through Sam’s Club (part of Wal-
mart, which opened its first store in Rogers and calls nearby Bentonville its headquarters home), online and also through a local catalog company. This past year, EcoVet, via the efforts of its 30 employees, including at least 50 per- cent veterans, has reached nearly $1 million in sales through its three busi- ness streams: building furniture, selling lumber and deconstructing trailers.
The lumber and furniture grow out of the demo business, and key to reclaiming operations is reliable equip- ment that can withstand harsh duty. Four years back at the company’s inception, EcoVet employed two portable Hypertherm plasma cutters, a Powermax125 and Powermax1650, to dismantle trailers.
“I have tried a couple other brands, but those two plasma cutters are still operational, doing the job every day,” Hagood says.
Impressed by their dependability and low maintenance requirements, Hagood and EcoVet have continued to
select Hypertherm equipment. Today, the roster includes those originals as well as a Powermax45XP purchased last year, Duramax Hyamp long torches and a brand-new product, a torch sled accessory purchased earlier this year.
The Powermax line of plasma-cut- ting and gouging systems, which depending on the unit can cut metal to 2.25 in. thick, is built to withstand heavy-duty use in demanding indus- trial environments, according to Hyper- therm officials, which makes the line ideal for EcoVet’s needs.
The Powermax125, one of the units dedicated to cutting the trailers at EcoVet, offers a 100-percent duty cycle, 1-in. mechanized pierce capa- bility and rapid metal removal. It fea- tures Hypertherm’s Smart Sense tech- nology that automatically adjusts gas pressure for particular applications. The Duramax Hyamp torches provide versatility for hand cutting, portable automation, X-Y table cutting, extend- ed reach cutting (a must for EcoVet),
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