Tomra: Lesson Learned

Tomra, a worldwide recycling company, asked Valley Craft to develop a custom machine for lifting and dumping recycling totes containing of broken glass. Our team of engineers and designers worked with the client to provide an estimate of what their solution would take. However, our initial recommendations were met with a mild case of sticker shock. A limited budget forced Tomra to explore a lower cost alternative. Valley Craft didn’t alter our recommendation because we felt we’d provided the best solution with safety concerns in mind. We ultimately lost Tomra’s business to a lower cost provider.

Nine months later, the people from Tomra were back, expressing regret for their choice. The low cost lifts were failing to stand up to the rigorous application.  Armed with a more realistic budget, Tomra asked Valley Craft to take another look at the application.

Following an onsite visit, our engineers developed a unique machine that would not only stand up to years of rugged use, but would also reduce 50 percent of the manual labor needed to dump the custom container. Using a hydraulic foot pump in conjunction with an exclusive pivot channel for dumping the container in one fluid operation, an optimum solution was created for the specific application.

The original lifts are all still performing optimally and plans for further installations are in the works.