September/October 1992
This long-time scrap-industry supplier takes a systems approach to lifting magnets.
BY JEFF BORSECNIK
Jeff Borsecnik is assistant editor of Scrap Processing and Recycling.
"What's important is that we not only manufacture lifting magnets for the scrap and steel industry," says William Lamon, new equipment product manager for Ohio Magnetics Inc. (Maple Heights, Ohio), "but we're also able to supply complete support systems to back them up." In fact, a corporate brochure boasts that the company "is the only completely integrated manufacturer of magnetic lifting equipment in the world" because it builds its own magnet controllers, power sources, and even specialized battery-backup systems, in addition to the magnets themselves.
To Lamon, this "systems approach" means flexible design: "We're able to work the support equipment around the magnet, so it's a customized system. Also, all the components are tested together, so we know the whole system is going to function properly together." It's also easier on the buyer, says Lamon: "This way, the customer has one system manufactured by one company. If there's a problem with a piece of equipment, the customer can simply go back to the manufacturer and rely on that one company to correct it."
The firm's systems approach began taking root when it started making generators for magnets for mobile cranes in 1967—50 years after it opened shop. Later, the company added a line of controllers—the brain that directs the flow of power to the magnet and diverts and absorbs the juice when a load is released. Ohio now also produces rectifiers, which allow magnets to be powered by alternating current in applications where it's available, such as on overhead cable cranes. Most recently, the firm began producing battery backups—emergency systems for overhead cranes—and it's developing new analytical equipment to monitor magnet performance and identify failures before they occur.
Ohio also has a substantial business in magnet repair, and even has one engineer dedicated mainly to magnet rejuvenation. He oversees magnet opening and evaluation, plans repairs, and provides sketches and redesigns as needed.
The level of competition in the new-magnet business has stiffened in recent years, according to Ohio 's executives, but it's even tougher in repair. In addition to a few major manufacturers and established magnet repair companies, there has apparently been a proliferation of what Lamon calls "quick-fix fortune hunters"—small shops that move in and out of the magnet repair business. Such operations may be able to offer a less-expensive fix because of low overhead, says Lamon, but problems with such fixes sometimes arise later—and the repair shop may have retired from the business by then.
Making Magnets to Meet Needs
There are two basic kinds of lifting magnets—"cast" and "fabricated" but Ohio concentrates on the former. Cast magnets are constructed from a single large casting that makes up the top, sides, and center pole of the magnet. In a fabricated magnet, these components are created separately and welded together. Both types have a welded-on bottom plate (generally made of heavy-duty manganese) that supports and protects the internal components, especially the coils of conductor.
"We've stayed with the cast design for our large magnets because we feel that we have a stronger magnet to supply the customer," says Lamon. "We think it stands up to abuse better and it's more economical to repair." Furthermore, adds Ptak, manager of engineering, the cast design allows the manufacturer to vary the cross section of the magnet and build special contours into the top of the case, improving design flexibility. "With a fabricated magnet, you have to do this in steps and it's not as efficient," he says. "Also, we can strengthen the outer wall of the cast magnet by putting in rib sections. While you can fabricate that—by welding on ribs—they become very expensive."
The firm produces five lines of circular cast scrap-handling magnets with diameters ranging from 34 to 93 inches and weights of about 2,600 to 18,000 pounds. The differences among them are dictated by the demands of various applications. For instance, some magnets are available with either copper or aluminum coils (copper is a better conductor, but is heavier and more expensive), certain models have a heavier bottom plate to stand up to more-rugged uses, and some are designed to withstand excessive heat. Additional factors that determine which magnet best fits a job are the volume it must handle, how much time the magnet must be "on" relative to the time it's not powered, how long it must typically be powered, and the kind of crane or other equipment it will be used with.
In addition to its round, bright-yellow scrap-handling magnets, Ohio produces lifting magnets for steel mills in both cast and fabricated designs. Some look like scrap magnets, but are built to handle hot metal. Others are rectangular or uniquely shaped to lift certain shapes of finished steel products, such as a "bipolar" type with two rectangular poles for handling coils or long items and a magnet that looks like a four-petalled flower hanging upside-down, built to vertically handle a specific size of coil.
Ohio also manufactures a line of small fabricated magnets, for use by railroads, which employ magnets to clean tracks and handle small amounts of scrap, and other small scrap-handling operations.
Nevertheless, the scrap processing market segment is Ohio 's biggest overall, though mills, which buy magnets for handling scrap as well as new steel, are of growing importance. Ptak estimates that about twice as many of the firm's magnets are sold to handle scrap compared to new products. Railroads and the specialized slag recycling industry make up the balance of Ohio 's buyers.
Working Lean
Ohio 's broad product line requires a broad range of skills from a fairly trim work force. Noting, for example, that the company winds all the armatures and coils in its "made-from-scratch" generators, Lamon says, "You don't go out every day and find coil winders." In the engineering department, Ptak says he looks to hire employees with "versatility and willingness to do many different tasks." This fits into the firm's "get-the-job-done" mentality, he says. "There's enough cooperation here that if people see a job to do, they will do it."
The firm's manufacturing work force—it's a unionized group, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL -CIO—now numbers less than 30, compared with 50 or more in flush periods. Two plant supervisors, about seven people handling various duties in the office, five in engineering, and a few responsible for maintenance and shipping complete the employee roster.
Sales are handled through a network of about two dozen manufacturer's representatives, most of whom specialize in marketing to either scrap processors or steel mills. The scrap sales reps tend to also sell related processing tools, such as shears, knives, and balers, and most have expertise with electrical equipment. Five reps are stationed abroad—in India , Korea , Mexico , Taiwan , and Venezuela —and the balance are distributed around the United States in a pattern that roughly mirrors the concentration of domestic scrap processors.
Despite its local-sounding name, Ohio is an international company. For several decades, the firm has looked abroad, serving foreign customers—primarily steel mills—first in Mexico , South America , and India . Now, says Lamon, the company is "hot and heavy" into Asian markets, adding to the list of Far Eastern countries it has served for about 10 years. Overall, a third of the company's business involves exports.
Awaiting the Upswing
Lamon says Ohio "should be" doing $10 million to $12 million in annual sales, but the quiet on the factory floor and wire baskets full of machined and ready-to-go parts testify that this is not the current pace of business (although the firm's growing parts inventory speaks of optimism). Many of Ohio 's customers complain that the current recession is worse than the troubles of the early 1980s, with some even using the term "depression," Lamon notes. Fewer industry firms seem to have foundered this time around, however, apparently because those that have survived are "working smarter," he observes.
Having itself survived decades of business swings in the scrap industry, Ohio will pull out of the current recession, says Ptak. "We've survived so long and plan to survive into the future, not growing by leaps and bounds, but we'll be a major player in the marketplace." While admitting that the economy is currently "much slower than I expected," he says, "I know by the end of the year we'll be going great guns."
"We're pretty locked into scrap and the business cycle," says Lamon. "Our growth depends on steel mills and the direction of their suppliers." And Ohio 's goal, he says, is "to keep a step ahead of where the industry is" by anticipating its demands and the type of magnet-compatible equipment on the forefront.
Boding well for the company is worldwide growth in minimills and the promise of a broadening of the perspective of domestic steel producers. "They didn't used to talk much about the world market," says Lamon, "And you can't work that way any more."
And for Ohio , more steel moving more places means more magnets, more power supplies, more controllers ...
"Like a Brand New Car"
Lifting magnets are not cheap: A 45- or 55-inch magnet might run about $20,000 to $25,000, and a generator, controller, and emergency disconnect switch could add another $7,000 to $8,000, says Ptak. Big magnets—like a 93-incher—can run $50,000 or more. Because of the size of these investments (and probably because return customers account for more than 90 percent of Ohio 's sales) the firm does its best to help customers use their magnets most effectively.
Through seminars and posters, Ohio trains its customers' magnet operators and maintenance personnel that lifting magnets are not battering rams or drop balls but sophisticated electronic instruments. Noting that employees are often unaware of the cost and intricacy of lifting magnets, Ptak says, "We like to tell them that it's like a brand new car. Abusing a magnet is like running your car into a wall and saying `I guess now I have to fix it.' Then they take care of it." To increase awareness of this point, some of Ohio's customers have elected to give operators complete responsibility for care of the cranes they run, feeling the additional responsibility will improve the way they operate the machine.
Here are some magnet use tips Ohio promotes:
- Keep magnet power off until the magnet comes in contact with the scrap pile.
- Allow several seconds of power before lifting; the bigger the magnet the more time needed.
- Combine small scrap piles into big ones to maximize loads.
- Don't over-grease chain links—they'll collect abrasive dirt.
- Set the magnet down gently.
- Check and tighten magnet bolts regularly.
- Keep magnet dry and don't allow it to cool off on the ground.
- Keep magnet power off when not in use.
- Monitor magnet temperature if handling hot material; switch to a spare magnet if necessary. —J.B.
Editor's note: For further magnet maintenance information, see "Taking Care of Magnets" in the July/August 1991 issue.
This long-time scrap-industry supplier takes a systems approach to lifting magnets.