MPR Supply Chain Solutions recently welcomed their first SENNEBEBOGEN material handler to their operation, and they have seen nothing but positives.

Located in Bellaire, Ohio, along the Ohio River, MPR is a transloading company that primarily unloads barges, moving around 1.25 million tons of sand every year. Other operations include bulk storage and warehousing and truck brokerage.

After researching different machines, they decided that a SENNEBOGEN 870E with a 7-yard clamshell bucket would best fit their operation to move frac sand. “From the barge, sand gets loaded into the hopper and goes up the conveyors into our building. It gets stockpiled in our building, and is used in the tri-state area of West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.”

Parts availability is a driving factor in the decision

“The biggest appeal of SENNEBOGEN was the parts availability,” said Natalie Brown, President and Co-owner, “We operate 24/7, 365 and if we happen to have downtime we will have a very quick turnaround time to receive the parts and get our machine up and running,” said Natalie. “It’s a hotshot day away,” added Justin Brown, Vice President of Operations.

Uptime kits will also be a valuable tool for MPR. “We have the electrical Uptime kit, which has switches, relays, fuses, all the way down to a new ignition for the machine. I think it is a very valuable resource instead of having to call somebody every time you need a part.”

Speedy delivery and Assembly

“The machine was here in record time. Once we purchased it, it was located in the States and was able to be shipped to us quickly.” Said Natalie. “From the time we told them we wanted it to the time it was ready to use, it was only a week.” They had looked into different machines with their sales and service providers who ran them through the pros and cons of the machines, ultimately deciding on their 870E.

“The Delivery was fantastic. As soon as the machine arrived, our service provider and SENNEBOGEN technician put the machine together in no time. They didn’t miss a beat and just kept going,” added Brian Wallace, Operations Manager, “They actually left here and went and did another machine. They did two machines in just a couple of days which is totally outside the realm of what we are used to.”

User-friendly maintenance and operation

“Another big appeal to SENNEBOGEN was the user and operator friendliness of the machine,” said Justin. With their previous material handler, they had to have a company come to their facility and plug into the machine to tell them what was wrong. Brian said he is confident they can troubleshoot the machine themselves. “It’s going to be an easy machine to work on as opposed to the machines we have dealt with in the past.”

“There are benefits, like hydraulic controls and less computerization, which make it user-friendly,” added Justin.

Craig Delaney, the senior operator of MPR, appreciates the visibility and comfort of the cab. “The cab is nice and quiet, it’s a strong machine, and I can reach all the way out and pick up sand with no problem. I don’t have to have anyone on the barge to spot me and I can clean it pretty well.”

Training and technical opportunities

MPR has not yet had the opportunity to send any of their employees to training, but Natalie said they are “very intrigued by SENNEBOGENs training program and we will be sending some of our managers and operators to learn more about our equipment and uptime kits.”

Their Authorized Service Provider Randy Bostick, owner of Iron Horse Maintenance, walked them through the basics of their 870E. “He walked me through where everything was and how everything worked. The day I started to run it he showed up again to make sure everything was good and that I didn’t have any questions.” Said Craig, who also added, “It’s got some maintenance things I like. It seems that everything is accessible and easy to get to.”

MPR and SENNEBOGEN: A growing relationship

While they have only had their SENNEBOGEN for a short time, MPR Supply Chain Solutions has already seen what SENNEBOGEN can do for them both through the equipment and the people.

“We are very excited to partner with SENNEBOGEN and purchase our first machine. They have been very helpful with the process,” said Natalie, “We are excited to develop a relationship and see how we continue to grow together.”