DALLAS, TX – Shifting dynamics in the refuse industry are affecting the design of trash-hauling trucks and equipment.
“A few years ago we went from an industry made up predominantly of family owned businesses and small companies to big national corporations via mergers and consolidation,” Jim Johnston, president of Autocar Truck Co., told Fleet Owner at Waste Expo here. “Now, the industry is reversing itself, breaking down from large corporations into smaller, more regional firms.”
“That shift is forcing changes to trash equipment as well, said Michael Jobe, president of refuse body maker Heil Environmental Industries.
“It’s now all about how to pick up more trash faster and better than before,” he explained to Fleet Owner. “Uptime and productivity have become the most important things to refuse haulers today.”
He added that it’s a trend accelerating because “there are so many market dynamics now, from new regulations to increased competition. That’s why to take refuse equipment to the next level, to meet those needs, we can’t do the same things and produce the same equipment we always have.”