The event commenced with a visit to Rotochopper’s headquarters in St. Martin, MN which included a facility tour, a presentation by the Rotochopper Service Department on the RotoLink® remote monitoring system and preventative maintenance program, and equipment demonstrations of the MT 237 trommel screen and Rotochopper’s newest machine the Sarlac Pinch Point Shredder. Visitors also had the opportunity to see the dedication and craftsmanship that goes into every Rotochopper machine. During social hour, Chad Angeli, Rotochopper Vice President of Customer Experience, welcomed guests to Demo Day before sitting down to enjoy a meal and conversation. The evening was filled with plenty of networking opportunities for all attendees, delicious food, and a little friendly competition playing bean bags, trivia, and yard games.
“Partnership is critical to Rotochopper’s relationship with our customers. This was the first Demo Day post Covid 19, and it was great to see 120+ attendees take time out of their schedules to connect with us. It was a great week to demonstrate new solutions we have coming out in 2024 and get feedback on other areas we can help our customers,” shared Angeli.
Thursday morning kicked off with a few words from Rotochopper CEO Tosh Brinkerhoff. Then Rotochopper Great Lakes West Sales Manager Lars Bergan emceed the event, giving attendees information on each of the pieces of equipment being demonstrated. Rotochopper has expanded their line up of equipment extensively since the last Demo Day event in 2018 and guests saw many of these pieces of equipment in action, including the 480R tracked radial conveyor working with the B-66L horizontal grinder, 365 conveyor and FP-66 horizontal grinder grinding and coloring mulch and MT 175 trommel screen screening topsoil during the first round of demos.
The MC-266 horizontal grinder and B-66 E electric horizontal grinder both ground whole pallets and pallet scraps exhibiting Rotochopper’s “Perfect In One Pass”® precision grinding capabilities. The MC series grinder was introduced in 1994 and has been a staple in the pallet industry since its launch. The B-66 E showcased the efficiency and reliability of electric powered equipment known for remarkable uptime and productivity. Rotochopper’s demo product specialists showed attendees how quick and easy it is to change screens in a Rotochopper grinder using our exclusive screen change system. Using the Go-Bagger® 250, the team bagged colored mulch showing guests new avenues for additional revenue streams.
During the lunch break, attendees heard from Rotochopper co-founder Vince Hundt, who shared some stories about Rotochopper’s early beginnings with our late co-founder Fred Peltz as well as Rotochopper’s commitment to customers, employees and our local roots in St. Martin, Minnesota.
“It was energizing to bring this group of industry leaders together from throughout North America as part of our Demo Day. There was great excitement around our new products. Most importantly, our customers built strong connections with each other,” shared Brinkerhoff.
Exciting equipment demonstrations continued in the afternoon, including the 95 DK shredder that used high torque to shred massive logs and railroad ties and then delivered the shredded material into the TS 165 deck screener which separated the material through a 3” screen on top and 1 ½” screen on the bottom. The Screener Conveyor fed by a stand alone hopper efficiently separated fines through a 3/8” screen from the final desired product.
The finale of the event was of the highly anticipated new B-66 LII horizontal grinder. The 1200hp grinder lived up to its expectations grinding a variety of materials with ease into the 480R tracked radial conveyor which delivered a seamless material handling solution.
Having Demo Day at Herman’s Landscape was an asset to the event as it gave attendees an inside look into a working business and how each of the pieces of equipment demonstrated could fit into it. Guests saw the variety of materials Herman’s processes and sell both in bulk and to the general public. We are immensely thankful to Herman’s for their generosity in allowing us to host our event at their facility.
Preston McIntyre, Rotochopper’s South Central Sales Manager, said, “One of our goals with Rotochopper Demo Day is to demonstrate as many machines as possible so the trip to our factory is worthwhile for our attendees . We understand a person’s time is extremely valuable so one of our goals is to maximize their investment of time by demonstrating a wide range of Rotochopper machines in a real-world setting. If you weren’t able to attend Rotochopper Demo Day 2023, we hope you can join us for our next one!”
Following the event, Chad Angeli said, “We’re extremely grateful to all the Rotochopper employees that worked hard to put this event together.”
A huge thank you to everyone that was able to attend, and we hope all guests left with new ideas and solutions for growth in each of their businesses.
