Still Building America—Keeping the waste away

Tag Ogren is a 28-year-old, self-employed tradesman from North Carolina. He kind of fell into his career. A friend working for a waste and recycling equipment repair company needed help one night after another tech was in an accident with a service truck. As he put it, “I liked the work and they liked me, so they gave me a job.”

All of Tag’s training was OTJ, aka on-the-job. Personally, I think this is a direction more companies need to explore: offer trainee positions to kids who are eager to learn and let them earn their way up the ranks while giving them the tools to do so. Tag rode with another service tech to learn the ropes and soon was given his own truck.

He worked in the industry for a couple of service companies before going out on his own, starting Ogren Industries. Now in Asheville, N.C., he does everything from making welding repairs to diagnosing and fixing hydraulic systems and low-voltage electrical issues.

“I have to diagnose 3-phase electrical problems with the motors, 120 VAC for some controls, and 12 VDC for other controls (sometimes all three on the same machine). There are hydraulic problems, blown hoses, bad pumps, and bad control valves. Some of the equipment has force ratings of over 50,000 lb., so there is potential for some bad damage to happen.”

From rebuilding dumpsters to maintaining 20,000-lb. conveyor belts, Tag digs the variety and likes lowering his clients’ anxiety levels.

“Things that I like about the work? It’s usually a different breakdown every day. I get to interact with the customer, who usually is stressed out due to trash or recycling building up. Once I get their equipment running again, they are very happy.”

The disposal and recycling industry is high-volume, and it never stops.

I can appreciate a lot of Tag’s experiences. As a millwright at one of Chrysler’s engine machining and assembly plants, I had to maintain the flume and conveyor systems that moved metal chips and coolant from the factory to the gallery to the recycling vessels. Waste conveyor setups wear quickly and require a ton of attention, and when they go down, they need to be put back online ASAP. As Tag says, “You have to be able to adapt and get the work done fast and efficiently; without ways to get rid of our trash, we’d be buried in it.”

All photos courtesy of Tag Ogren. Ogren Industries * 828-329-0763

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