Reel pickup in Bensenville

Freight buildings and the work around them

Bensenville sits against O'Hare's western boundary, beside a major freight rail yard, and the tollway work on the O'Hare western bypass runs through it. Air cargo and freight forwarding buildings, warehouses and small plants fill the industrial streets off York Road and Irving Park Road. Fit-outs of those buildings, dock equipment and lighting upgrades are where the reels come from.

Rail and tollway projects bring their own cable: signal, communications and lighting circuits. Those reels are often the maker's, so we list them by maker for the contractor rather than buying them. The one-way reels from building work are what we pay for. Next step: send the count and whether the reels are on a project site or in a yard.

Bensenville changed shape when O'Hare expanded westward and some streets near the airport were closed or rerouted. Map apps don't always keep up, so describe the access road to your building, especially if it involves a gate or a frontage road.

Loading in tight industrial streets

Some of Bensenville's older industrial streets are narrow, with buildings close to the curb and docks facing the street. A straight truck with a liftgate often works better there than a trailer. If your building's dock faces a busy road, give us the hours when the street is quietest.

For a yard without a dock or forklift, 24 to 42-inch reels can be rolled up a ramp by hand; anything 48 inches and larger needs forks. Say which you have and we bring what is missing.

Beside the rail yard

Bensenville's large rail yard and the freight buildings around it see constant maintenance: lighting, signal power, building electrical. Railroad crews keep their own material, but the contractors who work the buildings beside the yard leave one-way reels in their lots.

Reels inside rail property stay there; we can't enter. If a job straddles the fence, move the empties to the contractor's side and we collect them from there.

Pickup notes for Bensenville

• Project sites on rail or tollway work: send the site contact and access gate.
• Warehouse docks: reels can be staged inside the door the day before.
• Mixed stacks are normal here; every reel is sorted by tag at pickup.

Before the truck comes

1. Count the reels by flange size, outside edge to outside edge.
2. Photograph the stack, plus one tag or stencil up close.
3. Stand each reel on edge and chock it; never stack them flat.
4. Leave an aisle wide enough for forklift tines, or a clear path to roll.
5. Keep maker-tagged returnables in their own row.

What the driver checks on each reel

Flanges

Boards whole and flat, not warped, split or cupped.

Staves

Lagging mostly intact on the drum, without rot or gaps.

Arbor hole

Round and solid, so a spindle or payoff bar fits.

Drive holes

Not torn out or elongated by a payoff stand.

Markings

Any maker's stencil, returnable tag or reel number.

Leftovers

Cable ends, staples and banding removed or noted.

The rest of the O'Hare corridor day

Bensenville shares a run with these stops:

• Elk Grove VillageElk Grove Village Business Park and the data-centre cluster
• Wood DaleI-390 industrial corridor, DuPage County side of O'Hare
• Franklin ParkMannheim Road and Grand Avenue industrial area
• Des PlainesO'Hare north side, River Road and Touhy Avenue
• ItascaI-390 and I-290 business parks
• SchaumburgI-90 and I-290 interchange, Woodfield area and business parks

Where Bensenville reels go

• Buyback: one-way wooden reels with sound flanges and staves are paid for at the stop, priced by size and condition.
• Maker take-back: anything tagged or stencilled as returnable is listed for its owner's own collection.
• Recycling: split, rotted or warped reels are broken down, the wood recovered and the hardware separated.
• Resupply: checked reels go on to buyers who need them for rewinding, storage or projects.

Questions from Bensenville

Do you take reels from tollway or rail projects in Bensenville?

Yes, through the contractor. Reels that belong to a maker or the project are listed for their owner; one-way reels are bought; damaged reels are recycled.

My building has no dock. Can you still load 48-inch reels?

Yes. Tell us there is no dock or forklift, and we bring a truck with a liftgate or our own forks.

Can you collect reels from inside the Bensenville rail yard?

No. Move them outside rail property, to a contractor yard or building lot, and we collect them there.

How should reels be marked for a Bensenville pickup?

Spray paint or chalk a dot on reels you want collected, and leave anything unmarked alone. It saves questions when a yard also holds stock reels.