Reel pickup in Cicero

An industrial town on the city line

Cicero has been an industrial town for over a century; Western Electric's Hawthorne Works once made telephone equipment here. Today its industrial blocks, along the rail lines and the roads that cross them, hold plants, warehouses and distribution buildings. Their electrical work and their incoming material both produce empty reels, mostly 30 to 60-inch nailed wood.

Cicero is close in, between the Eisenhower and the Stevenson, so it is the first stop on the west suburbs day. Next step: send the reel count, the largest flange size, and whether you have a dock.

Cicero streets are busy and parking is tight around Cermak Road and Cicero Avenue. Alley pickups are usually best, early in the day, before delivery vans and cars fill the curbs.

Some Cicero warehouses hold imported goods that arrive with steel strapping or cable on wooden spools. Those spools are often one-way and worth collecting once empty.

If a lot includes very small spools under 18 inches, bag or box them; loose small spools roll everywhere on a moving truck.

Laundromats, groceries and auto shops along the commercial streets upgrade their electrical service now and then, and a couple of leftover reels behind any of them is a normal Cicero stop.

Warehouse docks and yard stacks

Warehouses with docks can stage reels just inside the door, which turns a pickup into a few minutes with a forklift. Plants with yard stacks should stand reels on edge on dunnage and chock them, so they stay sound until the truck comes; reels lying flat in a wet yard rot from the bottom flange up.

Mixed stacks are sorted on the spot: one-way reels with sound wood are bought, makers' returnables are counted and left for the maker or routed to their program, and the rest are recycled.

Contractors working both sides of the line

Many electrical and utility contractors based in Cicero work mostly in the city, on the West Side and Southwest Side. Their reels come home to Cicero yards. A single request covers a Cicero yard and any city job site the same contractor runs, and we plan the stops in order.

If you also have a stack in Berwyn or Bedford Park, add it. The west suburbs day starts here and runs west and south.

Pickup notes for Cicero

• Rail crossings can slow a truck; give a two-hour window.
• Contractors working in Cicero and the Southwest Side can combine sites in one work order.
• Reels from Cermak Road storefront work can be collected from the alley.

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 West suburbs day

Cicero shares a run with these stops:

• BerwynRoosevelt Road, Cermak Road, Ogden Avenue; BNSF/Metra line
• Bedford ParkRail yards and plants between Midway and the Des Plaines River
• NapervilleI-88 research and office corridor; BNSF/Metra line
• AuroraI-88 business parks and the Fox River industrial areas

Where Cicero 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 Cicero

Do you pick up from plants in Cicero?

Yes. Cicero is the first stop on the west suburbs day. Send the count, sizes and dock details.

What happens to reels that sat in a wet yard?

Reels with rotted bottom flanges or staves are recycled. Sound ones in the same stack are still bought.

Can one request cover a Cicero yard and a city job site?

Yes. List both addresses; we route them in one west suburbs run.

How do I prove the reels were picked up?

Every stop ends with a ticket listing each reel by size and what happened to it: bought, recycled or left for a named maker. The driver also photographs the loaded truck. Warehouse managers often forward the ticket to their landlord or head office as a record.