Heil Environmental has welded metal parts together for 111 years, going back to the day in 1901 that Julius Heil founded the Heil Rail Joint Welding Co. by using a relatively new technology for the time to create rail cars, tanks and later truck bodies.
Today, Heil Environmental is best known for its hulking garbage haulers that every morning keep America's streets clean of refuse and muck.
The company manufactures just about every type of garbage truck under the sun, from traditional front loaders to a new, natural-gas powered behemoth called the Odyssey.
The Odyssey, like most of Heil's refuse haulers, begins life as a handful of steel plates at the company's plant in Fort Payne, Alabama. At the end of the assembly line fully-realized trash trucks roll out into the sun, many already painted in preparation for delivery to the customer, which is typically a city or county agency.
Take a rare look inside the heart of the operation that berths the garbage haulers you've always taken for granted.
Step 1: Raw materials and sheets of steel line shelves at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.
Raw materials and sheets of steel line shelves at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.Step 2: A team member welds at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.
A team member welds the steel plates that will become a garbage truck hours later at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.Step 3: A laser cuts raw material at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.
A laser cuts raw material at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.Step 4: Gary Odom assembles the roof and sides of a container at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.
Gary Odom assembles the roof and sides of a container at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.Step 5: Charles Dorsett adds accessories an automatic front loader at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.
Charles Dorsett adds accessories an automatic front loader at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.Step 6: Thomas Baugh welds parts of an automatic front loader at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.
Thomas Baugh welds parts of an automatic front loader at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.Step 7: Charles Martin welds the mounting of an automatic front loader at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.
Charles Martin welds the mounting of an automatic front loader at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.Step 8: A vehicle is filled with CNG at at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.
A vehicle is filled with CNG at at Heil Environmental in Fort Payne, Ala.