Montgomery County, PA
Wooden spools in Lansdale
Wooden reel and spool pickup in Lansdale, ZIP 19446: the North Penn borough, industrial parks in Hatfield, Kulpsville and Montgomeryville, the Northeast Extension (I-476), PA 63 and Broad Street.
- County
- Montgomery County, PA
- ZIP code
- 19446
- Roads a truck uses
- I-476 (Northeast Extension), PA 63, PA 363, Broad Street
- Nearest river crossing
- Tacony-Palmyra via I-276 and I-95
Railroad borough in the North Penn
Lansdale grew up around the railroad in the nineteenth century, and the station on Main Street is still the heart of the borough, served by SEPTA trains to Philadelphia. Around the borough sit the townships of the North Penn area, Hatfield, Towamencin, Upper Gwynedd, Montgomery and Lower Gwynedd, which hold most of the area's industrial and business parks. North of Lansdale, Montgomeryville has the big retail and light industrial strip along US 202 and PA 309. Lansdale itself is mostly older homes on a grid of streets around Main and Broad streets, plus the commercial blocks downtown.
Where reels come from in the North Penn
The North Penn area has a long manufacturing tradition, and it still has a lot of businesses that make, test, package and ship things. Those businesses have electrical maintenance crews and outside contractors who replace motors, controls, lighting and power distribution, and they leave reels behind. Warehouse and light industrial buildings in Hatfield, Kulpsville and Montgomeryville add mid-size reels from fit-outs and solar arrays on their roofs. In Lansdale itself, most reels come from house rewires, apartment conversions and small shop work.
| Location | Likely reels |
|---|---|
| Industrial parks, Hatfield and Towamencin | 30–48 inch nailed reels, some returnable |
| Warehouses near the Turnpike interchange | 30–42 inch reels, plastic spools |
| Montgomeryville retail and light industry | Plywood spools, 24–36 inch reels |
| Lansdale borough houses | Plywood spools, a few small reels |
| Farms on the edges | Older reels, often weathered |
The Northeast Extension and local roads
The Pennsylvania Turnpike's Northeast Extension (I-476) has an interchange at Lansdale, near Kulpsville, which connects the area south to the main Turnpike at Plymouth Meeting and north toward the Lehigh Valley. PA 63 runs through the borough, northwest toward Harleysville and east toward Horsham; PA 363 (Valley Forge Road) heads south toward Worcester and King of Prussia; Broad Street links the borough to Hatfield and North Wales. For loads crossing to New Jersey, a truck goes down the Northeast Extension to I-276, follows the Turnpike east, and takes I-95 to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge.
Planning a pickup at an industrial site
Factories and warehouses in the North Penn usually have forklifts, docks and a yard, which makes them straightforward. A few things help:
- Group the reels in one place the truck can reach.
- Note which reels have stencils, serial numbers or deposit tags.
- Separate broken reels, so we know what can be reused and what goes for recycling.
- Tell us the gate hours and whether we need to check in at a guard booth.
Old reels in sheds and barns
On the farms and older properties around the edge of the area, it is common to find reels that have been in a shed or behind a barn for many years, sometimes used as tables or for storing hose or wire. They may be perfectly sound or rotten through. Send a photo, and we will tell you which. Reels that are not reusable still come away for wood and steel recycling if they are with other material we are taking.
Selling reels from a North Penn business
Businesses that receive a steady flow of cable reels, such as panel builders, motor shops and contractors, can set up a recurring pickup rather than calling each time. We collect on a schedule that fits their volume, from monthly to quarterly.
Buying reels in Lansdale
Makers, gardeners and small businesses in the borough sometimes want a reel or two. We deliver when a truck is in the area. Most people want a 30- to 36-inch reel for a table, which fits through a standard door on its edge.
Lansdale's own electric utility
Lansdale is one of a handful of Pennsylvania boroughs that runs its own electric utility, buying power wholesale and distributing it to homes and businesses. The borough's electric department maintains poles, transformers, underground lines and street lighting, and its line work uses cable on reels like any utility. The department decides what to do with its reels; where it releases one-way reels, we collect them.
A downtown revival
New apartments and mixed-use buildings near the station have brought fresh life to downtown Lansdale. Each new building leaves reels during construction.
Merck and the pharmaceutical belt
Merck's large West Point campus lies just west of Lansdale in Upper Gwynedd, and pharmaceutical, chemical and biotech businesses have long employed many people in the North Penn area. Large research and manufacturing campuses run constant engineering projects, from cleanroom upgrades to new utilities and process lines, and their contractors generate reels in quantity. Campus security usually means the contractor brings released reels to an outside yard for us.
Memorial Park and the borough pool
Lansdale's parks, pool and community buildings occasionally get new lighting, pumps and sound systems.
Questions
Do you cover North Wales, Hatfield and Souderton?
Yes, along with Harleysville, Kulpsville, Montgomeryville and Colmar.
How far north do you go?
Into the upper parts of Montgomery County and central Bucks County. Beyond that, ask.
Last reviewed 2026-11-09.