RWS Facility Services (RWS), a Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania-based provider of recycling, waste and managed facilities solutions for commercial and residential businesses, has appointed Danica Sierra to the role of business development manager. Sierra has more than 20 years of experience in the environmental services industry and is an expert in recycling and waste, environmental compliance and disposal for commercial, health care and residential facilities, according to a news release from RWS on her appointment. She will work with RWS clients to select and implement cost-effective recycling, waste and facilities services.

“I’m truly delighted to join the RWS team and look forward to helping customers solve their toughest environmental and facilities challenges,” Sierra says. “These services have become a crucial part of keeping building occupants healthy, safe and comfortable, which is so important today. I’m excited to help RWS clients enhance their operations.”

Sierra began her career with Houston-based Waste Management Inc., where for nearly 17 years she worked with commercial and residential properties, public sector facilities, manufacturing companies and hospitals and care facilities throughout Southern California. Her background in the industry has also included careers with other environmental services firms, including Talismark and Mil-tek USA.

“We are thrilled to welcome Danica to the RWS team and look forward to the facilities and sales expertise she’ll bring to our business,” says Jeff Roney, vice president of operations at RWS. “Her wealth of knowledge and experience in the recycling and waste business and industries served will help support our clients in their efforts to reduce costs and enhance sustainability in their own environment.”

Waste Management, Houston, announced that it completed its acquisition of all outstanding shares of Ponte Vedra, Florida-based Advanced Disposal Oct. 30 following the receipt of required regulatory approvals. The previously announced purchase price of $30.30 per share in cash represents a total enterprise value of $4.6 billion when including approximately $1.8 billion of Advanced Disposal’s net debt. Advanced Disposal stock will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

In a news release, Waste Management says this acquisition grows the company’s footprint and allows it to deliver “unparalleled access to differentiated, sustainable waste management and recycling services to approximately 3 million new commercial, industrial and residential customers primarily located in 16 states in the eastern half of the United States.”

“We are excited to reach the finish line on this compelling acquisition, and I would like to welcome the Advanced Disposal team members to the WM family,” Waste Management President and CEO Jim Fish says. “The acquisition expands Waste Management’s reach and positions us for significant earnings and cash flow growth. The hard work our integration teams have done has prepared us to provide a seamless transition for employees and customers.”

Immediately following the completion of the Advanced Disposal acquisition, Waste Management and Advanced Disposal completed the sale of all of the assets required by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to be divested in connection with the Advanced Disposal acquisition to Ontario-based GFL Environmental.

The DOJ announced Oct. 23 that Waste Management would be required to divest 15 landfills, 37 transfer stations, 29 hauling locations, more than 200 waste collection routes and other assets to proceed with the Advanced Disposal acquisition. The DOJ said that without the divestiture, the acquisition would substantially lessen competition for small container commercial waste collection or municipal solid waste disposal services in more than 50 local markets.

The announcement of the closing of the acquisition marks the end of more than a year-and-half of negotiations and DOJ scrutiny. On April 15, 2019, Waste Management announced its intent to acquire ADS. The deal, which was originally expected to close by the first quarter of 2020, repeatedly was delayed by pending DOJ approval. GFL announced June 24 that it had entered into a definitive agreement to purchase substantially all of the divestiture assets expected from the Waste Management/ADS deal.

Waste Management funded the transaction using a combination of credit facilities and commercial paper. Waste Management says it expects to maintain a strong balance sheet and solid investment-grade credit profile with leverage ratios well within the financial covenants of its credit facilities.

“With integration getting underway, the team is focused on a strong finish to 2020,” Fish says. “We look forward to providing our 2021 outlook for the combined organization when we announce fourth-quarter and full-year earnings.”

Steel output of 2.6 million metric tons in Brazil in September represented a 7.5 increase compared with the amount of steel made there in September 2019. Brazil’s return to pre-COVID-19 output placed it alone among Latin-American nation’s for the month, according to data gathered by Brussels-based Worldsteel.

Mexico’s September output of an estimated 1.4 million metric tons of steel was 3.9 percent lower compared with September 2019. Year to date, Mexico is 13.6 percent behind its 2019 output pace, while Brazil’s strong September brought it within 9.7 percent of its 2019 output total.

Among the region’s smaller producers, Argentina’s output in September checked in at 11.9 percent lower compared with September 2019. Year to date, the slightly less than 2.5 million metric tons of steel made in Argentina in the first three quarters of 2020 is 30.7 less than was made in the first three quarters of 2019.

Chile, a much smaller producer than Argentina, joins Brazil as the only other South American nation with a rise in output in 2020. The 839,000 metric tons of steel made in Chile in the first nine months of this year represents a 5 percent rise in output compared with the first three quarters of 2019.

In the United States, meanwhile, September steel output was 18.5 percent lower than the September 2019 figure. Year to date, the 53.4 million metric tons of steel output in the U.S. is down by 19.2 percent compared with the 66.1 million metric tons produced in the first nine months of 2019.

Dimeca Metals in Monterrey, Mexico, has installed its latest shear baler from Lefort America, Sunrise, Florida.

The SB800 shear baler features a loading hopper, 800 tons of shearing force, a 23-foot box and a 230-kilowatt electric motor driving Bosch Rexroth pumps and a Lefort-engineered hydraulic system.

This installation marks the third and largest Lefort shear baler that Dimeca operates in Mexico. The company has a Lefort SB660 crawler at its facility in Guadalajara, and an SB770 in Saltillo, according to a news release from Lefort America.

Ricardo de la Pena, chief executive officer of Dimeca, says the production rate has exceeded his expectations. The company is able to process scrap that it had previously not been able to process before the machine’s installation.

“We are very happy with this machine,” de la Pena adds.