Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., Cleveland, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of AK Steel Holding Corp., integrating North America’s largest producer of iron ore pellets downstream into the production of value-added steel and specialty manufactured parts for the automotive industry. 

According to a news release from Cleveland-Cliffs, the combined company will be led by Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Lourenco Goncalves.

“This is a new era for Cleveland-Cliffs as a producer of differentiated, high-quality iron ore, metallics and steel in North America,” Goncalves says. “The new Cliffs will begin from a unique position of strength in our industry, with a dynamic combination of assets including two efficient integrated blast furnace steel mills, two electric arc furnace plants, a new state-of-the-art HBI plant and several other highly technologically developed facilities. We will be catering to a desirable customer base and primarily doing business in the United States, the most resilient manufacturing economy in the world.

“I am honored to be leading a company that is built on such a rich history, and now combines mining, pelletizing, direct-reduction, EAF (electric arc furnace) steelmaking, BF/BOF (basic oxygen furnace) steelmaking, highly technologically developed finishing mills and automated manufacturing of auto-parts,” he continues. “I am also very pleased to welcome the AK Steel employees and the unions representing the workforce throughout the country to the Cleveland-Cliffs family. From now on, we are a single, united and very strong team.”

After monitoring the evolving Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, the Phoenix-based Secure Information Governance & Management Association (i-SIGMA) board of directors made the decision to cancel the 2020 NAID & PRISM International Conference & Expo scheduled to take place May 14-16 in Orlando, Florida.

The electronic election of the 2020 i-SIGMA board of directors will go forward as planned.

The association will be working to disseminate much of the educational content that was planned for this year’s conference as well as a means for introducing some of the exhibitors’ latest features over the next few months. The association will also be working on ways to support members through the current coronavirus situation with issues they may face during this time.

As an immediate next step, all attendee conference registrations have been canceled and will be issued a full refund within 60 days, either by check or to the original credit card used.

The association noted that it is the responsibility of attendees to cancel any of their own travel arrangements. Accommodations booked through the event room block at the JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes will automatically be canceled. Those wanting to still stay at the venue under the room block rate can re-book with the venue. Exhibitors and sponsors will also be issued a full refund for conference fees incurred with i-SIGMA.

In a recent statement, the association said i-SIGMA looks forward to hosting the 2021 Annual Conference in Las Vegas on March 17-20, 2021, without incident.

If you have questions, please contact events@isigmaonline.org.

Epax Systems, Panorama City, California, has introduced the Ropax Mobile Compactors, which are ideal for use at facilities with multiple dumpsters in a single location or spread across multiple locations on a property. The compactor employs a rolling drum with sharp metal teeth to crush, macerate, tear, rip and compress waste in large open top containers and dumpsters.

According to the company, the Ropax Mobile’s high compaction rate allows for significant improvement in utilization with rates as high as 80 percent. This improvement means containers need to be replaced or emptied less frequently, resulting in less downtime, improved worker productivity and reduced waste hauling and disposal charges.

In operation, a worker can drive the compactor up to the end of an open top container and deploy a two-ton rolling drum mounted on an articulating boom, which moves from one end of the container and back, crushing contents as it goes. The Ropax Mobile is designed to be extremely maneuverable and is narrower than the containers it services, allowing it to operate in congested or confined spaces.

For operator comfort and safety, the cab is fully enclosed with available climate control. Forward and reverse travel is controlled by a joystick and steering is via conventional steering wheel. An ergonomically designed instrument panel puts all compaction controls, including an emergency e-stop, within easy reach.

An optional container transport hook can be mounted to the front of the unit to allow the Ropax Mobile to be used for repositioning containers or transporting them to and from staging areas, eliminating the need for an additional truck.

The compactor can be used for a variety of items, including cardboard and other packaging, wood pallets and crates, cable reels, paper, film and foil, green waste, encapsulated polystyrene, household goods, light metals and other bulky items.

Netherlands-based Oryx Stainless has announced the hiring of Kurt Wierscholowski, who most recently had served as managing director of Eisenlegierungen Handelsgesellschaft mbH in Duisburg, Germany, for the ELG-Haniel-Group. He will start with Oryx April 1.

According to an Oryx news release, Wierscholowski was with the ELG-Haniel-Group for 28 years having served with the firm both in Duisburg and at Jewometaal Stainless Processing B.V. in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

“Throughout his career, Kurt Wierscholowski has gained an incredible reputation and built an enormous network in the stainless steel and special alloy sector,” comments Michael Pawlowski, chairman of Oryx Stainless Group. “We are very pleased that this very experienced colleague will now combine his strengths with our strengths.”

“Oryx Stainless, in the last years, has maintained impressive growth in stainless steel recycling,” says Wierscholowski. “Especially on a global comparison and in difficult market conditions, Oryx has been able to assert itself magnificently, without neglecting the personal bond with customers and suppliers, and also with fellow colleagues. I am very much looking forward to being able to bring my know-how to a very experienced and innovative team in a professional environment.”

Remarks Tobias Kämmer, CEO of Oryx Stainless Group, “We want to further increase our market share and to engage in new business sectors. In order to achieve this, Kurt Wierscholowski is a big asset, bringing with him a unique combination of material, processing and management expertise. His focus will, therefore, be the development of new trade segments.”

The Oryx Stainless Group, founded in 1990, focuses its on the handling and processing of stainless steel scrap into Oryx Stainless Blends. The company says its secondary raw material blends are individually adapted for respective stainless steel producers.