International Forest Products LLC (IFP), headquartered in Foxborough, Massachusetts, has announced its participation in the creation of Global Forest Products AB (GFP), a joint venture trading company based in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The venture is a collaboration between IFP, Fredrik Anderson and Johan Rafstedt and has been designed to “provide suppliers and customers a platform with sound financing, transparency and cost-efficiency.”

Anderson has more than 25 years of experience in the forest products industry, most recently as CEO of CellMark. Rafstedt brings financial services experience to GFP, including as a chief financial officer of CellMark. The new company will trade in recovered fiber, market pulp, paper and packaging products, chemicals and other forest products commodities. 

“We are excited to partner with IFP and have access to their financial and logistics strengths, as well as more than 50 years of trading experience to launch this new trading platform,” Anderson says. “We will be adding experienced traders to our team in the coming months.” 

Dan Kraft, president and CEO of IFP and son of its founder Robert Kraft, says, “Creating this new entity and partnering with Fredrik and Johan and their experienced team of traders will further expand our worldwide reach. We look forward to collaborating with them to enhance the diversified products we offer our loyal customers around the globe.”

Hillenbrand Inc., headquartered in Batesville, Indiana, and California-based nongovernmental organization Net Impact have announced a partnership to create the 2022 Plastics & Circularity Case Competition. The two entities say the competition is “aimed at continuing to innovate and promote sustainability within the plastics value chain.”

The Plastics & Circularity Case Competition has been designed to bring together “next generation innovators to rethink the challenges the plastics value chain faces from creation to collection,” Hillenbrand says in a news release.

Hillenbrand says it brought the concept to Net Impact “to engage the future generation in how we can further shape the responsible life cycle management of plastics.”

Hillenbrand, which has several business units that make plastic molding and compounding equipment, says it will guide the topic and goals of the competition, while Net Impact will “facilitate the competition by bringing together its global network of social impact and sustainability leaders to address the challenge.” The Plastics & Circularity Case Competition will take place in the fall of 2022, say the two partners.

“Our partnership with Net Impact continues our commitment to sustainability and pulls forward the next generation into helping us collaborate and solve challenges in new ways,” says Kim Ryan, president and CEO of Hillenbrand. “Plastics support many sustainable trends, from the light-weighting of vehicles, to extending the life of food, to electronic capabilities and medical advancements. How we address the circularity of plastics is critical for many of our customers and we are excited to partner with Net Impact and the next generation on this important initiative.”

Net Impact CEO Peter Lupoff says, “Business can no longer focus solely on profits. Business plans must prioritize environmental and social factors as well. The Plastics & Circularity Case Competition activates next generation leaders, in partnership with business, to solve one of our world’s most critical issues. Having a company with a reputation as an innovator like Hillenbrand to serve as a partner and mentor for this year’s participants should assure another exciting and effective program.”

Net Impact describes itself as focused on inspiring, equipping and activating “emerging leaders to build a more just and sustainable world.” The group says it has more than 130,000 members in 300-plus chapters worldwide.

Tier 1 Group, an electronics recycling firm based in Manchester, United Kingdom, says it has made “an eight-figure investment” in Maldon, U.K.-based IT asset disposal (ITAD) company EOL IT Services Ltd.

The expansion will almost double Tier 1’s operational capacity and create what the firm calls one of the largest “full circle” IT hardware businesses in the U.K.

Manchester-based Tier 1 says it specializes in secure ITAD and refurbishment services, supporting a range of clients and helping to tackle the growing stream of electronic scrap. Founded and led by CEO Jonathan Rose, Tier 1 has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years and won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the firm says.

Tier 1 calls EOL “a highly accredited ITAD service and technology recycler, with long-standing relationships with several government departments and blue-chip clients.”

Postmerger, Tier 1 Group calls itself one of the largest ITAD businesses in the U.K., with annual revenue in excess of $30 million.

The merger gives Tier 1 an additional base in the southeast part of England via EOL’s 30,000 sq. ft. facility in Maldon, Essex, to complement Tier 1’s existing 40,000 sq. ft. facility in Manchester. The merger also enhances Tier 1’s shredding and logistics capability, the firm says.

“We are delighted to welcome Dan Smith and the EOL team into the Tier 1 Group,” says Jonathan Rose, founder and CEO of Tier 1. “EOL has grown to be one of the most respected ITAD [firms] in the U.K., and bringing the two businesses together will further enhance both our senior management team and our service offering, creating an incredible proposition for our corporate clients.”

Rose adds, “With a combined 70,000 square feet of operational facility and 115 employees, we now have the platform to build the business into the U.K.’s leading IT circular economy organization, with positive environmental impact at the heart of our offering.”

EOL Managing Director Dan Smith will join the board of the combined Tier 1 Group, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience in the ITAD industry, both domestically and internationally.

“Tier 1 shares our passion and commitment for providing businesses with secure, sustainable and environmentally sound solutions for the recycling of IT equipment. Having operational bases in the south and the north will provide strategic logistical advantages and reduce our carbon emissions,” Smith says.

He continues, “Demand for sustainable computing equipment is increasing all the time, and this move will provide our clients and businesses with more access to carbon-saving sustainable computers and laptops, as well as all other manner of IT equipment.”

The Tier 1 Group says it also is actively exploring further acquisition opportunities that will drive growth and cement its position as a U.K. market leader.

Freepoint Eco-Systems LLC, Stamford, Connecticut, is partnering with Van Dyk Recycling Solutions, Norwalk, Connecticut, to build a front-end sorting system for the advanced recycling facility the company is building in Hebron, Ohio, roughly 30 miles from the state capital of Columbus in Licking County. 

The facility will recycle 90,000 tons per year of end-of-life plastic. The project will employ approximately 200 people during the construction phase and 50 people when fully operational. Commercial operations are expected to begin in 2023. 

Brian Schellati, director of business development for Van Dyk, says, “Joining our experience in system design with Freepoint Eco-Systems’ dedication to finding renewable avenues for plastics led to a project that we believe is going to be very successful. The facility will accept postsorted plastics from material recovery facilities. Those materials will pass through an advanced sortation system and then ultimately become pelletized.” 

“Freepoint Eco-Systems is excited to be working with Van Dyk, a leader in North America for the installation of recycling and sorting systems, in connection with this project,” says Bilal Khan, director of engineering and operations for Freepoint Eco-Systems, an affiliate of Freepoint Commodities LLC, a global commodities merchant providing supply chain management services and eco-friendly products and solutions to its customers. “We understand the importance of developing a system that is based on innovative, cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art equipment. We believe that partnering with Van Dyk is the right decision as we develop one of the largest commercial-scale advanced recycling facilities in the United States.” 

“The Ohio facility will have a significant positive impact on the environment by reducing the consumption of crude oil-derived feedstocks for prime resins, which will result in carbon left in the ground, a more circular and sustainable economy and a healthier planet Earth,” Jeff McMahon, managing director of Freepoint, said at the time the Ohio facility was announced in December of last year. 

Freepoint says it is committed to being part of the solution to the growing environmental problem of plastic waste disposal by building, owning and operating advanced recycling facilities around the globe. In October 2021, Freepoint said it would construct its first advanced recycling facility in Texas as part of a strategic partnership with Plastic Energy Ltd. and TotalEnergies. That facility is targeted to begin commercial operations in 2024.