Headquartered in Canada, GFL Environmental Inc. has expanded considerably since its founding in 2007 as it has continued to grow organically and through acquisitions. Today, GFL has operations in all the Canadian provinces and in 27 U.S. states. Its acquisitions have included several material recovery facilities (MRFs), including those previously owned by Canada Fibers and its affiliated companies in 2019.

From greenfield projects to upgrades

More recently, GFL and Machinex collaborated on a greenfield MRF in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that was awarded MRF of the Year by the National Waste & Recycling Association in 2020. The MRF, which has no disc screens, features optical sorters in cascades that allow GFL to produce a very pure grade of recovered paper. Additionally, the MRF had to be designed, constructed, commissioned and in operation only 15 months after GFL received the contract from Winnipeg.

Jonathan Ménard, vice president of sales and strategic positioning at Machinex, says GFL also had projects in the regional municipality of Peel and in Quebec that it was working on at the same time and wanted to collaborate with a single supplier that had the capabilities to develop all the projects in parallel and that could provide new technologies.

Machinex refers to the Peel retrofit as one of its most “ambitious” to date. It incorporated a similar design to that of the GFL Winnipeg project and was completed in 2020. Machinex kept the existing front and back end of the system but replaced three-quarters of the system with all the latest technology offered by the company, Ménard says.

GFL and Machinex have worked on other projects in Canada recently, including an upgrade of the MRF at 122 Arrow Rd. in Toronto that involved adding automation to its system. GFL also was an early adopter of Machinex’s SamurAI robot, having purchased three for its MRF at 124 Arrow Rd. and one for its Winnipeg MRF.

GFL’s Richmond, British Columbia, site, which Machinex upgraded in 2020, is home to two facilities that process dual-stream material. In that retrofit, Machinex used some of the existing equipment for the fiber facility, but the containers facility was a completely new build featuring new equipment from the company. The narrow building posed a challenge in terms of integrating the equipment, but it was one that Machinex, collaborating with GFL, was able to overcome, Ménard says.

GFL’s Matrec St-Hubert MRF in Quebec was 20 years old when the company acquired it in 2020. “There was not a lot of time from when we took over the MRF in January 2020 to when we wanted to get it operational in April 2020,” Miranda says. “Machinex was able to ensure we met our ambitious startup date,” despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The facility upgrades were designed to increase recovery of high-quality paper, he says. “The market was a little different then, and it was harder to move mixed paper and OCC (old corrugated containers). We had to have top-quality finished products.”

Miranda says GFL continues to invest in the St-Hubert MRF and in all its MRFs to respond to changes in packaging. “We design with flexibility for the future.”

He adds, “GFL has been processing recyclables for decades. We’ve seen the evolution of packaging and the composition of the inbound material stream. We have to make sure we leave space and the ability to upgrade and add on.”

The benefits of collaboration

“What I like about GFL is that they push us to become better,” Ménard says. “It sounds cheesy, but it’s really true. They push us to the limit technologywise and push us to improve our machines.”

Operational data was one such area where GFL pushed Machinex to improve, he says. When it came to all the optical sorters Machinex has installed for GFL in the last three years, the company wanted to better understand how they were performing in real-time, so Machinex developed a software solution, the Hyspec Intell, that highlights all the information an operator would need to efficiently adjust these machines. The same data requirement applied to the four SamurAI robotic sorters that GFL purchased, which led to the development and the release of the SamurAI Intell platform.

“They are driven by info,” Ménard says of GFL, adding that the company wants to understand how its equipment is performing in real-time.

He says the two companies agree on the objectives and the science behind every project before Machinex proposes a layout. The layout then evolves based on further input from GFL. The MRF operator also requires its suppliers to validate their concepts on their demonstration lines.

“What works on paper versus what works in reality are not necessarily the same,” Miranda says of the need for validating design concepts.

The approach leads to creative solutions that are achieved through collaboration.

Miranda says GFL is agnostic when it comes to the vendors it works with on its MRF projects. “We take each contract and examine what we need and hope to achieve and then discuss it with multiple vendors,” he says.

His experience with Machinex, however, has taught him that the company is “knowledgeable and very easy to work with” and that the two companies have an easy collaboration. “We have a feel for how each other works, and that makes projects a little bit easier.”

Miranda says he enjoyed the level of collaboration GFL had with Machinex throughout all these projects, each of which presented unique circumstances. “Every facility we’ve retrofitted or designed was unique. Each of our contracts has different demands as different projects have different requirements.”

He says he appreciates the collaborative approach Machinex took with the greenfield and retrofit projects GFL has done in Canada. Miranda adds that Machinex is thoughtful and collaborative in its approach and responsive to GFL’s input.

Global demand for high-quality scrap metal has prompted unprecedented levels of research and follow-up investments in metals sorting technology in the 21st century. Global magnetics and separation technology provider Eriez has been at the forefront of the R&D efforts.

The efficiency and environmental benefits of remelting and reusing metal has boosted the number of auto shredding plants, wire and cable processing facilities, e-scrap shredding systems and other sophisticated recycling plants, with many of them already housing equipment made by Eriez.

These current customers as well as prospective customers can benefit from working with Eriez at the company’s Recycling Test Center in Erie, Pennsylvania. “The new test center allows us to provide full testing services to our customers on production size equipment, whether it be a few pounds or tons of product, therefore expanding our capabilities and services to our customers,” says Eriez Director - Heavy Industries Darrell Milton.

Auto shredder operators and others with evolving magnetic separation challenges can work with Eriez remotely from a long distance, but Milton says the Recycling Test Center welcomes in-person collaboration. “We encourage all existing or prospective customers to bring their materials to our new facility to allow them see full-scale testing, experiencing results firsthand,” he notes.

Testing how maximum recovery can be attained from a batch of mixed materials allows customers to see what is new in the Eriez’ arsenal. “It is not only a test center but a showplace for a full range of our product offerings within this market,” Milton says.

Talent also is a critical ingredient to be combined with the technology at the Erie facility. “Eriez has qualified technicians at the test center who have vast experience in many applications, including an already significant number of tests accomplished within not only recycling, but mining and other heavy industry markets,” Milton says.

The number of applications will continue to grow, but Milton says Eriez is ready for any of them. “Many customers are requesting that we recover the finest of micro-fines from their materials, or they are striving to upgrade their zurik to a more salable product, allowing them to increase revenues.”

Whether a new solution involves eddy current separators, including Eriez’ Ultra-High Frequency units or its Stainless Steel Separator line, Milton says the test center provides Eriez with “the ability to educate the customer on the importance not only of metals recovery percentage, but also metal grades percentages that provide the highest return on investment.”

Rob Wise

Account executive at Ferrous Processing & Trading Co.

Ferrous Processing & Trading Co. (FPT), headquartered in Detroit, is the first and only company that Rob Wise has worked for in the scrap recycling industry, but he says it wasn’t the first stop in his career. Prior to joining FPT in a processing role in 2013, he worked in the culinary industry and as a radio host.

“My career path has been a very winding, incongruous road, there’s no doubt about that,” Wise says, adding that he tried to attend a traditional college upon graduating from high school but could not determine a career path at that time.

Wise eventually attended a 52-week culinary school and held positions as a sous chef and executive chef at two restaurants in Detroit early in his career. In 2012, he decided to take a role as a producer and host on ESPN Radio in Detroit. However, he says, he was laid off from the radio job in 2013 and needed to find a new job quickly.

“My career path has been a very winding, incongruous road, there’s no doubt about that.”

“At that time, I was newly wed when I found myself with no employment,” Wise says. “I spent six or seven weeks following leads in the broadcasting industry, but I needed to work. We could only survive on one income at that point in our lives for so long.”

He adds that a friend told him about a laborer position at FPT’s facility in Pontiac, Michigan, and helped him to get an interview with the company. Wise says he got that job and has stayed with the company for the past eight years, taking on new positions of increasing responsibility over the years. Today he serves as an account executive for FPT’s facility in Miami.

Recycling Today (RT): When you started at FPT, did you think you would stay at the company and in the scrap industry for long?

Rob Wise (RW): I’ve always been a person who thinks, “Let’s just see where this path leads.” You walk through the open doors that are in front of you, and the worst thing that could happen is that it doesn’t work out and you have to get back into the marketplace and look for something else.

[When starting at FPT], I was taking a physical labor job for the first time in a while at that point in my career. I had been in radio for a while, which is very office-driven and 9-5. As I stayed at FPT and learned more about the business and got my feet wet and saw opportunity, that made it more appealing as I went forward. When I first got here, certainly I was looking at all of my options—as anybody else would—and wasn’t sure if I was going to go back to cooking or if I would be offered a radio job. But did I think I would be sitting here today? I guess the answer is no.

RT: What were some of the challenges transitioning to the scrap industry?

RW: The biggest challenge, other than trying to learn how to drive equipment I had never driven before in my life, was just learning the materials. The learning about grades and trying to figure out where materials go, that part can be very overwhelming when you’re coming up even at the processing level and lowest laborer position; I felt the pressure to get it right. I think that prepared me for where I am today.

RT: What is the company culture like at FPT?

RW: The culture is super supportive. I don’t think I would be where I am today if there wasn’t that promote-from-within culture that we’ve built here. There aren’t a lot of places you can go where you can go from driving a fork truck to running a trading team in a region in eight years. FPT has opened a lot of doors and has allowed me to walk through them.

Fairbanks Scales ACC-3300 quad loadcell controller

Fairbanks Scales Inc., Overland Park, Kansas, has launched the ACC-3300 quad loadcell controller (QLC) interface device. According to the company, the QLC:

• enhances the performance of industrial floor scales, tank scales and hopper scales
• replaces the scale’s analog junction box, internally or externally, to boost weighing resolution to levels up to 10 times greater than analog
• enables quick and affordable servicing of scales by allowing operators to recalibrate the scale
• guarantees maximum accuracy out of the equipment by communicating with each loadcell independently, allowing for cell-by-cell calibration
• allows for real-time loadcell diagnostics and identification of loadcell issues

Visit www.fairbanks.com for more information.

Mantsinen Dualpower material handler

Finland-based Mantsinen’s Dualpower material handler combines features of electric and diesel engines, resulting in mobility, productivity and environmental friendliness, the company says. The material handler:

• can be powered by either diesel or electric, providing operators with versatility
• comes with standard technology components, allowing easy service and normal spare parts availability
• can be paired with the Mantsinen Insight remote monitoring system to enable smoother operations
• records data on performance and efficiency when paired with the Mantsinen Insight system

Visit www.mantsinen.com for more information.

Cat M319 wheeled excavator

Caterpillar, Deerfield, Illinois, offers its Cat M319 wheeled excavator, which features a short front-end design and tail swing to work efficiently in confined areas. The excavator:

• delivers up to 15 percent more swing torque than previous Cat models
• is powered by a 128-kilowatt Cat C4.4 engine
• incorporates a dedicated swing pump to improve operating efficiency by providing power more consistently
• can reach speeds of up to 21.7 mph
• can complete dig, swing and dump tasks with limited side overhang with its minimal 6-foot-3-inch tail swing radius
• features a large touch-screen monitor with jog dial in the cab to provide intuitive navigation of machine controls