Link-Belt 250 X4 Material Handler and 250 X4 Scrap Loader/Handler
These new units from Lexington, Kentucky-based LBX Co. feature an electronically controlled 177-horsepower Isuzu engine that meets Tier 4 requirements. Additional features include:
a hydraulic cab riser with an operator view of 16 feet, 10 inches at eye level
a standard rear-view camera
RemoteCARE GPS telematics system for remote monitoring and security
Chicago- based Container Essentials LLC has expanded its lineup of reusable commercial containers with the addition of the Big Grizzly Rotator Cart. The Big Grizzly:
is a 38-inch mobile container designed to be lifted and dumped using a rotating forklift
features a steel base that is designed not to warp or absorb moisture and that supports heavier loads than containers featuring plywood bases
Hägglunds compact hydraulic motors from Germany-based Bosch Rexroth are designed for heavy-duty applications where size and weight are significant issues. The motor features:
numerous mounting options
max intermittent torque and stepless speed adjustment
the ability to work with other motors and equipment for maximum power with the option to use just one of the motors for flexibility
Exchange services and brokers who have a stake in ferrous scrap trading contracts can look back on 2018 as a year when activity and interest in using the contracts as a hedging tool grew considerably.
Backers of the Nasdaq Futures Exchange (NFX) and London Metal Exchange (LME) contracts remain optimistic that ferrous scrap processors, brokers and mill buyers are on a path to using hedging as a risk minimization tool the same way buyers and sellers of nonferrous scrap metal use such contracts.
While there are reasons to be optimistic, ferrous scrap trading advocates also tell Recycling Today more positive momentum is needed before hedging is entrenched in the steel and ferrous scrap industries the way it is in the nonferrous sector.
Wading into the surf
The contract offered by New York-based NFX was just launched in the first quarter of 2019. John Conheeney and Mike Frawley of New Jersey-based World Steel Exchange Marketing (WSEM), which seeks to develop and support the NFX Midwest Shredded Scrap Steel Futures Contract, say time is needed for a community of steel futures traders to develop.
“Acceptance of new futures contracts takes time,” Conheeney says. He adds, however, “We have broad interest across the entire ferrous industry developing in these contracts.” In addition to offering its Shredded Scrap contract since January 2018, NFX also launched a hot-rolled coil (HRC) steel contract in December 2018.
Collateralized financing and referencing of LME prices in physical contracts are two key trends that could change the scale of the ferrous scrap derivatives market in 2019.
In 2012, the Chicago and New York Mercantile Exchange organization (COMEX and Nymex) introduced a contract for prompt or busheling scrap tied to Fastmarkets AMM Midwest Index pricing. As of early March, the busheling contract showed zero volume traded the previous day and a limited amount of open interest. A companion heavy melting steel (HMS) contract showed zero volume and zero open interest.
Subtracting the somewhat dormant Nymex contracts, the London-based LME thus has a first-mover advantage with its LME Steel Scrap contract, launched in late 2015. The contract is tied to Platts obsolete scrap pricing for import shipments purchased by Turkish buyers.
Alberto Xodo, vice president of sales with the LME, says 2018 proved to be a breakout year for the contract. “In 2018, we saw traded volumes of LME Steel Scrap reach around 5 million metric tons, roughly double the previous year’s volumes.”
Xodo says he sees positive momentum in the nature of conversations with current and prospective clients in terms of how they view hedging ferrous scrap.
“If we look at the annual accounts of certain large recyclers, four or five years ago they would have mentioned a desire to manage steel price risk that was frustrated due to the lack of a suitable instrument,” he says. “If we look at the most recent accounts of the same companies, the mention of such a tool not being available has been removed. Potentially [it’s] just a simple omission, or perhaps it is a sign indicating they have been dipping their toes and started managing steel price risk on the LME.”
He says recyclers have been “much more inclined to embrace the LME Steel Scrap futures in the earlier phases” compared with mill buyers. However, Xodo adds that “a number of steel mills have begun testing use of the LME Steel Scrap contract and also have expressed the view that once liquid markets to hedge both inputs and outputs become available, risk management will become a real strategic option for their businesses.”
New York-based trader and consultant Nathan Fruchter of Idoru Trading Corp. says prodding processors or mill buyers to try contract trading can require patience.
“I have suggested plenty of times to recyclers to dip their toes in the water; it usually falls on deaf ears,” he says.
On that outputs side, Nymex, the LME and NFX offer finished steel futures contracts, with the LME’s tied to steel rebar and the NFX contract tied to HRC steel.
Plenty of reasons
Advocates of the ferrous scrap contracts point to several reasons why recyclers and mill buyers alike can benefit from the risk management aspects of making trades tied to the contracts. “Price opportunity and volatility are key drives,” Frawley says. He cites price drops in the second half of 2018 as having provided a perfect example.
“In early June 2018, second half of 2018 futures could have been sold at a $395 per ton average price.” That sale figure could have been realized even though “shredded steel scrap prices dropped under $320 per ton in September,” Frawley says.
Regarding such scenarios, he says, “The tipping point for many will come when the pain of not being hedged will outweigh the fear of taking the plunge.”
Inventory levels can offer another reason for scrap processors to consider hedging, Conheeney says.
With scrap and finished steel contracts available, Fruchter says steel producers have two good reasons to begin hedging. “Mills should have greater interest because they can buy and sell using these contracts for their steel as well as their scrap, whereas recyclers can only hedge their scrap.”
Xodo says bankers who like to see more evidence of stability from their metals sector clients can see hedging as a plus. “Two key trends have been slowly emerging, and in 2019 they could change the scale of the ferrous scrap derivatives market by orders of magnitude: collateralized financing and referencing of LME prices in physical contracts,” he says. “We have heard of a number of banks beginning to offer financing to corporations against hedged scrap as collateral,” Xodo continues. “This type of transaction is beneficial for both parties.”
He also points to the commodity pricing volatility risk minimization benefits. “It provides both buyers and sellers the ability to manage their risk exposure flexibly according to varying market conditions and risk appetite,” he says. “It also allows both parties to Xodo on the negotiations around the specific premium or discount and value-add of the transaction rather than having to discuss the market price over and over again.”
Sparking a real change
While acknowledging that firmly establishing new trading contracts is hard work, Frawley, Fruchter and Xodo all say they see momentum building for the ferrous scrap contracts.
Fruchter sees a glimmer of hope based on 2018 LME activity but repeats his assertion that the timeline stretches forward.
"Price opportunity and volatility are key drives.” – Mike Frawley, World Steel Exchange Marketing
Frawley says the NFX contract, tied to Fastmarkets AMM Midwest shredded scrap pricing, “seems like the ideal scrap product to list,” since “obsolete scrap makes up about 80 percent of the U.S. scrap market.”
Xodo says “a few major players” in the recycling sector “have been exploring how to effectively structure long-term physical supply transactions referencing the LME prices for steel scrap.”
The LME is demonstrating confidence in its steel and ferrous scrap products by introducing two additional products March 11, he says. “Until now, steel mills have not had appropriate instruments to hedge their outputs, and this is a gap that the current LME Steel Rebar contract, as well as our new ferrous contracts—LME Steel HRC North America and LME Steel HRC FOB (freight on board) China—aim to fill.”
Frawley is bullish on the future of hedging in the steel and ferrous scrap sectors. “Those who work to develop their expertise in this space will reap significant rewards,” he predicts. “To us, it feels like the tinder is dry, and we are just looking for a spark.”
The author is senior editor with the Recycling Today Media Group and can be contacted at btaylor@gie.net.
Getting carried away with recycled plastic
Features - Recycled Plastic Consumer
PakTech uses 100 percent recycled HDPE to manufacture handles for beverage cans.
If you’re a fan of craft beer, you’ve most likely encountered PakTech’s can carriers, which are made from 100 percent recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE). These carriers, available in an array of colors, protect the cans’ tops from dirt and provide a comfortable and convenient way to transport them, says Gary Panknin, the Eugene, Oregon-based company’s sustainability officer. PakTech also makes handles for bottles and other applications. Ninety percent of its products are made solely with recycled HDPE, and Panknin says PakTech hopes to reach 100 percent by year-end.
In 2018, the company says it kept more than 102 million gallon-sized milk jugs out of landfills by using postconsumer resin (PCR) in its manufacturing process. Since 2012 when PakTech started using PCR, it has consumed the equivalent of 338 million of these containers.
“Since we started using recycled HDPE in 2012, our consumption use has increased roughly 20 percent each year,” Panknin says. “We used approximately 11 million pounds in 2017 and 14 million pounds in 2018.”
HDPE is PakTech’s material of choice because it offers “the best physical properties for the end use of our products and is also readily available in the recycling market,” he adds.
PakTech has purchase contracts for recycled natural HDPE pellets with Merlin Plastics in Canada and Envision Plastics in Southern California. The pellets are shipped to PakTech via rail, Panknin says.
Responding to market need
PakTech did not begin as a product manufacturer but as a tooling “job shop” that made molds for injection-molding companies, Panknin says. That was in 1983. Over time, the company evolved to provide custom injection-molded parts.
"There is a robust industry of plastics reprocessors and businesses that can and will repurpose plastic into other products, all of whom wish to contribute to a sustainable circular economy.” – Gary Panknin, PakTech sustainability officer
PakTech’s foray into handle manufacturing began a decade after its founding. “In 1993, PakTech designed and began molding a TwinPak handle to hold two 1-gallon milk bottles together for Albertsons, who wanted to compete with Costco,” Panknin says.
However, this project for the grocery retailer faded over three years, which is when the company was approached by Mott’s Hawaiian Punch to produce a handle to help consumers handle its large bottle, he continues. “PakTech developed the UniPak handle as a solution, which ultimately saved Hawaiian Punch’s business and kicked off the success of Pak- Tech in the multipack handle business,” Panknin explains.
Making sustainable choices
In 2012, the company began producing its multipack handles, the lightweight design of which already used the least amount of material possible while ensuring performance, using 100 percent recycled HDPE, he says. “The objective was to provide an even more sustainable packaging alternative by producing products with 100 percent recycled content and [reducing] the consumption rate of virgin HDPE while maintaining product integrity and performance.
“We believe that sustainable practices are not only the right thing to do for the environment, they are also a smart business strategy,” Panknin continues. “We recognized that using recycled plastics is the best sustainable option available to help reduce the depletion of natural resources and minimize waste by repurposing products which have reached the end of their useful life.”
He says keeping sustainability at the forefront of PakTech’s sourcing, design and manufacturing lowers costs by reducing waste, increasing competitive advantage, improving customer satisfaction and creating less environmental impact.
Using PCR in its manufacturing process consumes 100 percent less petroleum and 90 percent less energy while emitting 78 percent less greenhouse gases compared with using virgin plastics, Panknin adds.
PakTech’s use of PCR also helps provide sustainable income streams to material recovery facilities and reprocessors.
Closing the loop
PakTech’s focus on sustainability extends to the end of its products’ lives.
“We at PakTech have our own extremely active recycling initiative,” Panknin says. “We provide customers with ‘ready to use’ handle recycling centers, which can be set up at a brewery or a place of business. The recycling kit consists of a recycle receptacle with informational graphics, and we provide local collection information so that once the bins fill up, recycling the handles is quick and painless.”
PakTech partners with reprocessors in Oregon, Ohio, Indiana, California and Canada to recycle the handles collected through these centers, Panknin says. The PCR they produce from the handles is used in other end markets.
"We believe that sustainable practices are not only the right thing to do for the environment, they are also a smart business strategy.” – Gary Panknin, PakTech sustainability officer
The company also offers a mail-back program for its handles and recycles its manufacturing scrap.
“We are partnered with Merlin Plastics, where we send our waste generated through the production of our handles to be ground and put back into pellet form for reuse in other end markets and in our handles,” he says. “We are currently working to further establish a more circular model in the Northwest with Merlin Plastics by having collected handles delivered to them for reprocessing back into pellet form, returned to us and reused in our products.”
To ensure the recyclability of its handles, PakTech does not use additives apart from colorants, Panknin says. “Unlike alternatives being presented, our handles are a lightweight design utilizing the least amount of material possible while ensuring the quality and performance meet consumer demand. They are also free from chemical additives that cause the physical properties of the HDPE to deteriorate, which ensures that the material can be further processed through a typical recycling process cost-effectively into a postconsumer plastic feedstock suitable for use in identifiable new products.”
Overcoming challenges
To use 100 percent recycled HDPE in its production process, PakTech modified its equipment to accommodate fractional-melt bottle-grade HDPE, Panknin says. Ongoing challenges include securing a sufficient supply of clean natural HDPE.
“The availability of natural recycled HDPE has been fairly robust here in the U.S. thus far,” he says. “However, as environmentalists and the like continue their campaign against the use of plastics as a whole, the supply could tighten. Focus and energy need to be directed on how and what needs to be done to ensure plastic products are properly discarded, collected and repurposed. There is a robust industry of plastics reprocessors and businesses that can and will repurpose plastic into other products, all of whom wish to contribute to a sustainable circular economy.”
The author is editor of Recycling Today and can be contacted at dtoto@gie.net.
Personnel Notes
Departments - Personnel Notes
Personnel announcements from recyclers and those allied to the industry
Spaleck USA LLC, a subsidiary of Germany-based equipment maker Spaleck, has named Jason Silvey sales manager. A graduate of Georgia College and State University, Silvey is a veteran of the metal recycling industry with years of experience in system integration and metals recovery, a sector that has benefited from the technological advances he has introduced to the industry, Spaleck says in a news release announcing his hiring.
As a sales manager, Silvey will take ownership of and further develop the company’s sales strategy in North America based on providing innovative product solutions and support.
“We are delighted that Jason is joining our team at an exciting time of sustained growth for Spaleck USA,” says Martin Hurson, sales director of western and central U.S. at Spaleck USA. “His experience within the recycling and metals recovery industry is unrivaled. Jason will consolidate the excellent growth earned by Spaleck USA in recent years as we position ourselves to be leaders in our sectors. Jason’s role will be to provide total screening and conveying solutions packages for existing and new customers and ensure that we continue to guarantee industry-leading customer support across the nation.”
Moore & Associates adds sustainability practice
Moore & Associates, a consulting firm based in Atlanta, has added Susan Cornish as an associate. She will lead the company’s new sustainability practice, which is focused on corporate sustainability, sustainable packaging and recycling.
Cornish brings 25 years of strategic consumer research to Moore & Associates, during which time she developed insights and action plans for marketing and communications decision-making. She has in-depth knowledge of product innovation, packaging design, messaging and market development, as well as expertise in consumer surveys, multivariate analytics, in-depth interviewing, focus groups and stakeholder workshops, according to a news release from Moore & Associates.
In addition to her experience working with global brand owners to develop, launch and market products in sectors including consumer products, energy, hospitality and technology, Cornish has contributed to Moore & Associates recycling consulting practice on a contract basis for two years.
Susan Cornish
Earlier in her career, Cornish taught environmental and economic development courses at the University of Georgia and worked with environmental community groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
She holds a Ph.D. in economic development from the University of Toronto.
Moore & Associates provides strategic services and research to clients in the recycling, paper, packaging and related manufacturing sectors. The firm is active in North America, Europe and Asia, and Bill Moore, the company’s principal, has published more than 50 articles in industry publications and is a frequent speaker at global conferences.
Click here to read “Thinking about the box,” Cornish’s article on the impact of e-commerce on recycling.
Dave Heubel
Eriez appoints senior sales director
Eriez, Erie, Pennsylvania, has promoted Dave Heubel to the newly created position of senior sales director of Eriez – USA.
“In his new role, Dave will oversee sales in the United States, Canada, Central and South America and select Middle Eastern countries,” says Tim Gland, vice president and general manager of Eriez – USA, in a news release. “He will provide leadership to the sales team in developing and implementing strategies to achieve the Eriez – USA sales and profitability growth objectives. His enthusiasm, business acumen, management skills and extraordinary expertise will be critical to maintaining and growing our Eriez – USA business,” Gland adds.
Heubel joined Eriez in 1990 as a technical sales representative. His other titles with the company have included separation product manager, national sales manager and director of North American sales.
He has bachelor’s degrees in management and economics and an MBA from Penn State Behrend in Erie.
Ellwood Group names new CEO
The board of directors of Ellwood City, Pennsylvania-based Ellwood Group Inc. has elected Bentraum D. Huffman as president and CEO of the company, effective Jan. 1. He previously served as chief operating officer of the scrap-consuming metal castings and forgings firm.
Huffman started with Ellwood Group in 2003 as controller of its National Forge subsidiary and was appointed chief financial officer of the parent company in 2009.
David Evans Barensfeld has retired as president and CEO of Ellwood after 35 years in that job. Barensfeld, who is the controlling shareholder of Ellwood, will continue as chair of company’s board.
“During his time at Ellwood, Ben has learned in depth about all our plants and operations—melting, forging, heat-treating, machining, distribution—our employees and customers and the industries they serve,” Barensfeld says. “He excels in his commercial role and brings excellent planning, strategic and organizational skills to his new job.”
Kody Kennedy
Stadler America appoints parts, warehouse manager
Stadler America, Colfax, North Carolina, has appointed Kody Kennedy as its new parts and warehouse manager. Stadler specializes in sorting, separation and processing equipment for the waste and recycling markets.
Kennedy has five years of distribution experience in automotive parts analysis and automotive parts distribution. At Stadler, his warehouse and technical parts experience will focus on providing quick service and response to the company’s customers’ parts, repair and maintenance needs.
In this new position, Kennedy will be responsible for more than $2 million of inventory in North Carolina to ensure that parts are in stock and that a quick response can be made for any type of needed part.
“I am excited that my goals blend so well with the Stadler company goals,” Kennedy says. “We feel that the parts and service response is something to be planned for and anticipated in order to keep our customers’ systems running seamlessly and without unnecessary downtime.”
Prior to joining Stadler, Kennedy spent most of his career in the automotive parts arena, which will serve him well as he engages the waste and recycling markets, Stadler says.
Strive for Sustainability Solid Waste & Recycling Conference with Trade Show, Bolton Landing, New York, Federation of New York Solid Waste Associations, https://conference.nyfederation.org
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