Chicago-based LKQ Corp. has reported second-quarter 2020 revenue of $2.6 billion, down 19.1 percent compared with the second quarter of 2019. The company says “implemented targeted cost actions” allowed it to achieve net income of $119 million, which was still down 21.2 percent compared with the year-ago quarter.

“The momentum we gained in April and May continued through June, and we finished the quarter solidly,” says Dominick Zarcone, LKQ president and CEO. “Operating cash flows were $718 million, a 56 percent increase over the same period in 2019. Additionally, despite the decline in revenue, our North American team delivered segment earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin of 14.8 percent.”

LKQ says its second-quarter 2020 results were “consistent with the company’s previously announced second-quarter business update on June 15, 2020.” Zarcone also says LKQ’s European segment showed “continuous improvements from a revenue and margin perspective each month as we migrated through the quarter.”

Looking ahead, Zarcone comments, “The operating environment continues to evolve, and while the company’s second-quarter performance exceeded our expectations at the beginning of the quarter, there remains a high degree of uncertainty about the ongoing rate and shape of the COVID-19 recovery. As a result, the company is not providing new fiscal 2020 guidance at this time.”

Baltimore-based investment analyst Michael Hoffman of Stifel Financial Corp. says Stifel is maintaining its “buy” rating on LKQ, adding the LKQ’s second-quarter results “exceeded all reasonable expectations, given the disruption of the pandemic.”

Adds Hoffman, “It appears LKQ gained share in both key parts and service markets of the United States and European Union. Despite the disruption of activity, its focus on free cash flow (FCF) remained vigilant, with second-quarter 2020 FCF at $685 million.” The FCF figure represents a 66 percent increase compared with the second quarter 2019 figure.

Boyne City, Michigan-based Industrial Magnetics Inc. (IMI), a manufacturer of magnetic products and systems for industrial applications, has announced the appointment of Aaron Evans as regional manager for the company’s western U.S. territory, which includes Arizona, Utah, central and southern California and southern Nevada. 

According to IMI, Evans has extensive background in industrial distribution, including 15 years as an account manager with Kaman Distribution. He has also held management positions at various hydraulic and power transmission distributors and completed a number of factory training and certifications with companies such as Baldor Electric Motor, Timken Bearings and Drives Chain and NIBA Belting Association.

“Until Aaron came on board, we had mostly managed the western USA from our [headquarters] in Michigan,” says Dennis O’Leary, chief business development officer at IMI. “We’re excited that our customers and channels partners there can now enjoy the benefit of face-to-face interaction with an IMI regional manager. We believe it’s what sets us apart from many other manufacturers in our space: an in-field regional manager working in concert with everyone in the chain to effectively deliver unique solutions.”

A graduate of Bremerton College and a U.S. Navy veteran who traveled the world, Evans currently resides in California with his wife and children where he spends his free time playing postcompetitive Rugby and working with wood.

According to the company, for 59 years, IMI has been designing and manufacturing permanent magnetic and electromagnetic devices to meet its customer’s specific requirements in magnetic separation, material handling, work-holding and automated or robotic applications.

More information on IMI can be found on its website.

Tata Steel, Mumbai, has set up its Steel Recycling Business, a state-of-the-art scrap processing plant, in Rohtak, which is in Haryana in northern India. The plant is expected to have an annual capacity of about 500,000 tons per year. According to a news release from Tata Steel, the new plant is scheduled to be commissioned soon. 

The company set up the plant in collaboration with India-based Aarti Green Tech Ltd., a subsidiary of Aarti Steels Ltd. The site is equipped with state-of-the-art scrap processing equipment such as a shredder, baler and material handlers. The scrap will be procured from various market segments, such as end-of-life vehicle scrap, obsolete household scrap, construction and demolition scrap as well as industrial scrap. The scrap will be processed through mechanized equipment, and the high-quality processed scrap will be supplied to electric arc furnaces (EAFs), induction furnaces and foundries for downstream steelmaking. 

Tata Steel reports that it has finished sourcing its first batch of ferrous scrap for processing at the steel recycling plant in Haryana.

India’s National Steel Policy aims to achieve 300 million metric tons per year of steel production in India by 2030. Tata Steel reports that it believes steel recycling will play a major role in attaining to the country’s steel production goals. 

“Steel Recycling through the electric arc furnace (EAF) route is a global trend and going forward it would become imperative for India’s sustainable growth aspirations,” says Yogesh Bedi, chief of the Steel Recycling Business with Tata Steel. “Tata Steel has been pioneering various aspects of the steel industry since its inception in 1907. Steel Recycling Business is yet another pioneering initiative from Tata Steel to enable circular economy and a sustainable tomorrow.” 

Material Difference Technologies LLC (MDT), a Sarasota, Florida-based supplier to polymer product manufacturers, has acquired the assets of Houston-based Replas from Lyondell-Basell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. The facility has rebranded as MDT Replas.

The Houston-based facility is capable of producing a variety of custom formulations with consistent specifications that meet plastic processor requirements at a significant price advantage over prime resin, MDT says in a July news release announcing the purchase, which closed March 31.

Rich Odato, a spokesman for MDT, tells Recycling Today that Replas uses a variety of polypropylene (PP) feedstocks, though he did not disclose the volume of material the facility produces annually.

“Replas is a great addition to our capabilities,” says Mark Stokes, vice president of MDT. “This acquisition is a great fit with what we already do well. MDT is very strong in recycled resins and prime and generic prime resins. MDT Replas sits in between prime resin and recycled material, which allows us to produce custom formulations to fit customers’ product requirements.”

MDT Replas features washing, drying and blending operations and has rail access, large silo capacity, a quality control lab and a dedicated bulk truck fleet for delivery. The plant’s silos allow for custom blends with targeted melt flow, according to the company.

MDT says it acquired the plant, equipment and assets of Replas in the deal.

LyondellBasell had acquired the Houston facility as part of its purchase of Ohio-based A. Schulman Inc. in 2018, the news release notes.

MDT says it supplies engineering procurement services to manufacturers and was founded on the concept of providing engineering, tooling, raw material selection, processing and production services to customers to help them achieve overall cost savings.