With its VecoBelt series, Bad Marienberg, Germany-based Vecoplan offers pipe belt conveyors that it says are ideal for transporting almost all bulk materials, including processed industrial and production waste. The company says it has now enhanced the system by implementing a roller-free belt return.

To reduce the use of expensive primary fuels such as coal and oil, alternative fuels and raw materials are increasingly being used, even in the production of cement. These materials, consisting of high-calorific waste, such as plastic and packaging waste, paper, composite materials and textiles, must first be processed to be furnace-ready. Vecoplan says its VecoBelt is a completely closed transport system that conveys this material mix safely.

Vecoplan says it has further developed this series in all belt widths, and the conveyor belt is now supported by an air cushion in the belt feed and belt return. This is advantageous for users, the company says, because the idlers in the feeder section and the return rollers are no longer required, meaning little or no roller maintenance.

Each drive station is equipped with two scrapers. Operators can adjust the front head scraper and the carbide scraper from the outside and the components can be retightened with a ratchet. The front head scraper is flexible, yet strong enough to remove impurities from the belt, Vecoplan says. The carbide scraper is designed to ensure thorough cleaning, removing430 belt dirt. More scrapers in the weight tensioning stations reduce maintenance time even more, increasing the availability of the systems while reducing material carry over.

According to the company, the VecoBelt can convey bulk material over a length of up to 430 meters (1410.76 feet) and with a volume flow of 1,000 cubic meters per hour (35314.7 cubic feet per hour). The belts in the series run at a speed of 2.5 meters per second (8.2 feet per second). The conveyor system is quick, easy to install, stable and lightweight. The spacing between the individual supports can be up to 75 meters (246.06 feet) with possible gradients of up to 18.5 degrees.

Additionally, the VecoBelt series consumes about half as much electricity as conventional roller conveyor systems, the company says.

Asker, Norway-based Tomra Sorting Recycling has announced it will showcase its sensor-based sorting technologies at Aluminium 2018, the world trade fair and conference in Düsseldorf, Germany, Oct. 9-11. Tomra’s exhibition stand will spotlight the company’s X-tractT machine and laser-induced breakdown spectoscropy (LIBS) technology, the company says.

According to Tomra, the X-tract machine separates valuable materials from metal waste and LIBS technology sorts and separates different aluminum wrought alloys.

Aluminium 2018 is expected to attract more than 27,000 visitors from 100 countries and will share latest insights into aluminum production and processing, finished goods and recycling. Tomra’s technical experts will be available at its stand during all three days of the event.  

Tomra says its participation at Aluminium 2018 allows the company to provide its own insight into technical solutions to industry challenges.

“High levels of aluminum production plus the high accuracy of modern alloy sorting techniques make it more and more worthwhile to unlock the value from secondary materials that would otherwise be lost,” Frank van de Winkel, Tomrasorting business development manager, metals, says. “What’s more, reusing scrap metal is an environmentally friendly practice, which demonstrates the industry’s commitment to sustainability. For these reasons we’re looking forward to discussing our technologies at Aluminium 2018 with recyclers, smelters and remelters.”

Tomra’s X-tract separates heavy metals from aluminum alloys with precision regardless of the materials’ size, moisture or surface pollution level, the company says. This technology employs an electric X-ray tube so broadband radiation can penetrate the material to provide spectral absorption information. This data is then measured with an X-ray camera to identify the atomic density of the material. Material is sorted into high- and low-density fractions with Tomra’s Duoline sensor technology that uses two independent sensor lines with different spectral sensitivities.

Tomra’s LIBS-based sensor sorting technology extends the options for the use of scrap and secondary aluminum. By employing a dynamic laser that can monitor the entire width of the belt, the unit eliminates the need to separate materials into single lanes, the company says. This enables the sorting and separation of different aluminum wrought alloys with high levels of efficiency, achieving sorting accuracies of 99 percent purity with high throughputs of 3 to 7 tons per hour.  

Aluminium 2018 will also be an opportunity for recyclers, smelters and remelters to learn how Tomra designs its technical solutions to fit customer requirements. Tomra says more than 60 of its units have been sold worldwide for the separation of different scrap sources, such as taint tabor from sheet scrap, extrusion profile scrap, used beverage can scrap, production scrap and new scrap from manufacturing waste.

Rocklegde, Florida-based Pirtek has been ranked No. 42 in Entrepreneur Magazine’s latest Top 200 Global Franchises list. The new ranking puts Pirtek in the top 50, a gain of 23 places from last year’s ranking among franchising companies around the world, the company says. 

Every year in its Franchise 500 list, Entrepreneur Magazine assesses the top franchises in terms of international size and growth, costs and fees, franchise support, stability and other factors. It then publishes the list of its top 200 companies. 

A provider of hydraulic and industrial hose replacement sales and services, Pirtek says it has a strong base in the U.S. but is more widely known for its global presence, with locations in 23 countries. The company began in Australia and branched out to the United Kingdom, then around the globe.

“Getting into the top 50 on Entrepreneur’s global ranking is a tremendous milestone for Pirtek,” Glenn Duncan, CEO of Pirtek, says. “All this progress is indicative of the great people who make up Pirtek worldwide, especially our long-term franchise owners who have been so successful and who continue to expand their businesses into new markets. At the same time, I want to recognize the new owners who bring fresh enthusiasm and talent to Pirtek. We have so many outstanding people in our organization.”

During the past year, Pirtek has expanded the reach of its U.S. franchise locations, because, in part, to the new mobile only option now available to franchisees, the company says. Under the Tier 2 plan, an owner can keep inventory in a storage facility and operate the business with two or three mobile service vehicles only. In three years, Pirtek will require that the Tier 2 locations become Tier 1 locations with service and supply centers. One of the main benefits of the Tier 2 option is that it allows franchisees to become Pirtek owners at a lower point of entry, the company says. 

“Our existing Pirtek owners have taken advantage of the Tier 2 option, expanding geographically without having to set up a brick-and-mortar location right away,” Duncan says. “This expansion has taken place in U.S. metro areas, greatly benefiting the Pirtek organization in the process. It’s been an important building block in our success.” 

Pirtek says it is building a new 10-acre headquarters in Rockledge, Florida. According to the company, the two-story facility will contain 120,000 square feet of warehouse space and 20,000 square feet of office space. As Pirtek USA continues to expand, the international company says it plans to move its global headquarters to the Rockledge facility.

During the past year, Entrepreneur Magazine has also ranked Pirtek No. 33 on its list of the most veteran friendly franchising companies. The publication recognized Pirtek USA for sponsoring causes that help U.S. military veterans and for offering veterans a $5,000 to $15,000 discount on franchise fees.

Wastequip, Charlotte, North Carolina, has announced the appointment of Mike Marchetti as the chief information officer (CIO). In this role, Marchetti will lead Wastequip’s information technology (IT) strategy to focus on enhancing security measures, integrating a number of disparate systems across the company to increase efficiency, and identifying areas to leverage data and technology to grow the business.

Marchetti brings more than 20 years of IT experience to his role. He most recently held the position of vice president of Truck Hero, Inc, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Previously, he spent six years as chief information officer and vice president at Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P., Indianapolis, where he managed and planned IT integration for 11 mergers worth more than $3 billion in revenue.

“We are very pleased to have Mike on board,” Wastequip CEO Marty Bryant says. “As CIO, he will be instrumental in advancing Wastequip’s business strategy by helping us better leverage technology to achieve measurable results, ensuring that our company will be at the forefront of digital solutions.”

Marchetti earned a Bachelor of Science in computer technology from Purdue University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in accounting from Indiana Wesleyan University.