Gold Mountain Recycling Inc., Los Angeles, has announced that it plans to acquire Steel & Resources Co. Ltd. in South Korea for nearly $30 million in stock.

Through the agreement, Gold Mountain Recycling will acquire Steel & Resources’ metal processing plants, inventory assets, the real estate properties and related assets of its scrap metal recycling facilities in Asan, Dangjin Port and Incheon Port and the established and trusted exportations to areas worldwide.

Gold Mountain says Steel & Resources Co. Ltd. is the only listed company in the scrap industry in South Korea showing sustainable growth of scrap sales, exporting worldwide, including to Southeast Asia and India. India is the company's largest exporting destination and also is the fourth largest metal importing country in the world, the company says.

Through the company’s Dangjin Port yard, it can transport 20,000 tons to 30,000 tons per load more efficiently and cost effectively than if it used overland transport, Gold Mountain says.

The acquisition of Steel & Resources Co. Ltd. aligns with Gold Mountain Recycling’s strategy to expand its global presence through existing channels. With this acquisition, Gold Mountain Recycling says it will grow its value-added businesses and further strengthen its role in the ferrous and nonferrous scrap industry. Gold Mountain Recycling says it will expand Steel & Resources Co. Ltd.'s variety of scrap metal offerings and add advanced technologies and materials. 

Leaders from the European Parliament, the European Commission, NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) and industry agreed that “more can be done” to build on the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package during a debate 23 February 2016 co-hosted by European Parliament member (MEP) Giovanni La Via, the Parliament’s Environment Committee Chair, and MEP Simona Bonafè, the rapporteur on the Circular Economy legislative proposals on waste, in cooperation with ACE (Alliance for Beverage Carton and the Environment).

La Via told the audience that Bonafè’s report is scheduled for completion by 21 April and that Parliament’s vote in plenary is scheduled for 7-8 November.

The Parliament says it expects further commission proposals by the end of 2016 as foreseen in the Commission’s Action Plan.

La Via highlighted elements that could be introduced, including a mandatory product passport and a legally binding indicator for resource efficiency.

Daniel Calleja Crespo, director general of the European Commission’s DG Environment, emphasised how the Circular Economy Package is a “key contributor” to the priorities of Juncker Commission as well as to Europe’s response to the UN climate change agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, ACE reports. The package of measures “looks at the whole cycle and not just at waste.” Indicating a strong level of ambition, Calleja Crespo confirmed that for waste “the aim is to phase out landfilling completely.”

Speaking about the need to do more, senior representatives of the European beverage carton industry put forward specific proposals to raise the level of ambition. Karl-Henrik Sundström, CEO of Stora Enso, stated that the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive should encourage the use of materials from renewable sources. Per Lindberg, president and CEO of BillerudKorsnäs, underlined the importance to responsibly source raw materials, while Kristian Hall, president of ACE and director for environment at Elopak, called for the introduction of a requirement that extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes ensure effective collection and recycling of all packaging materials and a landfill ban for packaging materials.

Kari Herlevi from Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra put forward the case to prioritise renewable resources for the sake of reducing Europe’s resource dependency on imports.    

Finally, Pieter de Pous, EEB policy director, supported a landfill ban for recyclable and compostable material.

Other elements where “more can be done” included the role of biobased materials needed to meet climate targets and the transparency and cost efficiency of EPR schemes for waste collection.

Closing the event, Erika Mink, ACE board member and vice president for public affairs at Tetra Pak, agreed that strategic alliances between stakeholders and regulators are significant for the implementation of the package and highlighted three ways to build upon the Commission’s proposals: “The circular economy concept should start with responsible sourcing of primary materials; the EU should promote the use of renewable materials; and the legislative waste proposals must ensure that what can be recycled will be recycled,” she said. 

Laslavic

Fuchs, Louisville, Kentucky, has hired Anthony Laslavic as a regional sales manager (RSM) and national accounts manager for Fuchs material handlers. In his new position, Laslavic will work closely with customers and the entire Fuchs sales team to strengthen distribution of the material handler line throughout North America, particularly at the national account level, according to the company.

"Anthony brings a wealth of industry and national account development experience to Fuchs in North America," says Ron de Vries, managing director for the Fuchs business globally. "He has incredible drive and has been a top sales performer at previous companies. He has the practical knowledge to provide customers with the right material handling equipment solutions for specific applications.”

Prior to joining Fuchs, Laslavic handled distributor and national account development for Sennebogen, where he was responsible for introducing the material handler line to the North American market. He also worked in the management development program with Konecranes, where he began as a technician in the field and worked his way up to managing the lifting equipment manufacturer’s northeast branch.

“I look forward to working with Fuchs distributors and customers to bring the full portfolio of Fuchs material handlers to the market,” Laslavic says. “From standard machines to electric models to customized machines configured to meet specific customer needs, the Fuchs product line offers an efficient material handling solution for virtually any application,” he adds.

Laslavic will work with national account customers and Fuchs distributors from a field office in Pittsburgh. He can be reached directly at 412-444-7500 or via email at Anthony.Laslavic@terex.com. 

A Chinese government minister has reportedly stated at a press conference that China may need to eliminate as many as 500,000 jobs in the steel sector to bring that industry in line with its needed production capacity.

A Reuters article on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, says Yin Weimin of China’s Ministry for Human Resources and Social Security disclosed at a press conference that the central government has determined that some 1.3 million coal sector workers and 500,000 steel industry employees may need to be laid off, largely at state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The Chinese press, which largely reports within suggested government parameters, recently has been quoting government ministers who acknowledge that “zombie mills,” operated largely by SOEs, are to blame for an overcapacity problem in the Chinese steel sector that has angered steelmakers in other parts of the world.

The Reuters report quoting Yin may be the first where a government employee has attached an employment figure to the problem. Yin also reported said that reaching settlements with the 1.8 million workers in the two sectors “will be very difficult.”

Some coal industry layoffs have been announced in the previous nine months, including a reported 100,000 job cuts by Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group Co., an SOE based in northern China in late 2015. No such mass cuts have yet been announced in the steel sector.