BHS expands Max-AI offerings

Eugene, Oregon-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), in collaboration with subsidiary National Recovery Technologies (NRT), Nashville, Tennessee, has announced the launch of technology that will provide material recovery facility (MRF) operators what it describes as “unprecedented levels of information about their business.”

The Max-AI Visual Identification System (VIS) is powered by Max-AI technology and provides real-time material identification in recycling plants, the company says. The Total Intelligence Platform provides operators and other stakeholders with MRF and business intelligence. Both products will be displayed at WasteExpo, April 24-26, and at IFAT, May 14-18, shows.

Max-AI VIS offers a cost-effective way to monitor material composition in the sorting process, BHS says. Max-AI technology employs multilayered neural networks and a vision system to see and identify objects similar to the way a person does. It can be used to verify the quality of end products or to monitor the quantity of recyclables in a MRF’s residue as it leaves a system. The Total Intelligence Platform displays this data in real time and as trends. Operators can compare composition for the day, week, month or any other period they choose to track.

The Total Intelligence Platform monitors and tracks throughput, uptime, downtime events, material composition, motor amperage and performance data from optical sorters and Max-AI-powered equipment. It even provides operators with information external to the recycling system but vital to operational success, including inbound and outbound weights, bales shipped and bales on hand by commodity, BHS says.

“While perhaps not as sexy as robotic sorting, the idea that we can now see and track input composition, residue composition and product quality automatically is something that our customers are really excited about,” says BHS CEO Steve Miller. “Max-AI VIS identifies recyclables in real time, and the Total Intelligence Platform communicates that information to stakeholders. These capabilities provide our customers a new level of information in an intuitive way that allows them to optimize their operations and maximize profitability.” 

The Max-AI AQC (Autonomous Quality Control) unit also will be displayed at WasteExpo and IFAT.

Additionally, at WasteExpo, the Kadant PAAL booth will feature a PAAL Konti baler. Last year Kadant named BHS the exclusive provider of Kadant PAAL balers to recycling systems in the U.S. and Canada. The first baler sold by BHS is operational at the Monterey Regional Waste Management District in Marina, California.

BHS is a worldwide leader in the design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of sorting systems and components for the solid waste, recycling, waste-to-energy and construction and demolition recycling industries. Wholly owned subsidiaries include Nihot (Amsterdam), NRT (Nashville) and Zero Waste Energy (Lafayette, California).