U.S.-made SSI shredder prepares material for Japan’s Kayama Kogyo Co. Ltd.
A slow-speed high-torque shredder made in the United States is playing a critical role in a Japanese company’s effort to obtain energy recovery value from difficult-to-recycle material.
According to SSI Shredding Systems Inc., based in the U.S., the installation at a Kayama Kogyo Co. Ltd. facility in Toyokawa, Japan, was undertaken to accomplish several waste and recycling-related goals.
SSI describes Kayama, which was established in 1961, as specializing in waste collection, transportation, disposal and recycling. The company conducts its own research into disposal and recycling technologies with the objective of creating a sustainable and healthy environment, says the equipment maker.
“We very much enjoy working with Kayama,” says Rich Ellis, Asia market sales manager for SSI. “Kayama is a progressive company working to make the world a better place.”
An SSI Quad Q100SD at the Toyokawa Plant is “one of many SSI shredder installations that Kayama owns and operates,” according to SSI.
At Toyokawa, the SSI four-shaft shredder serves as both a primary shredder and a “size reducing powerhouse,” says the equipment provider.
A video posted by SSI to its website says materials fed into the Q100SD include mixed waste, fishnet and super sacks.
In Toyokawa, the QuadQ100SD blades are spaced 2.5-inches (65 millimeters, or mm) apart while the screen size for outbound material is set at four inches (100 mm). The shredding setup has been designed to process a variety of materials and produce a small, consistent particle size, says SSI, to “create an environmentally friendly fuel material.”
A magnet placed between the four-shaft shredder and the outbound material also recovers ferrous scrap for recycling. A hand picker working the outbound material line is on hand for additional quality control measures.
SSI describes the Q100 as being “known as multipurpose shredders because they are designed to work like a two-shaft shredder when the internal screen is removed, or as a sizing shredder that’s able to shred, liberate and reduce a wide range of commingled materials without overly thick metals, in one pass.”
It lists aluminum extrusions, electronic scrap, obsolete appliances, material recovery facility (MRF) residuals, plastic scrap, carpet and paper mill ragger wire as materials successfully handled by installed Q11 models.
Kayama president and CEO Junichiro Kayama says the shredding system has been crucial toward its main goal of landfill diversion of materials that do not commonly have mechanical recycling outcomes. He also is complimentary of SSI equipment.
“We currently have three SSI shredders in operation,” the CEO says. “They are capable of processing extremely difficult materials, which makes them very useful. Also, the customer service has been amazing, which has given us peace of mind.”
With annual casting capacity of 240,000 tons of sheet ingot, the facility is expected to reduce Novelis’ carbon emissions by more than 1 million tons annually.
Novelis Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, has broken ground on a $365 million investment in a highly advanced recycling center in Guthrie, Kentucky, that will be able to cast 240,000 tons of sheet ingot for its automotive customers per year. The company says the facility is expected to reduce its carbon emissions by more than 1 million tons annually and to add approximately 140 jobs.
The site is adjacent to Novelis' existing automotive finishing plant in Guthrie, which currently employs 150 people and is expected to grow to 190 employees over the next two years.
Novelis first announced its plans for the center, which will allow the company to grow its closed loop recycling programs with its North American automotive customers and be able to process aluminum from end-of-life vehicles, in January.
Beatriz Landa, vice president of metal procurement and recycling for Novelis North America, told Recycling Today earlier this year that the investment to produce its own recycled-content automotive aluminum ingots will allow Novelis to become “more sustainable and more independent in the market.”
Regarding the technologies the site will employ, she said, “We’re looking at a lot of things,” including readily available technologies such as LIBS, or laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, and XRT, or X-ray transmission. “And then we’re looking at some other solutions that are pretty innovative,” Landa told Recycling Today, declining to elaborate.
"This groundbreaking marks a major milestone in our ongoing commitment to sustainability and recycling and also supports our automotive customers' carbon reduction targets," says Tom Boney, executive vice president and president of Novelis North America, in a news release about the event. "The commonwealth of Kentucky continues to be a great partner to Novelis. We are proud to build on the rich 40-year history of our aluminum recycling operations in Kentucky and look forward to deepening our relationships to ensure our facility has a lasting, beneficial impact in the region."
Novelis says the new recycling center is expected to be operational in 2024 and will be equipped with industry-leading processes and capabilities, including advanced shredding and sorting technology, as well as energy-efficient innovations to support its sustainability goal to reduce energy intensity by 10 percent by 2026 and be net carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner.
"We're grateful to have celebrated this occasion with our employees, community leaders and the great Commonwealth of Kentucky," says Tom Lilienthal, Guthrie plant manager.
Attending the event were Sen. Rand Paul, Gov. Andy Beshear, Rep. Jason Petrie, Rep. Thomas Massie, Morgan Alvey from Sen. Mitch McConnell's office, Corey Elder from Congressman James Comer's office, Guthrie Mayor Jimmy Covington and Judge Todd Mansfield.
"I was thrilled to be a part of Novelis' groundbreaking on their new state-of-the-art facility that will create over 140 jobs for Kentuckians and allow the company to grow its recycling programs to serve customers all across the U.S. I look forward to watching Novelis' continued success in the commonwealth and the economic prosperity it brings to Guthrie," Paul says.
Novelis operates a number of plants in Kentucky. In addition to its Guthrie automotive finishing facility, Novelis operates an aluminum beverage can recycling plant in Berea, Kentucky, and the Logan Aluminum joint venture in Russellville, Kentucky, employing 1,600 people in the state.
"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to take part in this ground-breaking ceremony today for a project that will create 140 quality jobs for Kentucky residents," Beshear says. "Novelis has seen rapid growth in our state, and this new recycling center in Todd County emphasizes the company's commitment to sustainability and job creation in the commonwealth. I want to thank the leaders at Novelis for this latest long-term commitment in our incredible workforce."
Eldan offers an array of shredding solutions to meet a variety of customer needs.
The Eldan solutions for profitable cable recycling are robust and reliable machinery, which is the result of 65 years of innovation and collaboration with customers.
Eldan specialize in complete solutions, including filter systems for the cleanest working environment and output purity including aspiration, ventilation, automatic cleaning of bags, etc.
With a Quality Upgrading System from Eldan you can achieve a purity of 99.9 percent pure black rubber granules, also known as black gold.
Get the purest metal fraction and the highest recovery of metal fines from the plastic fraction with the complete Eldan cable recycling solutions.
The Eldan tire separation equipment ensures the purest rubber granulate according to ASTM-standards, liberated from steel and textile.
The Super Chopper double shaft is Eldan's largest and most powerful primary shredder and can process up to 40 metric tons per hour, depending on input.
Eldan specializes in complete tire granulation solutions with the highest purity and cleanest working environment because of pneumatic material transports.
The Eldan plants are customized to fit into your buildings or site, in this instance it’s a tire chip plant for a recycler in the U.K.
For producing 50 or 100 millimeter TDF (tire-derived fuel) chips used in cement kilns, the Twin-Shaft Clean-Cut Tire Shredder with frequency drive is ideal.
The new knife system on the Multi Purpose Rasper ensures up to 10 percent higher efficiency and a lower running temperature.
Feeding silos enable operation with as little as two operators, ensuring a profitable investment. Feeding silos can be installed in existing setups too.
The Super Chopper features very few knives, designed to ensuring lowest maintenance costs and maximum cutting force with each rotation.
Experienced Eldan technicians ensure the best installation, startup and operator training at a tire recycling customer in Italy.
The Super Chopper is your No. 1 solution for primary shredding of all types of whole tires and precut mining truck tires without debeading.
This large double-shaft primary shredder was recently installed at an aluminum recycling customer in Spain.
Make the purest tire chips ideal for pyrolysis at the lowest running costs with the Eldan Super Chopper and Multi Purpose Rasper.
With a complete Eldan e-scrap plant, you can achieve recovery of many different metal fractions and the highest metal purity.
With a Ring Shredder from Eldan, you get the ideal primary shredder for profitable e-scrap recycling, liberating plastic and metal for highest purity.
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The company points to strong demand across most end markets.
Constellium SE, headquartered in Paris, has reported results for its first quarter of 2022 ended March 31 that include shipments of 401,000 metric tons, 4 percent more than in the first quarter of 2021, and revenue of 2 billion euros, or $2.1 billion. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) totaled 167 million euros, or $176 million, for the quarter, a 38 percent increase year over year.
Constellium Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marc Germain says, “Our team delivered very strong first-quarter results on strong demand across most end markets and solid execution despite significant inflationary pressures. Adjusted EBITDA of 167 million euros was a first-quarter record and a 38 percent improvement over last year’s first quarter. P&ARP (Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products) reported record first-quarter adjusted EBITDA as continued strength in packaging demand more than offset lower shipments in automotive caused by the semiconductor shortage. A&T (Auto and Transportation) also reported strong first-quarter adjusted EBITDA supported by a greater than 20 percent increase in aerospace shipments compared to the same quarter last year and continued strength in transportation, industry and defense (TID). AS&I (Automotive Structures and Industry) also performed very well, falling just short of 2021's record first-quarter performance despite lower automotive shipments. Lastly, we generated solid free cash flow of 26 million euros ($27.4 million) and reduced our leverage to 3.2x.”
He continues, "While there are uncertainties today on the macroeconomic and geopolitical fronts, I am optimistic about our prospects for the remainder of this year and beyond."
Constellium raised its adjusted EBITDA guidance to 640 million euros to 660 million euros, or $675 million to $695.9 million, and free cash flow to more than 170 million euros, or $179.2 million, in 2022.
The company says its overall shipments grew during the quarter because of higher shipments in the P&ARP and A&T segments, while its growth in revenue largely was because of higher metal prices.
Looking at specific segments, Constellium's P&ARP division saw adjusted EBITDA increase 20 percent compared with the first quarter of 2021 primarily because of higher shipments, improved price and mix and favorable metal costs, partially offset by higher operating costs from inflation, the company says. Shipments of 276,000 metric tons increased 3 percent compared with the first quarter of 2021 based on higher shipments of packaging and specialty rolled products, partially offset by lower shipments of automotive rolled products.
In its A&T segment, Constellium saw adjusted EBITDA increase 169 percent compared with the first quarter of 2021 primarily because of higher shipments and improved price and mix, partially offset by higher operating costs in light of inflation and production increases, Constellium says. The first quarter of 2022 included a 10 million euros, or $10.5 million) customer payment related to a contractual volume commitment. Shipments of 55,000 metric tons increased 15 percent compared with the first quarter of the prior year on higher shipments of aerospace and TID rolled products. Revenue of 385 million euros, or $405.9 million, increased 57 percent compared with the first quarter of 2021 primarily because of higher metal prices, higher shipments and improved price and mix.
In its AS&I segment, adjusted EBITDA decreased 3 percent compared with the first quarter of 2021 primarily because of higher operating costs from inflation, largely offset by improved price and mix. Constellium reports shipments of 70,000 metric tons in its AS&I segment were stable compared with the first quarter of the prior year as higher shipments of other extruded products were offset by lower shipments of automotive extruded products. Revenue of 459 million euros, or $515.6 million, increased 31 percent compared with the first quarter of 2021 primarily because of higher metal prices.
Automotive recycler reports 5.6 percent year-on-year increase in first quarter revenue; profits stable.
Chicago-based automotive recycler LKQ Corp. has reported first quarter 2022 results it says reflect year-over-year improvement in revenue and earnings per share.
“We are extremely pleased with our first quarter results, which built on the momentum from last year and are a validation of the resiliency of our operating model,” says Dominick Zarcone, the company’s president and CEO. “I am pleased with our team's responsiveness to the challenging macroeconomic environment by quickly taking action to mitigate supply chain and inflationary headwinds. Based on our strong start to the year and confidence in our competitive position, we are raising our full year revenue and earnings per share (EPS) outlook.”
LKQ’s revenue for the first quarter of 2022 was $3.3 billion, an increase of 5.6 percent compared with $3.2 billion in the first quarter of last year. The company’s adjusted net income of $287 million compares with $286 million in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of just 0.34 percent. However, LKQ’s adjusted diluted earnings per share figure of $1.00 for the quarter is a 6.4 percent increase compared with EPS of 94 cents in the first quarter of 2021.
On the revenue side, LKQ cites scrap metal sales as a factor in the 2.0 percent rise in its “other revenue” category year-on-year. That includes prices fetched for aluminum, “cores and higher scrap steel prices, partially offset by lower precious metals prices.”
Varun Laroyia, LKQ’s chief financial officer, says, “The business has delivered a solid start to the fiscal year, and we are encouraged by the demand outlook for our segments, as reflected in our increased full-year outlook. We continue to generate strong free cash flow and remain committed to investing in the business to drive long-term sustainable earnings growth, maintaining an investment grade debt rating, and returning excess free cash flow to shareholders via share repurchases and quarterly dividends.”
Baltimore-based recycling and waste sector analyst Michael E. Hoffman of Stifel Financial Corp. says of the latest LKQ results that they “demonstrate the recurring nature of the business and LKQ’s position to excel versus the competition.”