Pratt Industries opens new MRF in Conyers, Georgia

Conyers, Georgia-based Pratt Industries celebrated the opening of its new material recovery facility (MRF) in Conyers, Sept. 17, 2015. The system was engineered to recover mixed fiber, though it has the flexibility to process single-stream and commercial and industrial material, as well as commercial OCC (old corrugated containers).

According to Plessissville, Quebec-based Machinex, the equipment supplier, the system offers the flexibility to route the input stream differently based on operator preferences.

Originally designed to process material at 25 to 30 tons per hour (TPH), the versatile system has since been tested at more than 32 TPH, Machinex says. The system also can recover certain nonrecyclable materials for use in Pratt’s waste-to-energy gasification plant, which is also located on the same campus.

The advanced facility includes a shredder, a heavy-light separator, three ferrous magnets, two nonferrous separators, a drum feeder, a back-scraping drum and a truck loading station. The system also is equipped with Machinex’s latest technologies, including a MACH Ballistic Separator and three MACH HyspecTM optical units to sort PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high-density polyethylene), fiber and aseptic packaging.

"When Pratt approached us with this project in 2013, we were very thankful to be one of the suppliers considered,” says Rusty Angel, sales manager at Machinex. “Due to the various streams they planned to run, the typical single-stream design would simply not fit the bill. So, over the following year, we worked with them very closely to provide them with all the flexibility they needed. The result is an extremely flexible system that gives them the recovery they require with a focus on a quality mixed paper that they can feed directly to their mill next door.”

Angel continues, “We are pleased to have Pratt as a partner and congratulate them on such an important piece that helps them achieve their corporate goals."

Kurt Schmitz with Pratt Industries adds, "This project has been a long time in development, and we are excited about how the system is performing and achieving our goals. The system will enable us to process a variety of streams, producing paper for our on-site mill and fuel for our clean energy plant, which is also on-site. This facility is a key component in expanding our eco-campus capabilities.”

Schmitz continues, “Machinex has become a true partner in the development of this facility. Their attention to our expectations and the delivery of the final product has been a smooth process."

Pratt Industries is America’s fifth largest corrugated box company and the world’s largest, privately held 100-percent-recycled paper and packaging company

Machinex develops sorting, waste management and recycling technology. Over the years, its experts have designed and installed more than 350 turnkey facilities in partnership with leading MRFs in Canada, the United States and Europe.