Corporate News

 BIRMINGHAM, MITSUI IN SCRAP VENTURE

Birmingham Steel Corp., Birmingham, Ala., and Mitsui & Co., Japan, have announced that they will form a joint venture by year’s end to operate several scrap yards once belonging to Hiuka America Corp. – a one-time major Japanese-owned West Coast scrap exporter that recently went bankrupt. The yards will be used by Mitsui and Birmingham to import and export ferrous scrap and export finished steel products. Those yards are: All-Ways Recycling Co., San Diego, Weiner Steel Corp., Montebello, Calif., and B&D Auto & Truck Salvage, El Monte, Calif.

E.L. HARVEY OPENS NEW RECYCLING FACILITY

new, $3.1 million recycling center recently opened in Westboro, Mass. The center was built by E.L. Harvey & Sons Inc., based in the same town. E.L. Harvey provides waste disposal services for commercial and industrial customers from Boston to Springfield, Mass., and has been in the recycling business for nearly 50 years. The new facility will allow the company to recover up to 50 percent of the materials processed there, compared to only 10 percent before the plant went on line.

The 220,000-square-foot recycling center features a conveyor-belt system from Machinex, Quebec, that carries selected materials to a picking line 20 feet above the floor. Up to a dozen workers on the line sort the materials, dropping targeted items into special bins below the line. Sorted material is then compressed by a new T-Rex high-denisty, two-ram extrusion baler from the American Baler Co., Bellevue, Ohio.

Approximately 22,500 tons of materials will be recycled annually at the new facility.

PROCYCLE HONOREDWITH RECYCLING AWARD

ProCycle Oil & Metals Inc., Springtown, Texas, has been honored for its recycling and environmental efforts by the Recycling Coalition of Texas at the coalition’s annual Statewide Recycling Forum in San Antonio. The company was lauded for recycling oil filters without producing any waste byproducts. ProCycle received the top honor in the “Closing the Loop” category for organizations, businesses or groups. In 1995, ProCycle recycled 2,500 tons of used oil filters, 6 million gallons of oil and 300,000 gallons of antifreeze.

HARRIS ACQUIRES U.K./IRELAND DISTRIBUTOR

Harris Waste Management Group Inc., Peachtree City, Ga., has added Huwood International, Gateshead, U.K., as its distributor. With the acquisition of Murphy Environmental Systems Ltd., Huwood International is now the sole distributor of Harris, Harris-Selco and Mosely recycling and processing equipment in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Huwood International and Harris Waste Management are sister companies under the FKI plc Group.

HI-RISE RECYCLING ACQUIRES RECYCLTECH

Hi-Rise Recycling Systems, Miami, has acquired Recycltech Ltd., Toronto, which has been a distributor of the Hi-Rise Recycling system since 1991. Recycltech has 19 systems installed in the greater Toronto area, with several more currently in the process of being installed. Hi-Rise has a backlog of $3.2 million in recycling system orders.

ALLIED METAL SEEKS ISO CERTIFICATION

Allied Metal Co., Chicago, has begun the process of obtaining registration to the international ISO 9002 quality system standard. “Today, the name of the game is ISO 9002,” says Marvin Fink, president. “It’s becoming a factor in our industry, and our customers are starting to expect it.”

The company’s initial goal is to have its three Chicago production units registered. Later, the company will begin the process at its Chattanooga, Tenn., smelting center.

To spearhead its efforts, Allied Metal has enlisted the help of 9000 Solutions Group, Wayne, Mich.

PCCG SIGNS CONSULTANTS FOR CHINA PROJECT

PCC Group Inc., Pomona, Calif., has retained Overseas Consultants, Johnstown, Pa., to implement PCCG’s proprietary tire recycling technology in the Middle East and Indo-Pakistan subcontinents.

Overseas Consultants is a group of multinational experts with offices in Pakistan; New Delhi, India; and Dhaka, Bangladesh. PCCG has a tire recycling plant in Dalian, China, which will serve as a model for other worldwide plants.