Equipment Report

Balcones Resources, CP Group partner on system retrofit

Balcones Resources Inc., Austin, Texas, has partnered with CP Group, San Diego, to upgrade its single-stream residential and commercial material recovery facility (MRF) in Austin. The upgrade of the 100,000-square-foot facility that opened in 2012 was prompted by changing market conditions, rising labor costs and new technology, according to a news release issued by CP Group.

Balcones and CP Group tested and analyzed several scenarios to determine the correct design and use of optical sorters.

The retrofit was completed in May and features three Cirrus FiberMax optical sorters from Nashville, Tennessee-based MSS Inc., the optical sorting division of CP Group. FiberMax optical sorters run at 1,000 feet per minute on 112-inch-wide belts using near-infrared (NIR) technology to clean the fiber streams using positive and negative sorting, according to CP Group.

“After a lengthy project analysis, we decided to work with CP Group because their success in the marketplace, advanced technology and experienced team gave us confidence in our investment,” says Kerry Getter, Balcones Resources CEO. “MSS demonstrated our material and proved the results we needed to achieve to make the investment. We are already seeing those results at our facility.”

The FiberMax optical sorters remove fugitive plastics and other nonconforming items from the paper stream.

The retrofit also includes a new four-deck CP Glass Breaker screen to remove glass and fines, a 140-inch-wide CP Anti-Wrap Screen, CP’s newest fiber screen that separates large fiber from other materials and a 140-inch-wide CPScreen to separate small mixed paper.

The upgrade included new software designed to help Balcones better understand its production through quantified data. Through the use of an integrated SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) package, Balcones can track production on its balers, including daily material totals, as well as inbound and outbound material volumes on each line.

Branden Sidwell, CP sales engineer, says, “Working with the Balcones team has been a real pleasure. As operators and marketers of their material, they really know their numbers. When it comes to MRF design, you have to know your numbers in order to create the right solution. Balcones made it easy for us.”

Eriez to expand Pennsylvania plant

Eriez, Erie, Pennsylvania, has plans to expand its facility at 1901 Wager Rd., located about 15 miles from the company’s headquarters at 2200 Asbury Rd. The expansion will support strategic growth initiatives for repair, testing and global research and development (R&D) activities, Eriez reports in a news release.

The Eriez Wager Road facility, which opened in 2012, is currently 114,000 square feet. The planned expansion will add another 38,000 square feet. “We plan to break ground later this year and anticipate a 2020 completion date,” says Eriez President and CEO Tim Shuttleworth.

According to Eriez, the new space will be dedicated to creating specialized repair, testing, demonstration and R&D areas. Shuttleworth says the new areas will be designed to help Eriez grow and enhance its repair business, facilitate product development, accommodate bigger projects and pilot tests and provide better testing support for its products.

“This expansion is important to maintaining the success of our North American aftermarket repair business, as it proactively addresses floor space constraints being brought on by rapid growth,” adds Tim Gland, vice president and general manager of Eriez-USA. “The expanded capabilities this will bring to our aftermarket business will allow us to offer additional services and even faster turnaround times.”

Shuttleworth says that while this expansion will have a global impact for the company, the local significance in Erie is just as important.

“The fact that we are expanding in our hometown is confirmation that our commitment to the Erie community is still going strong after 77 years,” he says. “We now have 12 international subsidiaries located on six continents, but we remain proudly and firmly rooted in Erie.”