Equipment Report

RePower South’s South Carolina facility begins operating

RePower South (RPS), Moncks Corner, South Carolina, has begun processing material at its new recycling and energy recovery facility in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The recycling system, provided by Eugene, Oregon-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), is highly automated and can process more than 50 tons per hour of mixed waste, recovering recyclables and producing a fuel feedstock, a news release from BHS states.

BHS reports that National Recovery Technologies (NRT) optical sorters and Max-AI AQC (Autonomous Quality Control) units enable the system to run with minimal manual sorters. The BHS FiberPure process features screen, air, optical and artificial intelligence-powered robotic sorters to automate the production of clean fiber. In total, the system contains seven NRT optical sorters and nine Max-AI AQC units.

“With NRT optical and Max-AI technology, we have an almost unlimited degree of flexibility to create a wide variety of high-quality products to serve multiple markets,” RPS President Scott Montgomery says. “The technology maximizes the recovery and quality of those products, and with Max-AI technology there’s no real need to expose people to this work during the QC process.”

The plant also makes use of nonrecyclable papers and plastics by producing ReEngineered Feedstock (ReEF), a clean, low-carbon renewable fuel sold to industry, cement and utility customers to replace coal. ReEF undergoes several quality control steps, including two NRT optical sorters, which remove plastic and metal contamination. The product has been designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a nonwaste fuel, the news release states.

Also employed in the plant are two Kadant PAAL balers supplied by BHS. A Konti 500 bales all commodities headed to the secondary market, including ferrous, aluminum, cardboard, paper and plastics, while a Dokon 500 bales fuel.

“After years of due diligence, planning, negotiating and financing, we’re very excited to be processing material at our second facility,” says RPS CEO Brian Gilhuly. “We think we have a great solution for communities looking to recycle more, landfill less and do so in an economically sustainable way. It is great to be here in Berkeley County, recovering materials for reuse that were previously going to the landfill.”

Amp Robotics supplies technology to ERI

Fresno, California-based electronics recycling company ERI has installed artificial intelligence- (AI-) driven Amp Robotics Super Automated Machine (SAM) sorting technology at its Indiana plant. The installation follows one at ERI’s Fresno plant.

Colorado-based Amp Robotics has integrated its technology into ERI’s scrap metal sorting line in Indiana. SAM has been designed to separate shredded material, such as aluminum, printed circuit boards, yellow brass, capacitors and copper products, into clean streams. It uses a vision system to identify the target material and an AI-powered “brain” that determines the action the robot should take.

The robotic system at ERI can achieve about 70 picks per minute in its current configuration, according to ERI, and it processes 10 different shredded material streams.

“With steady growth of 10 to 15 percent per year, we are always looking for innovative ways to enhance efficiency,” says John Shegerian, co-founder and executive chairman at ERI. “Working with our friends at Amp, we have developed smart technology that increases our sorting accuracy as our processing volume increases, so we can free up our employees to perform ITAD (information technology asset disposition) and data wiping services. We are really excited about robots and AI.”

Shegerian says by the end of the year, ERI plans to add robotics and AI to its other facilities in the United States.

NPK Construction Equipment acquires Genesis Attachments

NPK Construction Equipment (NPKCE), a Walton Hills, Ohio-based subsidiary of Nippon Pneumatic Mfg. Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan, has announced the purchase of Superior, Wisconsin-based Genesis Attachments and Germany-based Genesis Holdings and Genesis GmbH.

Genesis’ scrap processing, demolition and material handling attachments are “well-engineered, high-quality products” with an “outstanding reputation with their customers in the marketplace.” The acquisition of Genesis will make both companies stronger, NPKCE says in a news release.

Genesis Attachments was founded in 1997, and Genesis GmbH was founded in 2002 as the European licensee and exclusive sales partner of Genesis Attachments. The Wisconsin manufacturing facility has 117 employees, while its counterparts in Europe have an additional 15.

NPKCE says it doesn’t plan on “making significant changes to the business but rather plans on coming together with Genesis to continue improving the experience for our dealers and end users alike.”

The company says it looks forward to further expanding in the scrap, demolition and adjacent industries with the acquisition.

Hyundai expands dealer network in Maryland

Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas, Norcross, Georgia, has expanded its North American authorized dealer network with the addition of Dundalk, Maryland-based Correlli Inc.

Correlli Inc. is an all-in-one equipment service provider, according to a Hyundai Construction Equipment news release. Patrick Correlli and his sons started the business June 1, 1999, as an independent repair shop.

According to Hyundai Construction Equipment, the company’s North American network now includes more than 70 dealerships in about 150 locations. These locations offer sales, service and parts for the full line of Hyundai excavators, wheel loaders, compaction rollers and other construction equipment.

“The Correllis are and have always been a customer-support-driven company, and customer satisfaction is No. 1 with them,” says Bill Klein, Hyundai Construction Equipment America’s district manager, Northeast. “They will be a great addition to the Hyundai family of dealers in the Baltimore, Maryland, area.”