Equipment Report

Femco signs service agreement with Metso

Global scrap processing equipment maker Metso has signed a service partner agreement with Pittsburgh-based Femco Holdings LLC. Its Femco Machine subsidiary will provide service support for Metso’s metal recycling equipment throughout North America.

Helsinki-based Metso describes Femco as a national machine repair, field service and rebuild company that has provided those services to the scrap, demolition and recycling industry for more than 50 years. In addition to its Pittsburgh headquarters, Femco has offices and facilities in Atlanta; Indianapolis; Olivehurst, California; Rifle, Colorado; Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania; and Gladewater, Texas.

“As a Metso authorized service provider, Femco’s experienced team will bolster service offerings for Metso’s broad metal recycling equipment line of shredders, preshredders, shears, balers, briquetters and loggers,” Metso states.

“We’ve had a project-based relationship with Femco and quickly recognized how well their expertise, professionalism and high standards fit with our values,” says Mark Haire, vice president of Metal Recycling Americas with Metso. “With a mutual commitment to customer success, this formalized relationship elevates our emergency repair services and expands our life cycle service programs.”

“We are very excited about this partnership and the opportunity to align with an industry-leading OEM (original equipment manufacturer) like Metso,” says Brad Kerkhoff, vice president of sales and marketing at Femco Machine.

The two firms say Femco’s national footprint of facilities and service equipment will “ensure the right equipment and resources to meet customer field service needs, including 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week emergency response.”

Femco says it “focuses on every step of maximizing our customer’s uptime, from turnkey project commissioning, 24/7 emergency response, preventive maintenance, inspection and rebuild services.”

Bunting offers tire wire separation guide

Noting that “recycled rubber from tires finds its way into many places,” including playgrounds, livestock fencing and welcome mats, Newton, Kansas-based Bunting adds, “but if rogue metal contamination remains in recycled tire rubber material, the consequences can be severe.”

In a multipage document issued by the magnetic equipment company, Bunting says it has identified the several different types of magnetic separation equipment that can be installed at critical points in the tire recycling process. “The greatest challenge when removing metal, such as steel wire, from shredded tires is to maximize the amount of metal separated while minimizing the amount of good rubber product loss,” Bunting says. “The best way to achieve this is through multistage magnetic separation.

“Bunting has conducted work and designed custom equipment for tire rubber recyclers around the world,” the firm continues. “While each plant is unique and the process may have different flow patterns, we have developed [stages] for tire rubber recyclers who are interested in implementing magnetic separation solutions into each step of their operations.”

Mecalac opens North American headquarters

Mecalac has opened a 14,000-square-foot facility in Norfolk, Massachusetts, to serve as its North American headquarters. The new facility centralizes Mecalac’s administrative offices, equipment inventory, parts and service support in one building, replacing three separate locations the company maintained previously. It will be home to an in-house training facility and will host dealer and media events throughout the year.

Though a global producer of construction equipment, Mecalac was not involved in the North American market until 2016. The company’s initial dealer partnership was with Lorusso Heavy Equipment, near Boston. In 2017, Mecalac acquired Terex’s line of backhoe loaders, site dumpers and compaction rollers. The success of its first U.S. distributor partnership combined with the Terex product acquisition ultimately led to the formation of Mecalac North America, the company says.

The new headquarters will be home to 14 employees. Mecalac says it expects the team to grow to enhance its local presence and to provide a high level of support after the sale.