Equipment Report

Lindner system processes PET in North Carolina

Austria-based Lindner Recyclingtech GmbH installed three of its Micromat shredders at a facility in Yadkinville, North Carolina, to help convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET) scrap into recycled-content fibers for textile applications.

The installation at the Yadkinville plant, operated by Greensboro, North Carolina-based Unifi Inc., helps it convert the scrap, consisting mostly of postconsumer PET bottles into Unifi’s Repreve high-performance synthetic and recycled fibers.

“[The] shredders ... work 24/7/365 to ensure that the plastics are optimally shredded for the downstream processes,” Lindner says.

According to Lindner, Unifi has converted some 35 billion plastic scrap bottles to date into Repreve fiber. “Unifi’s process ensures that plastics are returned to the consumer goods cycle as a valuable raw material and promotes a more circular and sustainable economy,” Lindner says.

As of this year, three Lindner Micromat 2000 models process plastic and textile scrap for its journey to extrusion, spinning and finally winding the fibers used by brands like Williams-Sonoma Inc., Levi’s and Toms Shoes.

Scott Trivette, operations manager of the Repreve scrap-fed manufacturing plant in North Carolina, describes the relationship with Lindner as a great partnership, which he says the plant requires because of its 24/7/365 operating model.

“A provider who can only be there for us between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. just doesn’t work for us,” Trivette says. “We need answers within hours, not days, and Lindner, with its hub in Statesville, North Carolina, is always there for us.”

The Lindner Micromat series shredders are specially designed for the requirements of postcommercial and postconsumer plastics recycling, and the company says the Micromat models have strong, high-torque motors for powerful shredding and are designed and built to optimize uptime and streamline maintenance tasks.

“The lightning-fast safety clutch offers optimum machine protection and easy access to the rotor means that nonshreddables can be removed quickly and easily,” Trivette says.

“Lindner’s machines have enabled us to minimize downtime and maximize the throughput of the entire plant, which is essential with an average production of 1.5 million pounds [750 tons] of resin per week.”

Lindemann helps with shredder revamp in Illinois

The Texas Shredder brand of German company Lindemann GmbH helped manage a shredder upgrade project involving replacing shredder housing for Cimco Resources.

Cimco Resources, based in Loves Park, Illinois, is a metals recycling business with six locations across Illinois. After 17 years of processing all types and grades of metals, including sheet iron, cast iron and plate steel, its shredder housing in Sterling, Illinois, was beginning to show signs of old age.

“They are operating a Metso 80 model, which is a kind of hybrid of our legacy Hammermills and Lindemann shredders, with a throughput of 80 to 100 tons per hour,” Keith Carroll, product manager for Texas Shredder, says of the Cimco installation.

“We installed it back in 2006, so it’s definitely seen some action. A poorly made shredder will typically have a functional life of 10 years or less, while a good one can last for 15 to 20 years, so Cimco’s box, at 17 years old, had done well, and was ready for retirement.”

With the rest of the system still in good working order and a large supply of wear parts on hand, a partial replacement was the right way to go, according to Texas Shredder.

With access to the original drawings and full control of the engineering intellectual property, Lindemann says it offered the most cost-and-performance effective means of creating a like-for-like replacement.

Having the original manufacturer involved also would ensure Cimco’s system remained high-performing and, as all the connections with the rest of the system would be identical, the changeover could occur with minimal downtime, Lindemann says.

With Texas Shredder having operated as an outsource manufacturer since its inception, it selected a partner to carry out the fabrication for a project that was put on hold because of COVID-19.

During the delay, the existing box continued to operate satisfactorily before the replacement box was delivered on three truckloads in May of this year.

Fewer than two weeks later, Cimco had installed and commissioned the new box, calling on Lindemann’s technical expertise when necessary.

Lindemann has an active global base of more than 2,000 machines installed, with the oldest having been installed more than 50 years ago.

Xaloy investing in Northeast Ohio R&D facility

Xaloy LLC, an Austintown, Ohio-based manufacturer of machinery components and equipment for the plastics industry, plans to establish a new research and development (R&D) center in Austintown to expand production capacity and increase efficiency for polymer processing. The project has received support from JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development corporation.

Xaloy says its Innovation Center will have state-of-the-art facilities and equipment for research, product and process development. The center will enable the company to continue to look for methods to increase output, promote polymer reuse and recycling and use newly engineered resins and biopolymers. The company also says it will be a hub for developing advanced manufacturing capabilities that reduce energy use, material consumption and carbon footprint while driving collaboration with industry leaders, experts and polymer research universities to tackle industry challenges.

“Xaloy’s decision to grow their operations in Austintown reinforces how Ohio’s manufacturing heritage supports future economic development,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says.

The company will receive assistance from a JobsOhio R&D Center Grant for the project. The grant program was created to facilitate new strategic corporate R&D centers in Ohio, with the goal of supporting the development and commercialization of emerging technologies and/or products that align with one or more of JobsOhio’s targeted industries.

Xaloy partnered with entities including JobsOhio, Team NEO and the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber to secure the project.

“Ohio is a global leader in the polymer industry, and Xaloy’s new R&D center will further advance technologies and ideas for the industry’s evolving needs,” JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef says. “This state-of-the-art facility will be another tremendous asset Xaloy brings to the Mahoning Valley, providing new jobs and opportunities for Ohioans who will innovate the development of products that improve manufacturing efficiencies for companies across sector lines.”