Newsworthy

Metals

MetalX selects site for aluminum recycling campus

MetalX LLC, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has selected a 190-acre site in Defiance, Ohio, for its previously announced aluminum recycling campus, the plans for which include an aluminum slab manufacturing plant, a scrap shredding and advanced sorting facility and a dedicated logistics hub.

In April of last year, MetalX announced its plans to work with Louisville, Kentucky-based Manna Capital Partners to build a recycled-content aluminum slab rolling facility in the Great Lakes region, saying more than $200 million would be invested in the new greenfield facility.

According to JobsOhio, the investment in the campus will total $253 million, and MetalX has committed to creating 180 jobs.

The slab casting facility will produce 100,000 to 120,000 metric tons per year initially but will have the ability to produce as much as 200,000 metric tons per year of ultra-low-carbon aluminum rolling slab, prioritizing alloys for the beverage, packaging and auto industries. It will feature higher recycled content than otherwise available in the market, according to MetalX.

“This is an outstanding site and met all key criteria for the project, including proximity to sources of scrap supply; ample power, gas, water and other utilities; main-line rail service; access to major highways; and, most importantly, a solid workforce environment,” MetalX CEO Danny Rifkin says. “We are excited to expand into Ohio and are looking forward to a continued partnership with the economic development groups who helped us identify and select this site and have provided invaluable guidance through the entire process.”

The advanced scrap processing operation, expanding from the company’s Indiana base, will enhance scrap separation and shredding for material used at the slab facility and by third-party aluminum consumers. It will process up to 300 million pounds per year of material, with roughly 25 percent of the output slated for the slab facility and the rest slated for other consumers.

Both facilities are expected to be fully operational in the first half of 2027.

“We are ecstatic MetalX chose Defiance County,” says Erika Willitzer, executive director at Defiance County Economic Development. “We know this new investment is going to have a transformative impact on our local families and northwest Ohio for generations to come.”

“MetalX had many options when choosing where to build its newest facility and chose Ohio,” JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef adds. “The investment will come on a readily developable site with critical access to rail that will bring 180 new jobs to Defiance County.”

MetalX was founded in 2012 by Danny and Neal Rifkin, third- and fourth-generation members of the Rifkin family, which founded OmniSource before selling that company to Steel Dynamics Inc.

With the sale of its ferrous processing business to BlueScope in late 2021, MetalX changed its focus to processing nonferrous scrap and providing consulting and management services. It also is engaged in applying new technologies for aluminum and copper recycling.

In mid-2022, MetalX acquired the assets and business of SRT Aluminum in Wabash, Indiana, a secondary aluminum melting operation that produces specification remelt scrap ingot in sow and ingot form using scrap. MetalX renamed the business MetalX Aluminum Conversions LLC.

In 2016, MetalX acquired the assets and business of Metal Shred Industries LLC (MSI), an aluminum scrap toll processor in Kendallville, Indiana, retiring the MSI name.

The former MSI was founded in 2006 as an affiliate of Metropolitan Alloys to shred aluminum scrap on a toll basis for customers in the aluminum sector. At the time of the purchase, MetalX said the company designed and operated a “unique shredding and separation system that recovers and returns high-quality shredded aluminum products to its customers,” processing approximately 10,000 tons of aluminum annually.

Batteries, Legislation

Seattle battery disposal ban takes effect

In April 2023, the state of Washington passed an extended producer responsibility (EPR) law for batteries that will take effect in 2027, but McKenna Morrigan, strategic advisor for Seattle Public Utilities, says the city “cannot wait to act to protect our staff and facilities.”

As of Jan. 1, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) Directors Rule SW-404 took effect, banning the disposal of batteries and certain electronic products in municipal solid waste, including any commercial or residential garbage or recycling can or container, or at any transfer station except in containers or other locations designated to collect these items for recycling.

At a news conference Jan. 29, city officials laid out the reasoning for the ban and where residents can take their spent batteries for safe disposal.

According to the new rule, residents can no longer place the following items in their curbside bins:

• cathode ray tubes;
• TVs;
• monitors;
• computers and laptops;
• tablets;
e-readers, such as Kindles or Nooks;
• portable DVD players;
• miniature button cell batteries;
• alkaline, silver oxide, zinc air and other single-use batteries; and

During the news conference, Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins said that over the last two years, the fire department has responded to 79 fires in the city caused by lithium-ion batteries, in particular, and many of these fires were the result of improperly charging, storing and disposing of devices containing these batteries.

“Fires involving lithium-ion batteries can start and spread quickly and can result in significant property loss, injuries or, in the worst-case scenario, can have deadly consequences, as we have seen around the country,” Scoggins said. “When overheated, the batteries can explode, leading to an aggressive fire and one that’s challenging to extinguish.

“Batteries damaged by fire can also reignite and spread rapidly to other combustible materials.

“The dangers associated with lithium- ion batteries should be taken seriously, similar to the effort to install smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms. Battery fires are now the new hazard we are facing,” he continued.

In addition, Scoggins said the city’s fire department has responded to eight fires at SPU’s trash and recycling transfer stations in the last three years, and batteries might have been the culprit in several of them.

SPU customers can dispose of batteries and electronics safely by dropping them off for free at SPU’s North and South transfer stations or at its hazardous waste facilities. Rechargeable batteries can be taken to partner retail locations through the Call2Recycle volunteer producer responsibility network. For $5, batteries can be picked up curbside by SPU through its special-item pickup program. Electronics can be dropped off for free at the North transfer station and throughout the city through the E-Cycle Washington program.

“The Seattle disposal ban underscores the importance of responsible battery recycling and encourages residents and businesses to take advant age of the collection network that Call2Recycle offers,” says Leo Raudys, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Call2Recycle. “By collectively embracing these new measures, Seattle residents can contribute to a cleaner, safer and more sustainable future. This new rule marks a crucial step forward in safeguarding Seattle’s environment and the well-being of its residents.”

Morrigan said if collection staff observe batteries or electronics in curbside waste and recycling bins, they’ll leave a tag for the offending customers, asking them remove the batteries so collection can proceed safely.

“Our city is, by all accounts, a leader in innovative approaches that improve lives and increase productivity and lessen our impact on the environment,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said. “We see devices that are battery-charged now, which is good for the planet, and this is a good thing. They are invaluable to our lives, but we also have to acknowledge that they have the potential to do harm.”

Paper

WestRock to build box plant in Wisconsin

Atlanta-based paper and packaging company WestRock Co. has revealed plans to build a new corrugated box plant in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in an effort to “meet growing demand” from its customers in the Great Lakes region. The company will close its existing plant in north Chicago.

Construction on the new 550,000-square-foot facility is estimated to cost $140 million and is expected to be offset partially by property sales.

In a news release announcing the investment, WestRock says construction will begin this year. The company tells Recycling Today that start date is contingent on the weather thawing out, hoping it can begin in the second quarter of this year and finish in 2025.

The company did not disclose the facility’s estimated production capacity.

According to WestRock, the Pleasant Prairie site is expected to support reduced waste and manufacturing costs and to improve its overall manufacturing cost profile, as well as boost sustainability through reduced energy consumption and new technology. It will feature advanced automation, providing real-time data to reduce unplanned downtime.

The box plant will serve retail, distribution, processed food, industrial and protein business end markets, among others, in the Great Lakes region.

Following the Pleasant Prairie announcement, WestRock also confirmed it will close facilities in Seattle and Lexington, North Carolina, affecting more than 200 jobs.

The company officially notified the state of Washington Employment Security Department of the Seattle box plant’s permanent closure—which affects 87 employees—filing a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice Jan. 19. Corrugated box production from the 120,000-square-foot Seattle plant will shift to WestRock’s new box plant in Longview, Washington, which opened in November of last year. The closure will begin in March and be completed in May.

WestRock also will close a facility in Lexington that produces health care packaging, affecting 153 employees, and operations are expected to cease mid-May. The company filed a WARN notice Jan. 17 to the state of North Carolina.

Metals, Mergers & Acquisitions

North American Stainless to acquire Haynes International

Spain-based Acerinox S.A., owner of recycled-content metals producer North American Stainless (NAS), has entered into a definitive agreement under which NAS will acquire Kokomo, Indiana-based specialty alloys producer Haynes International.

NAS will acquire the alloys maker for securities currently carrying a value of about $798 million, with an additional premium boosting the transaction amount to about $970 million.

Kentucky-based NAS uses predominantly scrap metal to make its 800,000 tons per year of stainless steel and is working to expand its annual capacity up to 1 million tons per year.

In its most recent financial quarter, Haynes International reported shipments that totaled about 2,350 tons of metal. The firm lists the aerospace, chemical processing and land-based gas turbine sectors as the predominant end markets for its alloys.

Within a Securities and Exchange Commission 10-K form that Haynes International filed, it reports its melt materials consist of virgin raw material, purchased scrap and internally produced scrap.

Acerinox says NAS plans to make considerable investments in the newly acquired Haynes assets. The company says it will support Haynes with $200 million in capital investments over the next four years in the newly combined North American business.

The pertinent combined assets include Acerinox facilities operating under the VDM Metals name. VDM, like Haynes, produces specialty alloys including corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant and high-temperature nickel alloys, cobalt and zirconium alloys and specialty stainless steels.

“Haynes has impressive and complementary business operations, R&D [research and development] capabilities and an experienced team,” Acerinox CEO Bernardo Velázquez Herreros says. “[Its] addition to Acerinox strengthens our global leadership in high-performance alloys and creates meaningful opportunities in the high-growth aerospace segment and the attractive U.S. market.”

Paper

US recovered paper exports, value down through most of 2023

U.S. exports of recovered paper decreased in volume and value from January through November 2023 compared with the same period in 2022, according to the latest figures from the Paper Stock Industries (PSI) Chapter of the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The report says recovered paper exports from the U.S. totaled 12.1 million metric tons from January through November of last year, down 17.4 percent compared with the same period in 2022, while the value of those exports dropped nearly 30 percent to $2.29 billion.

On a month-to-month basis, however, U.S. exports showed signs—albeit slight—of a potential rebound. Exports in November 2023 equaled about 1.1 million metric tons, up 4.3 percent from October 2023, while the October total was 3.5 percent higher than the September 2023 total.

India remains the top buyer of U.S. recovered paper, though it imported 30 percent fewer tons compared with the same 11-month period in 2022. As of November of last year, India had imported 2.3 million metric tons, the first time the country imported fewer than 3 million metric tons of U.S. recovered paper since 2020, according to figures from the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Thailand, Mexico, Vietnam and Malaysia round out the top five importers of U.S. recovered paper. Mexico had the second-largest decline in imports during the period, with its 1.6 million metric tons representing a 24.2 percent decrease from the same period in 2022. Of the top 10 importers, only Thailand and Malaysia reported net gains, with 22 percent and 13 percent increases, respectively.

Recovered paper imports by the top 10 destinations from January through November totaled 11.5 million metric tons, down 13.5 percent from the 13.3 million metric tons imported during the same period in 2022, while the rest of the world took in 609,073 metric tons, down 55.2 percent from the 1.4 million metric tons imported in the first 11 months of 2022.

Veteran recovered fiber executive Myles Cohen, founder of U.S.-based Circular Ventures LLC, describes export markets for U.S. recyclers as mixed. “The first 10 months of 2023 saw a reduction in purchases by India, Indonesia, Taiwan and South Korea, whereas Malaysia and Thailand significantly increased their buying of U.S. material,” he says.

Metals

Novelis to supply Ardagh Metal Packaging

Novelis Inc., based in Atlanta, has signed a new contract with Ardagh Metal Packaging USA Corp., a division of the Belgium-based Ardagh Group SA and a supplier of aluminum beverage packaging, to supply aluminum beverage packaging sheet to Ardagh’s metal production facilities in North America.

Novelis says this is the third major contract it has signed in less than seven months for the North American beverage packaging market.

Ardagh operates nine metal production facilities in the U.S.

Novelis currently is building a new rolling and recycling plant in Bay Minette, Alabama, that will be able to produce 600,000 metric tons of finished goods for the beverage packaging and automotive markets in North America. It is the first integrated aluminum plant to be built in the U.S. in nearly 40 years.

“Finalizing another meaningful customer agreement in North America is a testament to the strength of the beverage packaging market in the region, which is being driven by consumer desire for more sustainable choices,” Novelis President and CEO Steve Fisher says in a news release. “Given its ability to be easily recycled back into the same product, the aluminum beverage can is a model of sustainable packaging.”

“As a leading global supplier of sustainable and infinitely recyclable aluminum beverage cans, we’re proud of our partnership with Novelis, which shares our focus on sustainability and innovation,” Ardagh Metal Packaging CEO Oliver Graham adds. “Novelis has been part of our story since our founding, and we look forward to the new plant coming online and supporting our continued growth.”

Novelis expects global demand for aluminum beverage packaging sheet to increase at a 4 percent compounded annual growth rate between 2023 and 2031, driven by consumer preference for more sustainable products and size variety, as well as more beverage types being packaged in cans, including water, energy drinks, soda, beer, wine, hard seltzers and ready-to-drink cocktails.