Equipment Report

Colmar Launches Propane Tank Processor
Colmar USA, based in Wheatfield, N.Y., has launched its patent-pending propane tank processor. The equipment was on display for the first time in April at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. 2013 Annual Convention & Exposition, held in Orlando, Fla.

The equipment is designed to provide scrap yards with a safe way to recycle propane tanks.

The machine verifies the tank’s internal pressure and depressurizes it prior to processing. The valve on the propane tank is removed automatically, and the remaining vapor is safely purged, the company says. Following removal of the vapor, the tank is crushed in preparation for recycling.

According to Colmar, the Propane Tank Processor can crush about 30 tanks per hour while keeping the operating and maintenance costs low.

Colman adds that multiple features have been installed to ensure operator safety, including mechanical ventilation of the processing chamber while the tank is being processed, automatic fire suppression and automatic emergency stop functions.

Colmar says its new propane tank processor is the first of its machines designed and manufactured in the United States.

More information is available at www.colmarequipment.com.

ESG Acquires Curotto-Can
Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Environmental Solutions Group (ESG), which encompasses Heil Environmental, Marathon and Bayne, has announced the acquisition of Curotto-Can Co., Sonoma, Calif.

Curotto-Can provides an automated carry can that mounts to a commercial front loader’s forks, converting the unit to an automated front loader. The system enables a commercial refuse collection unit to be used for residential collection with efficiency and versatility superior to that seen in automated side loaders, according to ESG.

Pat Carroll, president of ESG, says, “We are very excited to have John Curotto and his team as part of Environmental Solutions Group. John is a fourth-generation hauler and an industry pioneer who approaches product design from the hauler’s perspective. This maximizes benefits for the end user, which aligns directly with our philosophy at Heil and ESG.”

John Curotto, president of Curotto-Can, says, “We have been working with Heil for the past two years to integrate our automated carry can into their Heil Half/Pack and Half/Pack Freedom front loader designs. This close collaboration has resulted in the development of a completely integrated system that represents the next generation of automated collection.”

The Curotto-Can enables automated collection from within the truck’s cab, improving safety and ergonomics, ESG says. Additionally, extra bulk next to the cart can be loaded with the same truck, eliminating the need for a manual rear loader.

ESG is an integrated equipment group serving the solid waste and recycling industries.
 

Pulping Machinery Maker Eyes New Markets
The new ownership of Bolton Emerson Americas, Salem, N.H., says it is expanding beyond the pulp and paper industry it has served for more than 100 years with technology that can be used by recyclers, biofuels producers and others.

The technology in the company’s Tornado pulping machinery (pictured) and Emerson Claflin refiners is suitable for “a wide range of industries that need clean, homogenous material for feedstock,” Bolton Emerson Americas says in a news release.

Additionally, Bolton Emerson LLC has divested its ancillary product lines and relocated to modern facilities in Salem. From this location the company will supply customers with finished machines and wear parts, such as rotors and stators for the Tornado, and fillings, beaters and bars for Jordan and Emerson Claflin refiners.

The Salem headquarters houses engineering, machine assembly, research and development and spare parts inventories.

The company is led by President David Kelley, who has served as an executive in precious metal recovery firms PGM Technologies Inc. (in the U.S.) and 3D Recovery Europe GmbH (in Germany).

Bolton Emerson Americas makes the Tornado pulper, used by the pulp and paper industry for decades to maximize fiber separation and to “defiber everything from textiles to carpeting,” according to the company. It is available in several sizes and speeds and can be operated on a batch basis or continuously. Bolton Emerson also manufactures Claflin refiners, which can be integrated with a Tornado to provide a material processing system.

Bolton Emerson LLC makes pulping, broke recycling, coating and laminating equipment for the pulp and paper, recycling, biofuels and other industries.
 

Bobcat Expands Proving Grounds
Bobcat Co., West Fargo, N.D., has broken ground on a $20 million renovation and expansion project to create an Acceleration Center in Bismarck, N.D. The company says, when complete, the facility will be “a modern complex for advancing innovation where professionals utilize technology and modern design to ensure the position of Bobcat as the leader in the compact equipment industry.”

The project includes the expansion of an existing building, as well as the development of a test track and indoor testing facility. The building expansion includes a two-story office building and provides a total of 160,000 square feet of workspace. Additionally, a 35,000-square-foot indoor testing arena will be constructed next to a 22-acre outdoor testing and track area. Construction is expected to be complete by summer 2014.

The Acceleration Center will initially house 135 employees involved in product design, testing, prototype engineering and computer simulation.

Company President Rich Goldsbury was master of ceremonies for a mid-May 2013 groundbreaking event attended by North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple, U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp, U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer and Bismarck Mayor John Warford.

“This is an exciting day as we invest in the future of Bobcat and the future of North Dakota,” said Goldsbury. “We created the compact equipment industry, and the Acceleration Center will ensure the Bobcat tradition of innovation and market leadership continues.”

The Acceleration Center also will serve as a training institute for employees. Bobcat dealers and customers will be brought to the complex for training and hands-on experience operating the company’s newest products.

“The newest designs, the latest technologies and the best ways to apply product features important to our customers will be part of the daily life inside the Acceleration Center,” Goldsbury added.

More information on Bobcat products can be found at www.bobcat.com.
 

NRT Updates Brand Logos, Website
Optical sorting equipment provider NRT, Nashville, Tenn., has released new brand imaging, including new logos for the NRT and In-Flight Sorting brands.

The company also launched a new website at www.nrtsorters.com.

The updated look reflects what the company says is its growth and modernization. NRT is credited with developing a number of optical sorting technologies and holds some 30 patents.

NRT President Matthias Erdmannsdoerfer says the company’s existing logo no longer represented its identity.

“NRT has been a technology leader and provider of best-in-class solutions for a number of industries,” Erdmannsdoerfer remarks. “We have been well-known and very successful in secondary plastics processing but haven’t made enough of an effort to market our technology elsewhere. NRT has some real advantages when it comes to optical sorting solutions, and we plan to let the world know about it. This is a big step in that direction, and we’re all very excited about our new, modern look.”

NRT was acquired by Eugene, Oreg.-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) in 2012. BHS uses NRT’s optical solutions in its turn-key material recovery facilities (MRFs).

“NRT houses some of the brightest minds in the industry, and the equipment backs that up,” says BHS CEO Steve Miller. “It’s a cutting-edge, innovative company with a storied tradition and a bright future, and this new brand image reflects that.”

NRT’s NIR near-infrared (NIR), color, metal-sensing and X-ray technologies, among others, are used in various industries and applications, including MRFs, plastics recycling, refuse-derived fuel (RDF), biomass, minerals, e-waste and diagnostics.

More information is available at www.nrtsorters.com.

Bunting Debuts Conveyor System Line
Bunting Magnetics Co., Newton, Kan., has introduced a new line of high-intensity separation conveyors at the WasteExpo show in New Orleans, May 21-23, 2013.

Bunting produces precision magnetic products for the recycling, food, printing, automobile, plastics and electronics industries.

Production Manager Don Suderman says, “These new separation conveyors are designed to provide extremely high magnetic fields, which enable removal of lightly magnetic tramp metal fines. High-intensity magnetic fields also separate work-hardened 300-series stainless steel from the product stream, increasing separation effectiveness for medical waste, as well as automotive and electronic scrap recycling.”

The conveyor frames are constructed of 300-series stainless steel, and tough urethane endless belts help to maximize magnetic field exposure to the material being conveyed, Suderman adds.

In addition to Newton, Bunting’s manufacturing plants are in suburban Chicago; DuBois, Pa.; and Berkhamsted, England.

Royce Chooses Brady Software
Brady plc, a London-based supplier of trading and risk management software for metals, recycling, energy and other commodities, has announced that Miami-based Royce Corp. has selected Brady to handle its trading, risk management and logistics processes. Royce, founded in 1986, specializes in global trading of ferrous and nonferrous metals and plastics.

Royce will implement Brady’s physical trading software, which automates trading, hedging and physical metal purchase and sale contract management, logistics and traffic operations and back office functions, including invoicing, treasury, document management and financial settlement.

According to a news release issued by Brady, the software will allow Royce to combine physical contracts with its respective hedges, providing a real-time overview of its hedge position, intraday profit and loss, customer credit exposure and margin position. Royce also will implement Brady’s multicompany, multicurrency accounting package that is linked to trading and specifically designed to provide immediate access to real-time key financial data, to ensure optimal risk monitoring, treasury management and overall business control.

“Implementation of the Brady solution extends our ability to manage our price, counterparty and market risk in real time,” says Max Fischbach, chief financial officer of Royce Corp. “Brady is the best provider in this space that is able to offer the depth of knowledge we required and an integrated platform offering the ability to tightly link both physical and financial trading activities with our overall results, enabling us to analyze and manage our business effectively.”

Gavin Lavelle, CEO of Brady plc, says, “Brady is committed to providing companies trading the full portfolio of metals, from primary metals and steel to scrap, with a solution that also manages the basis risk between locations, qualities and the marketplace and simultaneously providing those companies exposed to market price volatility with the most advanced, real-time solution to buy, sell and transport commodities.

“We are excited about the opportunity to assist Royce in its management of the value chain and protect the margins of its trading operations,” Lavelle adds.