Equipment Report

Northeast Ohio MRF Triples Capacity with Upgrade
Phoenix-based Republic Services Inc. has tripled the recycling capacity at its Lorain County Resource Recovery Complex in Oberlin, Ohio, in the first 100 days of operation following a technology upgrade by The CP Group, San Diego. The $15 million in technology and building upgrades will enable Republic Services to process as much as 150,000 tons of recyclables at the material recovery facility (MRF) each year, according to a news release issued by The CP Group.

In March 2013 The CP Group equipped the MRF with a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) control package designed to provide operators with plant-wide optimization and data acquisition tools.

SCADA is a key component of the highly automated single-stream recycling system, which includes multiple screens, optical detection technology, air classification machinery and high production balers. The SCADA control package uses programmable logic controllers (PLCs) with touch panels that enable MRF operators to more efficiently evaluate and track recycling output, according to The CP Group.

The facility has a belt scale that measures the processing rate of presorted materials in real-time, The CP Group says. The MRF also features a pan-tilt-zoom camera and three stationary cameras, designed to provide a 360-degree, high-definition view of the entire sorting system.

“The Oberlin facility is an advanced sorting system using our latest technology in mechanical and optical units and it is also the first complete system on The CP Group iMRF (intelligent MRF) platform,” says Patrick Nicol, CP Group sales engineer. “The electrical control is seamless from the infeed conveyor to the baling stage and includes a belt scale, WI-FI touch screen, cameras and complete SCADA software with an office interface system (OIS) station.”

The OIS tracks all event logs with a time stamp as well as production metrics, such as tons per hour, bale weights, residual percentages, system power requirements and power consumption. It also tracks uptime as well as downtime along with the reason for the downtime. The real-time data and system feedback enables operators to respond quickly to any events within the MRF, The CP Group says.

“The CP Group Lorain County SCADA/OIS software has been custom developed through collaboration between Advanced MRF and Republic Services for system optimization and data acquisition,” Nicol says.

“This data makes it possible to achieve the important information necessary to make informed decisions and run a very successful operation. The CP Group is proud to be a pioneer in control optimization.”

The CP Group is a Siemens Automation Solutions Partner. Control package solutions were integrated by Advanced MRF, a division of The CP Group.

CP Manufacturing, Krause Manufacturing, MSS, IPS Balers and Advanced MRF comprise The CP Group.

Total Product Destruction Implements Eriez Separation System
Spartanburg, S.C.-based Total Product Destruction LLC specializes in the task of disposing of defective or returned products confidentially and reliably. More than half of the 1,000 tons per month of incoming material consists of postindustrial plastics, with the remainder comprising small appliances, auto parts, pharmaceuticals, toys, clothing, shoes and some larger objects.

To improve profits and increase efficiency, the company has upgraded the separation equipment at its 39,000-square-foot facility. The facility has installed a magnetic rare earth (RE) drum in housing and an eddy current separator with vibratory feeder, both from Eriez, based in Erie, Pa.

The system starts with a shredder that reduces the particle size of the infeed material to 3 inches. The material is then granulated to a size of between 0.25 to 0.5 inch. Next, the self-cleaning drum in housing removes large volumes of ferrous metals from the material. The remaining material then moves through a feeder positioned before the eddy current separator (ECS). The ECS removes aluminum, brass and copper from plastic, paper and wood.

Eriez reports that the combination of the drum in housing and ECS provides a higher yield and a cleaner plastic material that Total Product Destruction can sell to compounders and extruders. The metals recovered by the system are sold to the recycled metals market, allowing for higher profits for Total Product Destruction and less waste sent to landfill.

Vecoplan Launches New Company
Ulrich Schulte of the Vecoplan management board has announced the formation of Vecoplan Integrated Solutions (VIS) LLC, which will provide turnkey systems for residential and commercial single-stream recycling material recovery facilities (MRFs) as well as retrofit upgrades. Operating out of Archdale, N.C., the headquarters of Vecoplan LLC, VIS is the latest addition to the Vecoplan group of companies.

Jeffrey Van Galder and Christopher Simon have partnered with Vecoplan on VIS and bring more than 30 years of combined recycling industry experience to the new company.

“Vecoplan Integrated Solutions was formed to offer a new approach and better solutions for residential and commercial single-stream recycling markets,” says Schulte. “Vecoplan recognizes that commingled, multimaterial processing has become something different than what it was even five years ago. As a market leader in environmental and recycling technologies, we are committed to focusing on the betterment of mixed materials processing,” he adds. “Our mission will be to apply the correct equipment strategically to provide cleaner, more effective solutions.”

Services offered by VIS include situational analysis, consultation, design, engineering, project management, construction and commissioning of new recycling systems and retrofits to existing MRF and postconsumer recycling operations.

VIS offers products that include receiving stations, in-feed metering machinery, conveyors and a comprehensive range of screening, sorting and separating technologies. Separation technologies available from VIS include optical, air classification, magnets and eddy currents.

The formation of VIS is the latest evolution in Vecoplan’s presence in the recycling and processing markets, according to the company.

Plastics Recycler Lauds Benefits of Shredder-Granulator Combination
Aqua Plastics Inc., a plastics recycler located in Hickory, N.C., is crediting its Weima WL(K) 15 shredder with helping the business to streamline its processes and diversify its services.

The company first integrated the shredder into its recycling line in 2006, when the Weima WL(K) 15 shredder was installed at the front of the company’s system. The shredder is designed to process a variety of plastic scrap in large volumes, says Weima America Inc., based in Fort Mill, S.C.

However, it wasn’t until Aqua Plastics paired the shredder with a granulator—one that was able keep up with the shredder’s throughput—that the company was able to capture the true potential of the shredder, Weima America reports.

Aqua’s Hickory plant processes multiple grades of polypropylene (PP) parts, polyethylene (PE) parts, thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and other plastic grades.

Randall Cline, plant manager for Aqua Plastics says, “We wanted a machine that could handle everything from hard scrap to film and fiber. Weima’s shredder could do that and more. Weima has a reputation on the market for versatile, easily maintainable machinery, and that has been our experience. We haven’t run into a plastic material that our Weima shredder couldn’t handle.”

URR Adds G-Baler Line
Unlimited Recycling Resources (URR), Ontario, Calif., has announced that it has become the representative of the G-Baler line of recycling and process balers for the North American market.

Made by the Godswill Paper Machinery Co., Taiwan, G-Balers operate at more than 3,000 installations in 72 nations worldwide, URR says. The G-Baler line includes low-production machines to fully automated extrusion balers that can process up to 30 tons of OCC (old corrugated containers) per hour.

URR co-founder Steve Colton says, “I’ve been selling and servicing balers for more than 30 years. What’s unique about the G-Baler line is that processors get premium quality with features found only on the industry’s most expensive European models.”

“From the Denison pumps and Vickers hydraulics to the Siemens electronics and Mitsubishi PLCs (programmable logic controllers), these are impressive machines,” Dan Gregory, URR co-founder and engineering director, adds. “When you look at the frame construction, platen rollers and the wide range of premium features that enhance the performance, production and longevity of these machines, you simply can’t help but be impressed.”

Godswill produces specialty machinery for the boxboard, paper converting and recycling industries.

Through a nationwide distribution network, URR offers customers local support. It is the exclusive North American agent for Strautmann-Umwelt Technik of Glandorf, German, Godswill and a other premium machinery. More information is available at http://urrgbaler.com.

US Shredder Adds 7090 Scrap Shredder to Inventory
U.S. Shredder and Casting Group, Trussville, Ala., has announced that it has placed a 7090 heavy-duty scrap shredder in inventory for immediate delivery. The shredder can be inspected in Youngstown, Ohio, and complete turnkey installation is available.

The company adds that because the shredder is in inventory, a new, complete shredder system could be installed and operating before a competitive machine could be manufactured.

The 7090 rotor provides up to 30 percent more hammer impact and is 12 percent wider than a 6085 shredder, providing advantages in its ability to process thicker scrap materials, motor efficiency and shredder longevity, according to U.S. Shredder.

“The strength and durability of our rotor will eliminate many of the maintenance and service issues associated with smaller, lighter shredders,” the company adds.

U.S. Shredder engineers worked closely with the company’s fabrication team to build what it describes as “a bigger, heavier shredder with a design that allows the shredder to be built at the cost of the lighter competitive models.”

The 7090 includes state-of-the-art controls, hydraulics and castings, U.S. Shredder says. The shredder can be operated by a DC 2,300-to-4,000-horsepower drive system.

The US Shredder and Castings Group offers scrap shredders, control systems, downstream systems, nonferrous recovery, air systems, scrap shears, balers and loggers as well as shredder castings, service and consulting to the worldwide scrap industry.

More information is available from Bill Tigner at 205-999-7670 or at bill.tigner@usshredder.com.

International Baler Adds Dealer
International Baler Corp., based in Jacksonville, Fla., has added Recycling Equipment Inc. (REI), based in Newton, N.C., as its dealer for the state of Georgia as well as for the international territories of South and Central America, Italy, France and Spain.

Randy Gibson, director of sales and marketing for International Baler Corp., says REI, which has been serving the recycling industry since 1994, “offers a tremendous amount of industry experience, knowledge and service capability, as well as sharing International Baler’s philosophy of making customer service their first priority.”

Current or potential International Baler customers wishing to contact REI can email Joey Walls at joey@gogreenrei.com or Scott Sharp at scott@gogreenrei.com. REI also can be contacted at the toll-free number 888-REI-3783 and on the web at www.gogreenrei.com.