France’s CFF opens trading office in Houston
Three former Luria Brothers ferrous traders will staff a Houston trading office for Compagnie Francaise des Ferrailles (CFF), the multi-national scrap processing company based in France.
Larry Stein will head the new office, to be known as CFF Trading U.S.A., and will be joined by Roger Pederson and David Adame. The office will operate in coordination with CFF’s other Houston-based subsidiaries: CFF Recycling Pro-Metal, headed by Philippe Leonard, and CFF Recycling Houston Metal. Other CFF assets in North America include an auto shredding operation in Oklahoma City, Okla., known as CFF Recycling Oklahoma Metal Processing, and an auto shredding site in Mexico City known as CFF Recycling de Mexico SA de CV.
CFF, a publicly-traded company on the Paris stock exchange, processes approximately 40% of the ferrous scrap generated in France, and has operations in nine other European nations as well as in China.
PUBLIC COMPANIES REPORT IMPROVED RESULTS
Recent financial results announced by three different public companies with scrap operations tell similar stories. Late 1999 provided a better climate for scrap metal business for Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), Dallas, Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc., Portland, Ore., and Metal Management Inc., Chicago.
For the quarter ending November 30, 1999, CMC reported steelmaking results that were less profitable than the same quarter in 1998. But the company’s recycling segment reported its second consecutive profitable quarter, as CMC credited rebounding commodity prices.
Regarding the prospects for the company’s next quarter (which ended February 29), CMC chairman Stanley Rabin says the overall brighter pricing picture should further help results in the recycling segment. "Domestic demand for scrap has strengthened and export markets have improved," Rabin noted in mid-December.
The scrap side of the business also allowed Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. to report a profit for its quarter ending November 30, 1999. The company’s Metals Recycling Business garnered $2.8 million in operating income, which made it a large contributor to the $2 million in net income earned by the company.
The $2.8 million income for Schnitzer’s recycling segment compared to a year-ago loss of $400,000. "We are pleased with our results for the first quarter of fiscal 2000, which showed a marked improvement from the first quarter of last year," says Robert W. Philip, president of the company. "We are especially pleased with the continued turnaround in the market for recycled ferrous metals, which is our core business," he added in early January.
Although profitability has not yet been reached by Metal Management Inc., the company did report a substantial decrease in losses. The company’s revenues of $233.7 million in the quarter ending December 31 led to a net loss of $1.6 million, which compares to a net loss of $18.4 million in the same quarter of 1998.
Metal Management chairman and CEO Albert A. Cozzi says he is uncertain whether the company will be able to attain profitability in its next fiscal quarter. "While ferrous market conditions and pricing levels have weakened at the start of the fourth quarter, nonferrous demand and pricing remain favorable," he noted in mid-February remarks.
Metal Management has also made one acquisition and operational improvements that the company says will increase revenues and profitability. The company’s acquisition of National Metals in Arizona "helped us improve our market position in the rapidly growing Arizona market," says Cozzi.
The company has also moved to combine acquired operations in Ohio and Pennsylvania. "The consolidation of our former Reserve and Isaac operation into Metal Management Ohio Inc. in October has brought together the talents of our two strong Ohio-based platform companies," says Cozzi.
The company most recently announced that it will close a stainless steel processing facility in Heidelberg, Pa., and consolidate operations at a facility in Elizabeth, Pa. "This move is the logical step for us as we continue to seek opportunities to leverage our existing asset base," says Metal Management president and chief operating officer Michael W. Tryon. "It will allow us to reduce our operating expenses in our stainless steel operations and maximize utilization and processing efficiencies."
CANADA TO BUILD METALS RECYCLING DATABASE
The Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO), Toronto, has reported that a Canadian national government agency intends to put together "a comprehensive database on metals recycling in Canada." According to the RCO, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has contracted with a firm known as Legwork Environmental to survey the metals recycling industry in Canada. NRCan says its purpose in putting together the database "is to provide information to the Canadian public on the existence of recycling companies located in different geographic regions and to assist those industries, that generate recyclable metals and metal-bearing materials to identify recyclers and recycling opportunities." The study will attempt to classify processors by their equipment types and processing specialties, including: wire and cable processors; automobile dismantlers; beverage can recyclers; scrap metal traders/brokers; various metal casters and foundries; computer/electronic component recyclers; service providers to metal recycling activities; battery recyclers; and ship demolition and recycling.WEBSITE OFFERS ELECTRONIC RECYCLING INFO
The Southern Waste Information eX-change Inc. (SWIX), Tallahassee, Fla., is developing an Electronic Equipment Exchange component to the SWIX website. The site will provide information on de-manufacturers, recyclers, brokers and non-profit organizations accepting electronic equipment for reuse or recycling. The eXchange, found at www.wastexchange .org, will allow organizations to list electronic equipment as available or as wanted.METECH SHUTS DOWN SOUTH BEND FACILITY
Metech International Inc., Mapleville, R.I., has announced that it is shutting down its South Bend, Ind., facility and consolidating its electronics recycling operations at its two remaining facilities. Expansions at Metech facilities in Gilroy, Calif., and in Mapleville have resulted in 200% capacity expansion at the two facilities, according to Metech International president John Koskinas. "The improvements we’ve made at our Gilroy and Mapleville plants have resulted in 200% capacity expansion at the two facilities, according to Metech International president John Koskinas. "The improvements we’ve made at our Gilroy and Mapleville plants have increased both capacity and our operating efficiency," he says. Metech recycles industrial scrap and obsolete inventory, with a focus on electronic equipment processing and precious metals recycling and refining.BIOPONIC TOUTS PRODUCTION INCREASE
Bioponic International, a San Francisco-based company that is setting up a metals-from-industrial waste recovery site in Butte, Mont., has announced a production capacity increase and expects to reach full production capacity in July 2000. Using what it calls MR3 technology, Bioponic is processing and treating electric arc furnace dust, semiconductor manufacturing effluent, mercury and hydrogen sludges, precious metals tailings and incinerator fly ash while extracting and separating marketable metallic commodities. The company has targeted annual sales of more than $100 billion, according to the Bioponic International’s David Webb.ISRI MAKES INSURANCE CHANGES
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI), Washington, has named RecycleGuard as the new provider of its sponsored property/casualty insurance program. RecycleGuard’s status as the association’s program insurance provider will begin on October 1, 2000. RecycleGuard is underwritten by the Wausau Insurance Companies, Wausau, Wis., and managed by Willis of New Hampshire Inc., Rochester, N.H. "The ISRI endorsement gives us a great opportunity to extend Wausau’s growing expertise in providing customized insurance programs to members of industry organizations," says Jay Anliker, a Wausau senior vice president. "Our program is built on the foundation of understanding an industry well enough to design excellent insurance products and services which are valued by both the industry and producers who invest their time in servicing the industry," adds Anliker. The program will replace one that has been in place through ISRI and CNA Insurance.SCRAP CONSUMER HONORED IN IOWA
Sivyer Steel Corp., a scrap-consuming steel foundry located in Bettendorf, Iowa, has been recognized for "Innovative Workforce Development" by the office of Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack. Sivyer Steel, founded in 1909, makes steel castings for manufacturers of heavy equipment. The company’s Riverside Products division is a global leader in the making of custom-engineered cast steel rotors and shredder wear parts for scrap metal and solid waste shredders. "We were honored to be recognized with this award," said Sivyer Steel vice president Patrick J. Comparin, who attended an awards ceremony in Des Moines along with technical director Philip D. Bruno.KOBE STEEL TO TRY FASTMET PROCESS
Midrex Direct Reduction Corp., Charlotte, N.C., is installing its first FastMet direct reduced iron production (DRI) equipment at the Kobe Steel Ltd.’s Hirohota Works in Japan. The process, developed by Kobe Steel and Midrex, takes iron ore fines or steel mill wastes and forms them into pellets. The pellets are then mixed with pulverized coal or other carbon-bearing materials and fed into a rotary hearth furnace. The resulting direct-reduced iron (DRI) that comes out of the furnace can be used as steel mill feedstock. The new FastMet equipment at the Hirohota Works will have the capacity to process 190,000 metric tons per year of iron-bearing steel mill wastes such as iron oxide furnace dust and mill scale. The companies are claiming that the DRI produced will have a metallization content of more than 90%. Recycling the dust is also efficient for Kobe Steel.NUCOR TO EXPAND BERKELEY MILL
Nucor has announced an expansion to its Berkeley County, S.C., sheet steel mill. The expansion will include a second caster and will increase the total capacity for flat-rolled steel by up to 800,000 tons per year. The addition will cost more than $40 million and will employ an extra 40 employees. Nucor’s flat-rolled steel mill began operations in 1996 with an annual capacity of more than 1,500,000 tons.OLYMPIC MILL SERVICES SETS UP IN BIRMINGHAM
Olympic Mill Services, a division of Tube City, Inc., began working on site at Birmingham Steel’s Birmingham, Ala., plant this summer. Services performed by Olympic at the Birmingham mill include scrap management, slag handling, slag processing, metal reclamation and scrap collection and processing. "Our scrap management services at Birmingham are comprehensive," says Rick Best, vice president of sales and marketing, "consisting of scrap metal, inventory control, charge bucket loading and charge bucket transportation." Other services provided by Olympic Mill Services, Glassport, Pa., include movement of all in-plant railcars and the handling and processing of current and backlog slag produced by mills.TOMRA RECEIVES MULTIPLE RECOGNITION
Tomra Systems ASA, Asker, Norway, has received recognition for business success from three groups, including Forbes magazine, the Norwegian Association of Financial Analysts and the Dow Jones Sustainability Group. "It’s an honor to see ourselves included with so many other well-known organizations," says Erik Thorsen, president of Tomra. Forbes magazine ranked Tomra number 29 on the Best Small Companies Global 100 list. The list encompasses several factors related to financial data. Companies on the list have revenues less than $500 million. Tomra also received the Stockman Award, given by the Norwegian Association of Financial Analysts. The award is based on annual reports, investor relations inquiries and company strategy. Lastly, Tomra has been included on the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index. The listing is related to the high performance the company has made toward technology, governance, shareholders, industry and society.SMURFIT-STONE SHUTTERS CORRUGATED PLANT
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., Chicago, has announced that it will discontinue operations at its Keokuk, Iowa, corrugated container plant. The plant, which employs 160 people, will wind down operations in April. According to a company news release, operations at the plant will be consolidated with other Smurfit-Stone facilities in the Midwest.KOBE STEEL TO TRY FASTMET PROCESS
Midrex Direct Reduction Corp., Charlotte, N.C., is installing its first FastMet direct reduced iron production (DRI) equipment at the Kobe Steel Ltd.’s Hirohota Works in Japan. The process, developed by Kobe Steel and Midrex, takes iron ore fines or steel mill wastes and forms them into pellets. The pellets are then mixed with pulverized coal or other carbon-bearing materials and fed into a rotary hearth furnace. The resulting direct-reduced iron (DRI) that comes out of the furnace can be used as steel mill feedstock. The new FastMet equipment at the Hirohota Works will have the capacity to process 190,000 metric tons per year of iron-bearing steel mill wastes such as iron oxide furnace dust and mill scale. The companies are claiming that the DRI produced will have a metallization content of more than 90%.NUCOR TO EXPAND BERKELEY MILL
Nucor has announced an expansion to its Berkeley County, S.C., sheet steel mill. The expansion will include a second caster and will increase the total capacity for flat-rolled steel by up to 800,000 tons per year. The addition will cost more than $40 million and will employ an extra 40 employees. Nucor’s flat-rolled steel mill began operations in 1996 with an annual capacity of more than 1,500,000 tons.OLYMPIC MILL SERVICES SETS UP IN BIRMINGHAM
Olympic Mill Services, a division of Tube City, Inc., began working on site at Birmingham Steel’s Birmingham, Ala., plant this summer. Services performed by Olympic at the Birmingham mill include scrap management, slag handling, slag processing, metal reclamation and scrap collection and processing. "Our scrap management services at Birmingham are comprehensive," says Rick Best, vice president of sales and marketing, "consisting of scrap metal, inventory control, charge bucket loading and charge bucket transportation." Other services provided by Olympic Mill Services, Glassport, Pa., include movement of all in-plant railcars and the handling and processing of current and backlog slag.
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