Scrap Industry News

The 2004 Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show is scheduled for June 27-29 at the Renaissance Waverly hotel in suburban Atlanta.

The show, organized by the Recycling Today Media Group and co-sponsored by ISRI’s Paper Stock Industries Chapter, offers paper stock dealers, consumers, mill representatives and equipment and service providers involved in the paper recycling industry the opportunity to interact with leading industry consultants and entrepreneurs.

Several paper recycling industry leaders are scheduled as speakers or panelists for this year’s educational program, including Simon Davies of Georgia-Pacific Co., Henri Vermeulen of Kappa Packaging B.V. and Pieter van Dijk of Van Dyk Baler Corp.

Paper industry consultant Bill Moore of Moore & Associates, Atlanta, again helped plan the event and also serves as a moderator. Additionally, he will host a seminar Sunday, June 27, titled "Everything You Wanted to Know About Recovered Paper Pricing."

This year’s show features a second educational track coordinated by the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry (TAPPI) focusing on critical issues such as improving yield from secondary fiber and pulp streams. For the $345 registration rate ($275 for group members), attendees can attend sessions from both the traditional conference track and the new TAPPI track.

The 2004 Paper Recycling Conference & Trade Show also includes:

• An exhibit hall full of the latest product and service offerings.

• Extensive networking opportunities.

• An optional tour to the Pratt Industries’ (formerly Visy Paper) mill in Conyers, Ga.

The second annual Mill Buyer of the Year Award will also be presented to a secondary fiber mill buyer nominated and judged as outstanding by his or her peers at the conference. A "Buyer of the Year" award nomination form is on page 77 of this magazine and is available online at www.RecyclingToday.com.

Those seeking conference registration information can call Michelle Fitzpatrick at (800) 456-0707 or go to www.PaperRecyclingConference.com

Salyp NV of Ypres, Belgium, has announced the start-up of its auto shredder residue (ASR) sorting factory.

The ASR sorting line is based on various patent-protected technologies and can extract plastics, ferrous, aluminum, stainless steel, copper and foam from ASR.

In one shift, Salyp processes and recycles up to 50 metric tons of ASR daily, creating a material split of 20 percent metal-rich streams, 20 percent plastics streams and 50 percent clean energy substitutes.

Salyp’s ASR sorting plant offers potential customers the chance to examine the performance, economics and feasibility of its system. Salyp plans to integrate its European plants in compliance with the EU’s End-of-Life Vehicle Directives.

OmniSource Corp., Fort Wayne, Ind., has completed the acquisition of H. Hirschfield Sons in Bay City, Mich. The facility will operate as part of OmniSource’s Michigan Division under the name OmniSource – Bay City.

OmniSource has additional Michigan operations in Jackson, Adrian and Jonesville, as well as scrap management facilities in the greater Detroit area.

The new facility will operate as a full service scrap-processing center for ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Major processing equipment includes a Harris 2240 baler and 800-ton shear.

The new facility will operate under the direction of Arnold Williams, a 15-year OmniSource employee, who was recently named general manager of OmniSource – Bay City.

"This acquisition supports our long-term growth strategy," remarks OmniSource president Danny Rifkin. "It will certainly facilitate the expansion of our industrial supply base in mid-Michigan. We can assure generators and consumers alike that the OmniSource reputation for quality products, innovative service and competitive pricing will continue as we grow in Mid-Michigan."

Houston scrap recycler Manny Bodner of Bodner Metal & Iron (see "In the Lead," December 2003 Recycling Today), testified before Congress in mid-March on behalf of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) regarding the spike in metals prices and the potential government reaction.

Speaking in front of the House Committee on Small Business during a hearing titled "Spike in Metal Prices: What Does it Mean for Small Manufacturers?" Bodner said, "There are some who would ask you to believe that scrap is the primary cause of the current situation and that the solution would lie in some regulation of scrap."

Contradicting that notion, Bodner said, "The high prices we currently see are coming from many sources. Yet, unfortunately and somewhat disconcertingly, the regulatory relief we most often hear mentioned comes in the form of scrap export controls. Clearly, this does not give due consideration to the entire problem."

The bigger picture must take the world’s hunger for steel into account, said Bodner. "The current, and we believe temporary, price pressures are being caused by global demand for steel rather than an assumed lack of domestic supply of scrap. Scrap markets are historically cyclical. In fact, they have likely reached, and perhaps passed, their peak."

Putting in place a widespread government ban could come too late and may also run afoul of international trade regulations, Bodner contended.

Writing to ISRI members after the hearings, ISRI President Robin Weiner stated that the hearing might have worked in favor of scrap recyclers. "By the end of the hearing, Chairman Donald Manzullo, a Republican from Illinois, was heard telling the press that there was no need for tariffs, export controls or other similar barriers to trade," wrote Weiner.

Receives ISO Certifications

A-1 Specialized Supplies and Services Inc., Croydon, Pa., has received two certifications from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Ashok Kumar, a director of the catalytic converter recycling company, says A-1 has received ISO 9001:2000 certification for quality management and ISO 14001:1996 certification for environmental management.

"These new ISO certifications, and the A-1 management systems for which they are granted, assure our suppliers and customers, our employees and our communities that we are doing all that we can to provide the best in metals and services for them and for the world in which we all live."

Kumar notes that A-1 received the Keep America Beautiful award in 1998 for environmental achievements. "Now we are seeking worldwide recognition," he adds.

Geneva-based ISO is the world’s leading standards organization.

A coalition that includes New Jersey auto recyclers, scrap processors, steel mills, pipe foundries and environmentalists is promoting legislation to codify the removal of mercury switches in the Garden State. The legislation asks auto makers to pay the tab to remove the switches.

The NJ Partnership for Mercury-Free Vehicles is seeking sponsors for legislation that would require auto manufacturers to fund the removal of mercury switches from end-of-life cars and trucks before the vehicles are crushed and melted down in steel mills and foundries.

The coalition includes Camden Iron and Metal; Environmental Defense; Gerdau AmeriSteel; Griffin Pipe Products Co.; Hugo Neu Schnitzer East; the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI); Mercer Group International; Metal Management Inc.; New Jersey Automotive Recyclers Association; New Jersey Environmental Federation; New York/New Jersey Baykeeper; and U.S. Pipe and Foundry Co.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) found that mercury switches used for convenience lighting and antilock brake systems are a source of the problem when these switches are hidden within melted scrap. Although New Jersey mills and foundries use emission-controls that meet current limits for mercury, the 75-percent mandated reduction announced last month by Gov. James McGreevey is beyond the technical and financial capabilities of their recycling furnaces, according to industry officials.

Legislation similar to that the group supports was enacted into law in Maine last year and is being considered in several states, including Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.