Additions to tracked crusher and screener line add efficiency, flexibility for operators.

Metso Outotec is adding two models to its Lokotrack mobile crushing and screening series. The new Lokotrack LT200HPX and Lokotrack LT220GP mobile cone crushers are “compact but efficient units ideal for aggregate contractor customers, bringing up to 30 percent more capacity and added flexibility compared to earlier models,” says the company.

The new models will be displayed during a Metso Outotec virtual studio event on Thursday, Oct. 27 and in what the company is calling its Lokotrack Liveroom 360 “online experience together,” along with services and parts offerings for Lokotrack.

The new models allow customers to choose between two cone crusher types and several optional features based on their needs. The Lokotrack LT200HPX is equipped with a two-deck pre-screen and wide conveyors designed to facilitate high throughput. The model also has a direct v-belt crusher drive.

The Lokotrack LT220GP can be equipped with a pre-screen or with a belt feeder.

“The new models and our end-to-end offering displayed in the Lokotrack Liveroom demonstrate our focus on improving aggregates customers’ operations and bottom line,” says Kimmo Anttila, vice president of Lokotrack Solutions at Metso Outotec. “With these new models of 300 metric tons per hour capacity and 40 metric tons transport weight, the customers have even more choice and flexibility to select from our cone crusher range. Lokotrack is a sustainable and future-proof choice for any type of aggregate production.”

On its website, the company says its Lokotrack line has been manufactured by Finland-based Metso Outotec since 1985, with the mobile crushing and screening plants “widely used in aggregates production and recycling applications around the world.”

The Oct. 27 studio events and the ongoing Lokotrack Liveroom information can be found on this web page.

Steelmaker joins parade of profitable metals producers in this year’s second half.

Cleveland-based steel producing and iron mining firm Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has reported what it calls record third-quarter revenue and net income for the period ended Sept. 30.

In the announcement accompanying its results, Cleveland-Cliffs says its $6 billion in revenue and $1.3 billion in net income are records for the time frame.

“In a short period of less than two years, we went from $2 billion annual revenues in 2019 to expected revenues of $21 billion in 2021,” says Lourenco Goncalves, the company’s board chair, president and CEO.

In those two years, the company has acquired steel mills formerly belonging to AK Steel and ArcelorMittal; has opened a hot briquetted iron (HBI) facility in Toledo, Ohio; and most recently has acquired multilocation scrap processing firm Ferrous Processing & Trading (FPT).

Regarding the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), Goncalves says, “The $1.9 billion of third-quarter adjusted EBITDA we have just reported is equivalent to half of our year-to-date adjusted EBITDA of $3.8 billion, showing that our profitability continues to increase as we continue to implement our way of doing business, and take advantage off—and extract synergies from—our modern, efficient and unique footprint.”

Of the firm’s most recent acquisition, Goncalves says, “This month, we agreed to acquire Ferrous Processing and Trading Company, the leading prime scrap processor in the United States. The integration of FPT into our Cleveland-Cliffs footprint as a premier flat-rolled steel producer should allow us to utilize more prime scrap in our basic oxygen furnaces, further reducing both our utilization of coke and our carbon emissions. We are looking forward to closing this acquisition in the fourth quarter and capturing more value from our scrap right away. This is real growth; profitable growth; environmentally friendly growth.”

On the finished steel side, Goncalves adds, “The Cleveland-Cliffs business model is based on a significant amount of contract sales. We have already concluded the renewal of several annual fixed price sales contracts with a significant number of our most important customers, and we are pleased with the successful results of these negotiations. Differently from other steel companies more exposed to spot prices, we believe that our average sales price next year should be higher than in 2021, allowing us to continue to grow our already strong profitability and to further strengthen our balance sheet.”

Cleveland-Cliffs’ third-quarter 2021 steel output of 4.2 million tons consisted of 32 percent hot-rolled, 31 percent coated, 18 percent cold-rolled, 6 percent plate, 4 percent stainless and electrical and 9 percent other types of steel, including slabs and rail, according to the company.

The company joins several other United States-based steelmakers in reporting record or near-record profits for the most recently completed fiscal quarter, including Nucor Corp., Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) and Commercial Metals Co. (CMC). 

This is the company’s first location in Georgia.

National Equipment Dealers (NED), Lexington, North Carolina, has  finalized the acquisition of Grove River Machinery, an equipment dealership based in Richmond Hill, Georgia. The acquisition will expand the NED organization into Georgia, where the company says it plans to grow more in the future. 

“With this merger, Grove River Machinery is turning a new, exciting chapter in our 20-year history,” says Dale Richbourg, former sales manager at Grove River Machinery. “Our merger with NED will provide us the means to grow our Hyundai market share way beyond our past capabilities."

According to a news release from NED, Grove River Machinery represented the Hyundai product line for the last 14 years. 

NED now has 14 locations with its latest acquisition. The growth plan for the NED Savannah branch will include a broader product offering. The branch will continue to sell Hyundai Construction Equipment and will expand its offering to include Bell articulated dump trucks, along with other products, which will be added in the future. 

“As fellow Hyundai dealers, we have known the Richbourg family and Grove River Machinery for many years,” says Mitch Nevins, CEO of NED The timing is right, and we are excited to bring them into the NED family. We look forward to investing time and resources in Georgia to expand our customer base with Hyundai, Bell Trucks and other products.” 

The new location in Savannah will be renamed NED, per NED’s current companywide rebranding strategy.

State’s DTSC says SA Recycling's Southern California shredder and export yard creates metal residue, affecting soil and water quality.

The Sacramento, California-based Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) says SA Recycling must investigate residual metal pollution levels at its metal shredding and exporting facility on Terminal Island at the Port of Los Angeles.

SA Recycling should “investigate the extent of soil, groundwater and ocean sediment contamination” on its property and an adjacent property at the site, which previously was operated by Simsmetal West LLC.

The facility has been operating since 1962, the agency says. DTSC claims its own investigations have “found metal shredder residue called light fibrous material on the pavement, in pavement cracks, on equipment and inside and over storm drains at a neighboring facility, Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals LP.”

Samples of that material exceeded hazardous waste levels for lead, cadmium and zinc, DTSC says, which adds that it has ordered SA Recycling to “curtail those releases and to develop a plan to clean up the contamination at the nearby facility.”

In 2017, DTSC says its inspectors “found treated metal shredder residue trapped in an outside wall” at SA Recycling and “elevated levels of zinc, copper, and lead in a huge on-site pile.” The following year, DTSC says metal shredder residue was detected in the adjacent Yusen Terminal yard and on New Dock Street to the south of the shredder yard.

The agency states, “The respondents must meet certain deadlines to take action to stop releases and submit required investigation reports to DTSC, including a workplan to determine the extent of contamination and for cleaning up the contamination they find. DTSC plans to notify the surrounding community so residents can become involved in any proposed cleanup plan.”

As the series of inspections indicates, the DTSC has made metals shredding a focus of its activities, with information about the campaign front and center on its website.

The agency previously tried to enforce emergency action against the entire sector, but that proposed action was withdrawn in September after a one-week comment period elicited feedback from the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and other organizations.

Panelists will offer a peer-to-peer perspective on what goes into selling a business.

Selling a waste business can be a complex and uncertain endeavor for many owners, especially within the waste and recycling industries.

With major players such as LRS, Waste Connections and GFL making waves in the space through high-profile acquisitions, learning from those well versed in the buying and selling of a business can provide significant benefits.

At Waste Today’s 2021 Corporate Growth Conference, attendees can gain first-hand knowledge from industry veterans on how to ensure a straightforward sale during the session “What I’ve Learned Selling My Waste Business.”

Featuring panelists Anthony Lomangino, former owner and CEO of Southern Waste Systems (SWS); Mike Malatesta, former owner and CEO of Advanced Waste Systems; and James Devlin, former CEO of Valicor Environmental Services, the session will offer a peer-to-peer perspective on what goes into selling a business, lessons owners should know to avoid potential hurdles, and best practices for ensuring a smooth transition.

Lomangino—an experienced CEO whose career spans retail, residential and commercial environmental services companies, material recycling facilities and real estate investments—helped transform Southern Waste Systems and Sun Recycling into a full-service vertically integrated solid waste management organization.

Sun operations grew to 14 recycling facilities located throughout Southeast Florida and became the industry’s largest privately held recycling company producing record level waste diversion numbers. The companies were acquired by Waste Management in January 2016.

As for Malatesa, the successful entrepreneur and business executive founded, built and sold two of the largest environmental services companies in the Upper Midwest. One sold for mid-eight figures, and the other sold for low-nine figures. In 2018, he founded a podcast called “How’d It Happen?” that explores the stories of successful people from all walks of life.

Devlin, who is now chairman of the board and CEO for Inframark LLC, helped build Valicor into one of North America’s largest providers of non-hazardous wastewater treatment services. Through a series of strategic acquisitions, Devlin increased the company’s number of centralized wastewater treatment plants from five to 14 in just over 24 months in an effort to grow its national footprint.

This year’s Corporate Growth Conference will take place Nov. 4 at the Loews Chicago Hotel. To register, visit here.