Deal is designed to strengthen Umicore’s distribution and supply chain activities.
Umicore, a Brussels-based materials technology and recycling company, has reached an agreement with the Todini family to purchase the family’s 52 percent stake in the Italian firm Todini and Co. The purchase makes Umicore the 100 percent owner of the company. Since 2005, Umicore and the Todini Group spa have operated a joint venture focused on distributing chemical products such as metal salts and nonferrous metal oxides. Todini and Co., based in Monza, Italy, has six subsidiaries outside Italy and is involved in the distribution of industrial chemical products. Its customers serve a variety of industries including surface treatment and plating, pigments, glass and ceramics and animal nutrition. Following completion of the deal Todini and Co. will be integrated into Umicore’s Cobalt & Specialty Materials business unit. The consolidation will enable the newly acquired business to expand its distribution activities and strengthen its supply chain from raw materials to end customers. Joris van Hove, Umicore’s global business director, says, “We are very pleased with this acquisition and the benefits it will bring to both companies in the different markets. Twelve months after our acquisition of U.S. distributor Palm Commodities, this underlines our commitment to further expand our activities, to strengthen our product portfolio and to add an additional step in the overall value chain.” Carlo Todini with the Todini Group also applauds the deal. “Todini Group spa and Umicore can be proud of a successful and profitable collaboration over the past ten years. Becoming part of Umicore is the logical next step in the development of the JV Todini and Co.”
The nickel and stainless markets also have seen downward pressure through most of 2014, though a number of scenarios may strengthen markets for these metals going forward.
Nonferrous metals markets are stumbling toward the end of the year having experienced little upward momentum in 2014. However, some signals indicate that a number of nonferrous metals could be at the early stages of a recovery.
Aluminum could be set for a fairly strong upturn in 2015. According to industry sources, capacity cuts throughout the past several years have reduced the vast oversupply of aluminum on the global market. A source of greater enthusiasm is the growing use of aluminum in the automotive sector in an effort to lighten vehicles’ curb weight and improve gas mileage.
One source says aluminum demand from the auto industry could increase 100 fold from 500,000 tons to nearly 5 million tons by 2025.
Reflecting the improving North American aluminum market, the Aluminum Association, Washington, reports that aluminum ingot, scrap and mill products imported into the U.S. and Canada during September totaled 475 million pounds, a 30 percent increase from September 2013. Meanwhile, exports of aluminum scrap for September increased by 3.3 percent. For the full year, the Aluminum Association forecasts aluminum shipments from North American producers to increase by 5.6 percent to 24 billion pounds.
Despite these positives, the short-term outlook is less robust. Although sources say aluminum prices should remain fairly decent, several factors, such as the general weakness of the Chinese and European economies, may soften pricing.
Sources are expressing less bullishness for copper and copper scrap markets. The metal is most closely linked to the relative health of the Chinese economy. Most economists and analysts say they expect to see China’s economy struggle through most of 2015.
However, the country’s smelters continue to produce large amounts of refined copper. A recent report from Reuters notes that China’s smelters increased their output of refined copper by 13.6 percent in October relative to October 2013.
The nickel and stainless markets also have seen downward pressure through most of 2014, though a number of scenarios may strengthen markets for these metals going forward. In the short term, a potential strike at one of the largest nickel producing mines in the world could boost prices for nickel and stainless steel scrap.
Another factor that could boost the value of stainless steel scrap is Indonesia’s restriction of nickel ore exports. The move, which went into effect early in 2014, has not had significant impact on China’s buying of substitute materials as many analysts had expected.
Sources say China bought a large amount of nickel ore from Indonesia prior to the restriction in addition to turning to the Philippines to supplement its nickel ore needs, meaning it has not yet had to ramp up stainless steel scrap purchasing. However, industry observers say they expect China to start buying stainless steel scrap in 2015, which could help boost prices for the material.
In the United States, the ramp up of Outokumpu’s stainless steel mill in Calvert, Alabama, was expected to help strengthen domestic stainless steel scrap markets. However, production problems at the facility have reduced the Outokumpu’s scrap requirements at the mill in the short term.
Metals company will spend $12 million on expansion project.
Metals recycling and steelmaking firm Commercial Metals Co. (CMC) has announced plans to invest $12 million to relocate and expand its steel rebar manufacturing operations in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said of the decision, “My top priority as governor is to create a new Virginia economy, and Commercial Metals Co.’s investment in the Fredericksburg region is another step forward in this goal. Virginia is proud to retain a valued employer and corporate partner like CMC, and King George County’s manufacturing site with rail service meets the company’s current growth needs and provides capacity for future expansion.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with King George County and the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance on the project. The company is eligible for rail access funding from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. Funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.
According to the Journal Press of Fredericksburg, approximately 4,200 feet of railroad track will be added near the facility. The rail project will extend the existing rail line serving a portion of the industrial park by CSX, estimated at $800,000. The county agreed to provide up to $150,000 toward the rail line improvements.
Pacific Rim nations, including China and Singapore, are establishing systems to formalize the collection and recycling of electronic scrap.
As the stream of end-of-life computers, televisions and cell phones grows exponentially in Asia, governments in that part of the world are starting to set up networks designed to ensure the best recycling outcome for such devices. An overview of China’s vast new system was given at the Electronics Recycling Asia conference, held in Singapore in mid-November, as was the announcement of an electronics recycling standard in host nation Singapore. Ronnie Tay of Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA), said Singapore’s new SS587 standard has been designed to help ensure the nation properly handles the estimated 60,000 metric tons of electronic scrap it generates each year. Tay said the new system takes into account the value of these items. “There is enormous potential for resources to be recovered [so] well-designed systems have to be put in place for collection and processing” of e-scrap, he stated. The SS587 standard can be adopted by all corporate generators and collectors of electronic scrap. At the forum, two companies who have complete compliance with SS587 through a pilot program—packaging firm GreenPac and Solvay Specialty Chemicals—were honored with plaques received from Tay. China, with some 1.3 billion people and an economy that has converted from agrarian to industrial and commercial in just three decades, enacted a nationwide obsolete electronics recycling system that started in 2012. According to Professor Li Jinhui of Tsinghua University, Beijing, the precious metals content in items such as printed circuit boards and cell phones can cause “flows to the informal sector,” but that China’s new system of 106 licensed facilities means that most scrap is now “treated by the formal sector.” Professor Li said China’s licensed recyclers can benefit from additional technology transfer from Europe and other parts of the world. Although, this process is encouraged within China’s current five-year economic plan, it is being hindered by perceptions of inadequate protections of intellectual property in that nation. China’s formal electronics recyclers also could benefit from offshore training methods, said Li. Even without full access to global technology, the 106 licensed facilities in China generally have adequate dismantling, shredding and materials separation technology, Li indicated. Recyclers and government officials, however, are still trying to determine the correct subsidy figures to help ensure end-of-life items flow into the formal network rather than informal and possibly unsafe locations. Electronics Recycling Asia was organized by Switzerland-based ICM AG and held at the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore Nov. 11-14.
Equipment company presents new products during trade show and exhibition in Lyon, France.
Bollegraaf Group, based in Appingedam, the Netherlands, presented some of its recent equipment innovations during the Pollutec trade show held in Lyon, France, 2-5 December 2014. Subsidiaries Bollegraaf Recycling Machinery B.V. and Lubo Systems B.V. displayed models of some of the innovations at the event in France. Bollegraaf’s new Adaptive Proportional Channel Press (APCP) system is an electronic control system for baling systems designed to provide energy and cost savings while increasing bale weight up to 20 percent regardless of material, the company says. Bollegraaf says the system cuts operating costs and is available for the complete range of Bollegraaf HBC balers. According to Bollegraaf, APCP is an electronic control system that automatically optimizes channel pressures to make the heaviest and quickest bale on each grade. The company says APCP has the ability to auto-adjust, as it constantly evaluates, adjusts and even anticipates pressures over the entire baler system, making spike pressures for maximum bale weight obsolete. For companies producing a few bales of every grade, APCP means frequent switching no longer affects bale quality, Bollegraaf says. The company says that a side-benefit of the APCP system is reduced wear and tear and noise pollution because of the smooth baling process. New from Lubo Systems is the company’s ballistic Anti Wrapping StarScreen (AWS) which combines the advantages of a trommel and traditional star screens, Lubo says, without such potential disadvantages as film wrapping or clumping. This new version of the AWS StarScreen can now be installed under an angle, adding value, the company says, because it can separate on fraction size and 2D and 3D materials. A static version of this screen was presented in the company’s booth during the Pollutec event. Also available from Lubo Systems and promoted during the event is the new Vibro-Air Sort, designed as a versatile and compact solution for the separation of fractions based on variations in specific gravity. The company says the Vibro-Air Sort is well-suited for the removal of polystyrene contamination from sieve sand during demolition works, during composting or for applications in glass recycling for the removal of contamination by paper and films. The system consists of a vibrating conveyor with an adjustable angle and is linked to a blast nozzle with variable setting. Other features include:
Bollegraaf also presented its recently introduced polypropylene (PP) twine tying system for Bollegraaf HBC balers. The company says the new twine tying system for Bollegraaf HBC balers is ideal for baling refuse derived fuel (RDF) material. Bollegraaf now offers this twine tying system with the company’s vertical needle station.
The company says the unique system offers a row of five needles moving vertically in a linear motion through the ram pulling twine around the bale, allowing the needles to be positioned more closely to the ram. According to Bollegraaf, this results in less system pollution and less maintenance compared to traditional twine tying systems with needles pushing around the bale in a circular motion.
The company says the tying system features only top-quality materials and components for overall lower cost of operation.