Tire recyclers are building an alliance in an effort to establish sustainability and circular economy credentials.
Media coverage speculating about a connection between cancer and crumb rubber used on athletic fields put a crimp in a major end market for scrap tires, even though the alleged link has not held up to scientific scrutiny. Panelists at the Tire Spotlight session at the online ISRI2021 event say they are creating an alliance to stave off such reputational damage in the future.
The session, organized by the Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and hosted by Mark Rannie of Baltimore-based Emanuel Tire LLC, portrayed a scrap tire market facing challenges on the end market and the regulatory front. Rannie and ISRI Chief Policy Officer/Assistant General Counsel Danielle Waterfield said the association can play a key role moving forward, but a broader alliance will be even more helpful.
Legislators in several states have proposed extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems for tires, an idea considered unwelcome by ISRI and its tire recycling members, says Waterfield. Thus far, ISRI has been able to convince lawmakers EPR is a bad fit for tire recycling, but Waterfield says the idea is unlikely to completely disappear.
Some states have term limits, creating “high turnover in legislators,” she commented. Although ISRI staff and member companies should continue to seek out relationships with elected officials, Waterfield says ISRI is finding value in engaging with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a fellow Washington-based trade association that provides policy research services to state lawmakers. “Your trade association is working with their association and funneling our message to NCSL and other associations like it,” said Waterfield.
Situations like the athletic turf scare and recurring EPR efforts mean, “As an industry, the minute we think we’ve tackled an issue, a new idea is presented,” said Amy Bracken, a vice president with Pittsburgh-based Liberty Tire Recycling.
Bracken says tire processors and recyclers should seek collaboration on a broad front. “The more we can work together with other associations and other industries [provides] an opportunity to have a louder voice in these conversations,” she remarked.
Among the people helping build that coalition is Stratton Kirton, managing director of Washington-based public affairs consulting firm Hamilton Place Strategies (HPS). Kirton and Bracken both referred to a policy proposal in the European Union designed to address “micro-plastics” that defined the term to include pieces of plastic up to five millimeters (about 0.2 inches) in size. Such a policy may cast scrutiny toward any recycling operating that shreds or granulates any plastic or polymer—including tire processors and even auto shredding plants.
The environmental advocacy storm that has roared through the plastics industry should serve as a warning, said Kirton. “I think plastics is a good example of a conversation that got kind of ahead of them. Now they’re putting billions of dollars into trying to tell their story to correct the record about the supply chain and recycling for them.”
The tire processing sector “has a really great story, on recycling, that a lot of industries don’t,” said Kirton. “Most people don’t know it,” he added, because tire processing is predominantly a business-to-business endeavor, so household consumers “don’t really think about it.”
The internet and social media means “activism, in some ways, hot gotten a lot easier,” he continued. ISRI and allies such as the United States Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) will be better off telling their story proactively. “You’re not going to win the war if you’re only playing defense,” he said.
“We need to make sure companies and organizations like ISRI are focused not on telling people ‘We’re not bad,’ but promoting the benefits,” said Kirton. With a global focus on sustainability and controlling emissions, tying tire recycling into “broader sustainability and climate goals” can be the “ounce of prevention” the sector needs to secure its future, he indicated.
Bracken said ISRI and Liberty Tire Recycling would be well served to consider the strategy proposed by Kirton and HPS. “We’ve all got to work together,” she stated. “Let’s stop being on our heels and let’s shift that narrative to the proactive and show people the good we can be doing.”
The company can begin construction on its new micromill in Mesa, Arizona.
Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), Irving, Texas, has announced that Arizona’s Maricopa County Air Quality Department has granted it an operating air permit so that the company can begin the construction of its new electric arc furnace (EAF) micromill in Mesa, Arizona. The company says this is also its second EAF micromill in Mesa and its third EAF micromill overall.
“Receiving the air permit is an important milestone in our latest micromill project, which we have named Arizona 2,” says Tracy Porter, executive vice president and chief operating officer at CMC. “With the permit in hand, we can now begin construction in preparation for installation of the mill equipment, which we ordered last year. We still anticipate commissioning to occur during the spring of 2023.”
The Arizona 2 micormill will be the first micromill in the world to produce merchant bar and rebar, CMC states in a news release on the project. Porter says it will use environmentally friendly steelmaking technology.
“The plant’s capability to directly connect to an on-site renewable energy source, a first in North America, will further enhance the low emissions and highly efficient energy consumption of the micromill process,” Porter says. “We are excited by Arizona 2’s potential and the operational efficiencies, network flexibility, market access and environmental benefits it will provide.”
Mesa’s mayor has expressed support for CMC’s new micromill.
“Mesa prioritizes decision-making that supports a sustainable future for our environment, and we are pleased to see CMC is setting the standard for environmentally friendly steelmaking,” says Mesa Mayor John Giles. “We are proud to have a long-standing partnership with CMC in Mesa and look forward to their continued success as leaders in their industry.”
The SDC cloud-based platform aims to optimize the efficiency of processes on Stadler sorting plants.
Stadler, Altshausen, Germany, has developed the SDC cloud-based platform, which captures operating and sensor data from the equipment at the customer’s sorting plant. The information is securely stored in the cloud and accessible from anywhere on- or off-site through a web portal. The SDC leverages automation to optimize and increase the efficiency of processes in Stadler sorting plants and provide better, faster support to its customers.
Amela Sijaric, co-head of the SDC team at Stadler says, “The SDC puts the customer and our service department in direct communication with the individual machines in the sorting plant. It provides valuable insights into the operation and enables us to work more effectively with our customer to resolve any issues as they arise and to ensure that the plant continues to meet their evolving requirements effectively. The SDC is a tool with great potential, and we will continue to work with our customers to extend its capabilities with new functionalities.”
According to Stadler, SDC is equally effective in all types of sorting plants and can be implemented at existing plants, where it may just need updating some hardware. In these facilities, it can highlight areas where the process can be improved and can be used to implement updates to the existing equipment.
The SDC provides an overview of the operation of the sorting plant, with visibility on the individual machines. Stadler reports that the data captured by the system is a powerful tool to enhance the sorting process, identify any bottlenecks or issues and act to resolve them swiftly. Analysis of the historical data can help to optimize machine performance and reveal opportunities for improvements in the plant’s efficiency. When there is an issue, it can be resolved efficiently, Stadler reports.
“The system flags where the error is in the sorting plant’s flowchart, with a clear indication of the name of the device experiencing a fault,” Sijaric says. “The customer can see at a glance where to go to sort out the problem. If they need help with the issue, our technical experts can immediately access the machine data. They can understand the issue and provide a solution swiftly. This is particularly beneficial when the plant is a long way from Stadler Service Teams. By accessing the data, they can send the technician best suited to deal with the specific issue and take the parts they may need to resolve the issue.”
Downtime is reduced to a minimum by monitoring machine health and performance and fast service.
According to Stadler, the SDC has a section dedicated to providing customers with flexible access to a full library of documentation for each of the machines in their plant, so that it is always up to date. The SDC includes not only data sheets and operation manuals but also a spare parts catalog. When making an order, the customer will easily identify the correct part with the photograph, description and part number in the catalog. The documentation section also offers tutorial videos prepared by the Stadler service team, covering the maintenance tasks typically conducted by the customer.
The first pilot project with SDC started in late 2018 at a paper sorting plant in Ingolstadt, followed by other plants in Germany, France, Switzerland and Denmark. Plants include the AFM Entsorgungsbetrieb waste management facility in Feldkirchen, which has been using the SDC for the past six months.
Anastasios Melidis, chief executive officer of AFM, says he sees the potential of the new platform. “It enables us to analyze our plant’s operating efficiency and recognize a loss of performance, as well as fast detection of errors or damage,” he says. “It is also useful for our business, as it provides statistics that help us plan our operations.”
Melidis says he also found that “after a short introduction, SDC is easy to use.”
Christian Ascherl-Landauer, CEO of MAD Recycling GmbH, who has been piloting the SDC at his paper and cardboard recycling plant in Ingolstadt, Germany, says he agrees that the process of the application is clear and practical.
He has found that the availability of the plant has improved since the beginning of the pilot. Ascherl-Landauer says, “The monitoring of the plant has improved. We can analyze downtimes better and make changes to the ongoing operation. Also, improved troubleshooting and targeted measures will improve availability further in the future.”
The development with SDC is ongoing, with new projects starting in Europe and in the United States. “We are looking at new functionalities, such as volume stream management and temperature analysis. We are also working to introduce condition monitoring and predictive maintenance functions, which will further reduce downtime,” Sijaric says.
Enexor BioEnergy received a $125,000 contract to convert waste streams into clean power and thermal energy.
The Army Corps of Engineers recently awarded Tennessee-based startup Enexor BioEnergy a contract on behalf of the Navy to convert the service’s waste into renewable energy, reports National Defense Magazine.
The $125,000 contract was awarded in March and will focus on converting things like paper, plastic, food and other organic materials into clean power and thermal energy.
Enexor BioEnergy will use a conversion system called Bio-CHP. According to the company, the device is modular and can easily be transported by ship, truck and cargo plane for rapid deployment. It will be used for on-site material conversion, according to the company.
“Our system is small-scale, so it’s designed to be located where the waste is, which is very unique because usually, you have to take the material and move it to a central location. That’s expensive and dirty and has an environmental impact,” Lee Jestings, CEO of Enexor BioEnergy, told the magazine.
The energy will first be used to power Enexor’s manufacturing facility in Franklin, Tennessee. If the system is successful, it will be deployed for use at naval facilities. While the contract is primarily for the Navy, the system could also be used for the Army, Jestings told the magazine.
The company is currently testing 13 different waste conversion recipes that turn garbage into renewable energy, reports National Defense.
The aluminum company achieved record shipments and increased its scrap use in its 2021 fiscal year.
Novelis Inc., the Atlanta-based aluminum rolling and recycling company, has reported net income attributable to its common shareholder of $176 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021 and net income from continuing operations of $180 million, up 179 percent and 186 percent, respectively, versus the prior year. Net income attributable to its common shareholder was $236 million for the full fiscal year 2021, and net income from continuing operations was $458 million, down 44 percent and up 9 percent, respectively, versus the prior year.
Excluding special items in both years, fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 net income from continuing operations was $172 million, up 12 percent versus the prior year, driven primarily by higher after-tax adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization associated with the acquired Aleris business, according to the company. For the full fiscal year, net income excluding special items decreased 5 percent versus the prior year to $561 million in light of pandemic-related impacts on first-quarter profitability.
Steve Fisher, president and CEO of Novelis, says, "With the ongoing successful integration of Aleris, a diverse and innovative product portfolio and unmatched geographic footprint, we have proven our ability to deliver sustainable aluminum solutions to customers in a way that resulted in record financial performance. Looking forward we will continue to pursue growth opportunities through organic investment while working towards creating a more sustainable and circular future for our business, industry and society."
The company says its principal achievements in fiscal 2021 included completing the acquisition of Aleris, generating initial run-rate integration cost synergies of $79 million and contributing to record full-year shipments of 3.6 million metric tons, adjusted EBITDA of $1.7 billion, net income from continuing operations of $458 million and free cash flow from continuing operations of $740 million.
Additionally, Novelis says it expanded its sustainability platform by committing to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2026, becoming a net carbon-neutral company by 2050 or sooner.
Novelis says it also committed to becoming a more diverse and inclusive workplace by increasing representation of women in leadership to 30 percent and to 15 percent in senior technical roles by 2024.
The company’s recycled content in its products grew to 61 percent in its 2021 fiscal year, and Novelis also says it strengthened its automotive business with the commissioning of new auto finishing capacity in the U.S. and China, co-founding Alumobility and offering an ultra-high-strength 7-series aluminum alloy to advance the continued adoption of aluminum in vehicles.
In the fourth quarter of its 2021 fiscal year, Novelis says its net sales increased 33 percent over the prior year to $3.6 billion, primarily driven by a 21 percent increase in shipments, favorable product mix and higher average aluminum prices. Total flat-rolled product shipments increased to 983,000 metric tons, mainly reflecting the addition of the acquired Aleris business and record automotive and beverage can shipments, as well as continued strong demand for building and construction and other specialty flat-rolled aluminum products, the company adds.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 32 percent to $505 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 compared to $383 million in the prior-year period. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA is because of higher organic volume, favorable metal benefits and a $60 million positive EBITDA contribution from the acquired Aleris business, Novelis says. On a consolidated basis, the company achieved an adjusted EBITDA per ton shipped of $514 in the fourth quarter of its 2021 fiscal year compared with $472 in the prior-year’s fourth quarter.
For the full 2021 fiscal year, the company says its net sales increased 9 percent versus the prior year to $12.3 billion, which was driven largely by a 10 percent increase in total shipments. Total flat-rolled product shipments increased to 3.61 million metric tons, which mainly reflects the addition of the Aleris business, beverage can demand and a rapid recovery in demand for automotive and specialty products following a challenging first quarter affected by the pandemic, according to Novelis.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 16 percent to $1.7 billion in fiscal 2021 compared with $1.5 billion in fiscal 2020. The company says the increase in adjusted EBITDA largely is attributable to $200 million in positive EBITDA contributed by the Aleris purchase, favorable metal benefits and good cost control, partially offset by unfavorable volume and product mix from lower automotive shipments in early fiscal 2021.
Novelis commissioned its greenfield Guthrie, Kentucky, automotive finishing plant and the new automotive finishing line in Changzhou, China, in the second half of fiscal 2021. Customer qualification continues to ramp up at both facilities to meet strong demand for lightweight, automotive aluminum sheet, the company says. The recycling, casting and rolling expansion in Brazil also remains on track to commission in the middle of fiscal year 2022.
"Our strong operational performance and the ongoing successful integration of Aleris have allowed us to nearly double cash flow generation over the prior year, enabling us to reduce net leverage while continuing to invest in organic growth projects that meet our customers' evolving needs," says Devinder Ahuja, senior vice president and chief financial officer, Novelis Inc.
Novelis says the integration of Aleris' continuing operations will drive a number of strategic benefits, including more than $180 million in potential run-rate synergies that have been identified. In the period between closing and the end of fiscal 2021, the company says it achieved $79 million of run-rate cost synergies. Novelis' acquisition of Aleris is expected to provide a strong pro-forma financial profile and strategic benefits that include gaining an integrated manufacturing footprint in China, further portfolio diversification with the addition of aerospace and building and construction, as well as new technology and operational capabilities.