French technology provider says its new device provides high functionality in a small configuration.
Pellenc ST is offering the Compact+ automated sorting machine “to support operators with their sorting line refurbishment projects and integrators with complex projects.”
The France-based company calls the Compact+ the latest generation in its Compact line. Those machines, Pellenc says, “are inherently compact and share the latest advanced sorting technology with the Mistral+ Connect, giving the same high levels of performance.”
The new Compact+ is available in two configurations (conveyor or gantry) and “is particularly suited to installations where space and access [are] limited,” Pellenc says, including facility retrofits.
“The machines have been designed to interface easily with all types of high-speed conveyors supplied by different integrators, whether for a refurbishment project or a new sorting center,” Pellenc adds.
As well as being easy to integrate, the Compact+ combines a new spectrometer with an extended near-infrared (NIR)/visible (VIS) spectrum designed to provide “focused illumination.” Pellenc adds, “This combination enables recovery of [materials] to high levels of purity.” In particular, the “FLOW Detection” system improves the separation of paper from cardboard; sorting different grades of PET plastic; or separating different grades of wood scrap.
Sennebogen partnered with Cronimet to develop the new battery-powered material handler.
Cronimet Ferroleg GmbH, a metal recycling and trading company based in Karlsruhe, Germany, has deployed the new Sennebogen 825 Electro Battery scrap handler at its facility in Karlsruhe.
According to a news release from Straubing, Germany-based Sennebogen, the company partnered with Cronimet to develop the 825 Electro Battery machine. The new battery-powered handler combines the flexibility of traditional diesel-powered excavators with the benefits of a zero-emission electric excavator that also features lower maintenance and energy costs, say the firms.
The Sennebogen 825 Electro Battery model is based on the Sennebogen 825 E model with a 110-kilowatt electric motor. The new model features an operating weight of about 30 tons and range of 14 meters, the same as on the 825 E model. The 825 Electro’s power storage unit, a lithium-ion battery pack with 378 kilowatt hours of storage capacity installed at the rear of the machine in place of the counterweight, enables the machine to operate for up to eight hours without intermediate charging. When used stationary by cable, the scrap handler can work and charge at the same time.
According to a news release from Cronimet, the electric handler can be connected to conventional power sockets through an onboard charger and 63A CEE plug system, which ensures there is no need to invest in additional charging columns.
Sennebogen says the 825 Electro Battery model features a comfortable cab environment for operators, as it is quieter and has lower vibrations compared with a traditional diesel-powered unit.
The companies say the Electro Battery model “enables completely emission-free work” to help Cronimet reduce CO2 emissions at its operations.
Marijo Zeljko, managing director of Cronimet Ferroleg GmbH, says the project to develop the 825 Electro Battery was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection.
“With this innovation project, we are taking a decisive step on the road to CO2 neutrality,” Zeljko says. “Electrification of our machinery is a key component of our climate strategy.”
Cronimet Ferroleg GmbH operates nine material handlers at its facility in Karlsruhe. The facility processes about 140,000 metric tons of stainless steel scrap and other alloyed scrap per year. Cronimet plans to use the new battery-powered model to feed the site’s baler, preparing material for the baler and for sorting work in its inbound inventory department.
Sennebogen says the Sennebogen 825 Electro Battery will be on display at Bauma 2022 Oct. 24-31, which will take place in Munich.
As non-residential construction spending grows, workforce challenges remain as the AGC calls for public spending on training and awareness of the benefits of a career in construction.
Construction firms added 16,000 jobs in August, according to an analysis of federal employment data recently released by the Arlington, Virginia-based Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).
The unemployment rate among jobseekers with construction experience fell from 4.6 percent in August 2021 to 3.9 percent in August 2022 month, Simonson noted. He said the low unemployment rate is consistent with the association’s recent survey, which found that 93 percent of responding firms had open positions. Of those firms, 91 percent report having a hard time filling hourly craft positions, Simonson added.
Association officials say their newly released survey, conducted with Autodesk, indicates contractors are eager to hire more employees but are being stymied by a dearth of qualified workers.
“Nonresidential construction activity is growing, but contractors universally report difficulty hiring as many workers as they need,” AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson says. “With the industry unemployment rate hovering below 4 percent, finding qualified applicants is sure to remain a major challenge.”
Association officials say one of the main causes of workforce shortages is the fact few people are being exposed to the opportunities available in construction and lack basic, essential skills. Seventy-seven percent of contractors report there are few workers available who meet the minimum qualification standards, including being able to pass a drug test, which insurance companies require for all workers in the industry.
“Public officials need to boost funding for construction-focused training programs to expose more workers to the opportunities that exist in the industry,” Simonson adds. “The industry has the work; it just needs the workers.”
Total construction employment climbed to more than 7.7 million in August as both residential and nonresidential construction firms added jobs for the month. Nonresidential firms added 4,300 employees, as gains of 700 jobs at general building contractors and 5,600 at nonresidential specialty trade contractors offset a loss of 2,000 jobs at heavy and civil engineering construction firms. Employment in residential construction—homebuilders, multifamily general contractors, and residential specialty trade contractors—increased by 10,900 in August.
Compared to August 2021, the construction industry has added 311,000 jobs, an increase of 4.2 percent. The nonresidential sector added 191,600 of those yearly job gains, an increase of 4.4 percent. Meanwhile, residential construction firms added 118,700 jobs between August 2021 and August 2022, an increase of 4.0 percent.
Related stories: AGC says jobs going unfilled | Construction spending down in June
Domestic steelmaking is lagging last year’s pace, while scrap export demand is inconsistent.
Ferrous scrap recyclers awaiting a price rebound after a downward summer trend are not finding relief as that season turns to autumn. Steel output figures in the United States remain sluggish, and export demand is not necessarily picking up the slack.
On the supply side, even though pricing has discouraged some collectors and dealers from selling scrap forward, factory and demolition activity in the U.S. has allowed supply to meet the tepid demand.
At the end of August, the Raw Material Data Aggregation Service (RMDAS) of Pittsburgh-based MSA Inc. tracked a noteworthy phenomenon from July 20 to Aug. 19.
Although just this May, steel mills on average were paying $185 more per ton for prime or prompt ferrous scrap compared with 1 ton of ferrous shred, three months later, that cavernous gap had disappeared, with most of the premium vanishing in July and August.
Mill scrap purchases tracked by the RMDAS July 20 to Aug. 19 showed mills on average paying just $9 per ton more for the RMDAS prompt industrial composite grade compared with No. 2 shredded scrap.
In mid-September, Davis Index is reporting lower scrap prices in Turkey and restrained buying from other common U.S. scrap export destinations, such as Bangladesh and India. Domestically as of Sept. 13, the pricing service says busheling is down another $22 per ton so far in September, while heavy melting scrap (HMS) is down about $20 per ton in the same region.
On the domestic demand front, the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) says in the week ending Sept. 10, domestic steel production was 1.723 million tons, which was up 0.5 percent compared with the prior week.
However, the most recent weekly output figure represents a 6.3 percent decrease from the identical week in the previous year, when 1.839 million tons of steel were made. AISI has the current mill capability utilization (capacity) rate at 78.2 percent compared with 83.3 percent at this time last year.
Year-to-date production through Sept. 10 is at slightly more than 63 million tons, says AISI, while the industry’s average capacity rate this year stands at of 79.8 percent. The volume figure is down 3.8 percent from slightly more than 65.5 million tons made in the same time frame in 2021, when the capacity rate averaged 81 percent.
While conventional wisdom holds that lower scale prices eventually lead to a supply shortage-driven price rebound, it looks like recyclers will wait another month to see if that tipping point has been reached.
New Metso Outotec crushing equipment distributor opens in Paradise, Texas.
Crushing Equipment Solutions (CES) has opened in Paradise, Texas, as a distributor of the complete line of Metso Outotec crushing and screening equipment, including mobile conveyors, crushers and crushing plants, feeders and screens.
“The team at CES has decades of experience,” CES General Manager Cliff Kelley says. “We are here to help our customers evaluate their jobsites and select the right gear for their application.”
With CES' expansion, Metso Outotec continues to strengthen its North American distribution network.
“Partnering with CES will provide our customers in Texas and Oklahoma with an extraordinary level of sales and service support with technical expertise specific to the crushing and screening industry,” says Steve Cianci, vice president of aggregates distribution management for Metso Outotec’s Americas region.
Bruce Wagner, president and CEO of CES, says, “At CES we strive to be ‘One Professional Team Delivering Quality Solutions to Every Customer.’ CES will be open for business and ready to meet customer needs throughout Oklahoma and Texas on Sept. 15, 2022. In the interim, CES is fully capable of providing parts, service, sales and rental support for its customers.”
CES says it also will be a distributor of “various other brands of crushing and screening equipment.” Its website indicates those brands include fabricated equipment from Connecticut-based Madden Steel; conveyors from J and M Conveyors; and portable crushers from South Dakota-based Masaba.
Editor's note: This article was updated to include comments from Steve Cianci, vice president of aggregates distribution management for Metso Outotec's America's region.