To maximize profitability, demolition contractors need to prioritize metals recovery on the job site.
There are a number of considerations that demolition contractors have to be mindful of when taking down a structure. Companies have to prioritize safe and environmentally responsible practices while maximizing efficiency and working to meet the owner’s various demands. But amid the detailed scope of work and rigorous planning that may be required for a given job, one thing that is always top of mind is profitability.
One of the ways companies can help guarantee a strong ROI for a project is by maximizing the metals recovered for recycling.
Drew Lammers, vice president of outside operations for Cohen Recycling, helps demolition contractors do just that.
Lammers, who works hand in hand with contractors to help them strategically plan their metal recycling initiatives in his role at the Middletown, Ohio-based scrap recycling company, is well-acquainted with the demolition side of the business.
Prior to joining Cohen, Lammers was the owner of Cincinnati-based King Wrecking Company. During this tenure, he also served as the National Demolition Association president and in other leadership positions at the association.
According to Lammers, one of the most effective things a contractor can do to derive metal value on the job is focusing on the nonferrous in a structure prior to teardown. While contractors use to try to pick this material during wrecking (and some still do), recovering nonferrous metals prior to the start of structural teardown work can help ensure material is not lost among other debris.
“If there’s an opportunity to go in and get your nonferrous out, or the majority of your nonferrous out before you start tearing a building down, you’ll get greater value because you tend to lose some of that material in your demolition debris after the fact since the majority of it is non-magnetic,” he says. “The dollars today are in nonferrous metals, which are seeing near record highs in terms of value. I think sometimes some demolition contractors are so worried about getting the iron and have the mentality of ‘get the steel, get the steel, get the steel,’ they forget that copper or aluminum or stainless is worth a lot more when it comes to a per pound basis than the steel is.”
Lammers says that even though there might be significantly more ferrous material on a project by volume, the nonferrous can add up to big value due to today’s prices. Additionally, ferrous material is relatively easy to pick from a project since it can be grabbed by a magnet after teardown.
Lammers says common sources of scrap that contractors can identify include items such as aluminum siding, rebar, electrical wire, duct work and HVAC components, structural beams, light fixtures, plumbing, gutters, shutters, railings and overhead doors.
Getting these materials out of a building is the first step, but processing them effectively brings a whole new set of challenges. While processing can often be cumbersome and time-consuming, Lammers says that the work that goes into preparing the material has a direct correlation to the value that can be gleaned from it.
“If you’ve copper wire in today’s market, for example, it might be worth putting it through a stripper to get down to the bare copper because it’s worth more than an insulated wire. Now, there’s labor involved to do that, but contractors have to determine what’s worth it in terms of the ROI,” he says.
Lammers says that even if there are higher value metals in a load, if they’re mixed in with less valuable material, the contractor won’t be able to get as much for it as if it was properly separated. Similarly, if a load is mixed with contamination like concrete, dirt or garbage, value will be reduced since the scrap recycler will have to pay to have that landfilled.
“Contractors want to get in and get out as quick as they can on a job because time is money, but separating the metals is almost as important as getting that material in the first place,” Lammers says. “When it comes to us as a scrap recycler, we will grade it as if it’s mixed iron or if it’s a shred package, etc., and pay accordingly.”
Lammers says proper sizing of the material is also crucial. Typically, the larger pieces of metal that come from demolition jobs are not mill ready and need to be cut.
That’s where excavator shears come in. Contractors who use shears to effectively size the material can reduce the number of hands the material has to touch to size it for the mill, which helps save money. Additionally, proper sizing allows contractors to fit more material into a container or trailer, which translates to fewer trucks leaving the site.
“It’s already hard enough to find enough truck drivers to get material off-site. So, the fewer truck loads you have, the less it’s going to cost you and the quicker you’ll be able to ship the material,” Lammers says.
He notes that a handful of the biggest contractors can save even more by going “mill direct” with their material due to their ability to properly size and process on-site; however, the overwhelming majority of companies don’t have the resources, time or expertise to handle this on their own.
While a big pocketbook helps, it doesn’t take the resources of the industry’s largest demolition companies to effectively recycle metals, Lammers notes.
“When it comes to getting the most value for your metal, it starts with management. It boils down to the question, ‘Does management want to do this?’” he says.
Lammers says that demolition companies interested in generating the highest value from their materials should think about consulting with a knowledgeable scrap recycler.
“In my experience, scrap recyclers are more than willing to come out and help these contractors,” Lammers says. “At Cohen, we do it all the time. We’ll go on-site, check out a job and say, ‘If you guys do X, Y and Z, this is how much more money you’re going to get, but if you just throw it all in a dumpster together and give it to us in one big mix, you’re going to get less because we have to do all that separating and processing.’”
Lammers says that although scrap recyclers will pay less for materials that aren’t properly separated or processed, most scrap recyclers ideally want the material sorted and cut for a quick turnaround because of the market risk that comes from sitting on significant tonnage.
He says that Cohen, and an increasing number of scrap recyclers, offer to place shears and operators on the ground for a cost to do all the cutting, sizing and shipping to the mill themselves. This allows contractors who don’t have the resources, time or desire to process metals to focus on demolition rather than preparing metal for recycling. Lammers says that by contracting with a scrap recycler for these on-site services, if there are any rejections from the mill, the recycler bears the responsibility, not the contractor.
Beyond helping process materials, Lammers says that bringing a scrap recycler on-site to “offer a second set of eyes” on a project can help demolition professionals identify areas for opportunity.
“We’ll go out on jobs when contractors are bidding them and we’ll help them determine how much tonnage is in there. I won’t tell the contractor how to do the job, but I’ll let them know that if they take certain steps, what the maximum value of their scrap could be,” Lammers says.
By consulting with a scrap company prior to and during the demolition phases of a job, Lammers says that contractors can ensure they’re on the same page when it comes to assessing value.
“My big thing is, just reach out and ask. Ask the scrap company about the different metals on-site and what they might mean in terms of value,” Lammers says. “The larger scrap companies should be able to say, ‘This is P&S, this is heavy melt; this is rebar, this is shred; this is clean sheet, this is unclean sheet—there are all these different varieties and they’re all worth something different.
“When you’re having these conversations up front, it helps. If you’re talking about separating materials to maximize value, for instance, and the contractor thinks they have one type of material but the scrap company is classifying it as another, the scrap company can go back to them and say, ‘Here are the pictures of the material. Do you remember what we discussed in terms of how we need it cut? Let’s get with your operators and explain to them how we need the material sized.’ We do that all the time and that just comes down to having open lines of communication.”
While Lammers says that contractors all have similar methodologies when it comes to extracting metal from a structure, ensuring a high recycling rate often comes down to embracing a simple philosophy.
“Just know what you have and try to get it,” he says.
This article originally appeared in the May/June issue of Construction & Demolition Recycling magazine. The author is the editor of Construction & Demolition Recycling magazine and can be reached at aredling@gie.net.
New York state agency approves plan reached in April for decommissioning of Indian Point nuclear plant.
The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved an agreement reached in April 2021 to allow the decommissioning and cleanup of the Indian Point nuclear power facility in that state to move forward.
A press release from New York Attorney General Letitia James says her agency will continue to monitor the task ahead for Camden, New Jersey- Holtec International and its subsidiaries as it decommissions the idled power plant, which is located just 25 miles from New York City.
“I have always maintained that the dismantling and cleanup of Indian Point should prioritize the safety and wellbeing of New Yorkers,” states James. “Today’s approval of the agreement my office reached with Holtec certifies that we can move forward with a decommissioning process that is safe, responsible, thorough, and exceeds stringent federal standards.”
The decommissioning agreement reached was negotiated by the state of New York, local governments, environmental organizations, Entergy (the utility that owns the plant) and Holtec, says James. It will allow the transfer of ownership of the nuclear power facility to Holtec, which will be responsible for the “swift, complete, and safe decommissioning and remediation of the facility and site,” according to the attorney general’s office.
Chadwick-BaRoss, with eight locations, will carry the Atlas line in cooperation with SMH Group US.
The Concord, North Carolina-based SMH Group US has added Chadwick-BaRoss, which has eight locations in New England, to its dealer network for Atlas material handlers in North America.
“We are excited to add such a reputable and experienced dealer to the network,” remarks Tom Hickson, general manager of the SMH Group.
Chadwick-BaRoss is a heavy equipment dealer with a customer base that includes general contractors, mining and quarrying companies and firms in the utility, industrial and forestry sectors. The new partnership with SMH Group and Atlas means Chadwick-BaRoss can work more closely with scrap processors and port material handling firms, say the companies.
From its eight locations in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, Volvo Construction Equipment is the main product line offered by Chadwick-BaRoss. “The Atlas brand of material handlers will make an excellent addition to Chadwick-BaRoss’s already large and diverse fleet,” states SMH Group.
Based in northern Germany, Atlas has been manufacturing equipment for more than 100 years. Its material handler line includes mobile industrial machines and industrial tracked machines, operating in applications handling scrap metal, wood, bulky goods, other recyclables and in port and vacuum operations.
SMH Group US offers equipment for port, scrap metal, demolition, waste and recycling and other applications. In addition to Chadwick-Baross, other distributors in its North American network include Linder Industrial Machinery for Florida, North and South Carolina plus Coastal Georgia; New Millennium Rentals for New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland; ROMCO Equipment for Texas; 5-R Enterprises for Illinois and Northwest Indiana; and Cowin Equipment for Alabama and Western Georgia.
Hickson says SMH Group is seeking additional dealers to serve other parts of North America.
Company elected by Terex Ecotec to represent Michigan.
Powerscreen Michiana, Newton, New Hampshire, will now represent Terex Ecotec in the state of Michigan. The organization will immediately assume responsibility for sales, rentals, service and parts related to Terex Ecotec equipment.
Established in 1985 and formally known as Powerscreen of Indiana, Powerscreen Michiana is locally owned and operated by David Summer and Bryan Shutt. The team has decades of experience in serving the quarrying, mining, construction, demolition, and recycling industries.
“We look forward to adding Powerscreen Michiana to Terex Ecotec’s growing distributor network in North America,” George Wilcox, sales and marketing director at CBI and Terex Ecotec, says. “Powerscreen Michiana will bring a dedicated and focused service capacity to customers in the state of Michigan.”
Terex’s environmental equipment offerings have seen considerable investment and new product development in recent years, according to the company. In the spring of 2019, Terex unveiled a new 105,000-square-foot facility in Campsie, Northern Ireland, to meet the global needs of environmental markets.
Terex Ecotec’s product portfolio consists of shredders, trommel screens, recycling screens, metal separators, and conveyors.
Despite signals that China’s steel mills would slow down in 2021, figures indicate otherwise.
Weekly steel output in the United States rose by another 1.4 percent in mid-May, continuing the positive momentum that has characterized the sector in 2021. On the other side of the world, despite some expectations that output in China may have peaked in 2020, that nation’s mills have continued to churn out steel in record amounts.
In the U.S. the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) says in the week ending May 15, 2021, domestic raw steel production was almost exactly 1.8 million tons, with mills operating at 79.2 percent of capacity.
That figure represents a 1.4 percent increase over the prior week’s output, when mills operated at 78.1 percent of capacity. In a demonstration of the impact of COVID-19 in the U.S. one year ago, the week ending May 15, 2021, output is 47.1 percent higher compared with the same week in 2020, when mills were running at just 54.6 percent of capacity.
On the other side of the world, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported an April steel output figure in that nation of 97.85 million metric tons, according to a Reuters article.
Steel output has been rising the past two months, says the news agency, “even though Beijing has repeatedly vowed to ensure the country’s full-year output remains below the 1.065 billion metric tons produced last year.”
In the first four months of the year, China’s nearly 375 million metric tons of steel produced represents a 16 percent rise compared with the first four months of 2020, according to NBS data cited by Reuters.
In early May, China’s government coordinated with 15 copper producers to put a ceiling on copper concentrate imports. Metals information firm Beijing Antaike Information Co. Ltd. says the move was made as a means of price support to the red metals industry, and likely ties into Beijing’s effort to reduce its carbon footprint.
Basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steel production also is a major contributor to the nation’s status as a carbon emissions heavyweight. It has prompted the national government to back a switch to electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking and to approve the import of some ferrous scrap grades.
In late April of this year, the Chinese government eliminated or scaled back some export incentives for steelmakers. Unless May output figures signal otherwise, however, in a climate of high steel pricing and profitability, the largely state-owned steel producers in China have not shown a willingness to scale back production of their own accord.