The company says the modular design of the equipment allows it to be quickly disassembled and reassembled.

M&J Recycling, Horsens, Denmark, will premiere a preshredder at this year's IFAT in Munich, May 30 to June 3. The company says it is more powerful, uses less energy and is modular.  

It is unclear what the new shredder will look like or feature, but M&J says it will be like the M&J PreShred 4000S. M&J says it is waiting to reveal more details about the new preshredder for the fair at Hall B4, Booth 451/550. The name will also be launched.   

While not much is known about the equipment, the company says the modular design should get a lot of attention because it makes service and maintenance much faster and cheaper.  

“Our main focus has been on creating a preshredder that makes maintenance super-efficient, so the customer saves money on the operating budget and minimizes the costly downtime,” says Uffe Hansen, CEO of M&J Recycling. “The next generation preshredder can be quickly disassembled and reassembled, and you can replace only the parts that are really worn. In addition, it performs superbly on every conceivable parameter, as you would expect from an M&J shredder.”  

Learn more about the preshredder here. 

The role will focus on innovations that support the company's collaborative approach to sustainability.

Packaging producer Greif, based in Delaware, Ohio, has named Geoffrey Westphal as its new director of sustainable technology.

Westphal moves into the role following 10 years at Greif, most recently as senior environmental manager,

where he led compliance across the company's North American operations and progressed zero-waste-to-landfill initiatives globally. Greif says in the new role, Westphal will focus on introducing innovations that support its continued commitment to creating shared value for customers, stakeholders and the environment.

"It's a really exciting time to be moving into this position," Westphal says. "We have seen a lot of technological advances in recent years that are becoming viable, and the next couple years will see us make changes that will further our mission of helping customers protect the environment through the deployment of sustainable innovation."

Greif says its approach to sustainability extends beyond its own operations, with partnerships focused on "doing better" extending in both directions along the supply chain.

"We firmly believe that a collaborative approach to sustainability is critical," Westphal says. "The next few years will see us expand efforts to work alongside our customers, internal resources and rapidly developing external partnerships to leverage our collective resources to improve efficiencies, introduce new technology and, ultimately, improve the sustainability of our industry."

Greif underwent several changes at the executive level this year, most notably the transition of Ole Rosgaard to president and CEO in February, succeeding Pete Watson who was named executive chairman of the board of directors. The company also announced a new executive leadership team that it says will lead ongoing growth and continuous improvement opportunities to drive additional shareholder value. The leadership changes initially were announced during an earnings call in September of last year.

The company will spend the next two years building a $40 million recycling facility at a county-owned landfill to recycle plastic, metal and cardboard.

Freepoint Eco-Systems LLC, Houston, and The Bartow County Resource Recovery Development Authority (RRDA), Georgia, have agreed to a 20-year municipal solid waste recycling contract.   

Under the terms of the agreement, Freepoint Eco-Systems will build a $40 million recycling facility at the Bartow County-owned landfill to separate plastic, metal and cardboard from scrap that has been delivered to the landfill. Once separated, Freepoint Eco-Systems will deliver the recovered material to the appropriate market, where it will be recycled into new plastic, metal containers and cardboard.  

"Freepoint Eco-Systems is delighted to partner with Bartow County and the RRDA to reduce the amount of recyclable scrap that ends up in landfills,” says Jeff McMahon, CEO of Freepoint Eco-Systems. “This partnership will significantly increase the recycling rate in Bartow County, reduce the amount of nonbiodegradable materials in its landfill, extend the life of the landfill and close the loop to a more sustainable economy. This agreement is an important step in Freepoint Eco-System's wider commitment to recycling worldwide."   

The project will be built in Cartersville, Georgia, and is expected to divert about 30 percent of the county's scrap from the landfill to the recycling markets and convert it to recycled products. According to Freepoint, the city produces about 33,000 tons of scrap annually. The Freepoint Eco-Systems recycling facility is expected to become operational in the first half of 2024.   

Totall Metal Recycling began by providing toll processing for scrap wire granulation.

Ulm, Germany-based Wieland, a manufacturer of semifinished products in copper and copper alloys, has acquired Totall Metal Recycling, Granite City, Illinois, which processes a wide range of metal scrap and other recyclables. The transaction closed April 29.

Totall was formed in 1993 to provide toll processing of scrap wire. Today, the company purchases and recycles copper scrap, electronic scrap, lead, tin, zinc, aluminum, nickel, cobalt, titanium, residues and other recyclables. The company serves industrial clients throughout North America and currently processes approximately 100,000 tons of scrap per year.

Wieland says the company “perfectly integrates” into its North American operations being located near Wieland’s foundry in East Alton, Illinois, and its future recycling center in Shelbyville, Kentucky, which is expected to begin operations in 2023.

“The integration of Totall Metal Recycling’s experienced team and partner network expands our recycling capabilities and accelerates the execution of our sustainability and recycling strategy, especially in terms of material processing capabilities,” Wieland CEO Erwin Mayr says. “I am happy that the leadership team will remain in place, continue to drive the successful development of Totall Metal Recycling and also contribute to Wieland’s recycling agenda overall. Furthermore, this acquisition once more underscores Wieland´s commitment to continue to invest and grow in North America.”

The packaging company says ABB's software will be integrated across its Kemsley Mill in the United Kingdom.

DS Smith, a paper packaging producer based in the United Kingdom, has announced a new contract with Swedish technology company ABB to futureproof operations and strengthen cybersecurity functionality at its Kemsley Mill in the U.K.

The paper mill, located in Kent in South East England, is the largest mill for recycled paper in the U.K. and second largest in Europe with an annual production capacity of approximately 840,000 tons, producing light medium which DS Smith says is the first recycled lightweight paper manufactured in the U.K.

In a news release announcing the contract, ABB says it is supporting Kemsley Mill's evolution with the ABB Ability System 800xA distributed control system (DCS) and paper machine drives upgrade across the PM3, PM4 and PM6 machines. According to ABB, the upgraded DCS will be integrated across the mill to work as the backbone that connects everything securely in one system for more automated functionality and easier maintenance.

"ABB's consultation, involving numerous remote workshops and ongoing discussions, helped us define the best approach for our modernization project," Kemsley Mill Manager Ben Jennings says. "The team showed real expertise and understanding of our future ambitions and will act as a partner to us in our digital transformation journey."

ABB also will provide a one-year support contract, the latest cybersecurity set-up and new two virtual measurements for PM4, which will provide online calculations for strength and weight. The system is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of this year and DS Smith says a "progressive implementation of the system will align with the planned maintenance program in the successive months."

"DS Smith is a leading European and U.S. paper manufacturer with a clear vision for their future operations," says Jan-Willem Bos, regional industry lead, ABB Pulp and Paper. "The Kemsley Mill is a great example of a facility with the foresight to plan for the bigger digitalization rapidly emerging in the pulp and paper industry. We're please to build on our longstanding relationship and work closely with DS Smith to drive their strategic evolution."

DS Smith has made several investments in the past several years into automation and technology at the Kemsley Mill. In August of last year, the company invested in 10 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to increase sustainability and efficiency. The all-electric Rocla vehicles supplied by Mitsubishi Logisnext Europe Oy, headquartered in Amsterdam, perform a variety of tasks around the warehouse, including collecting reels from the production conveyor, storing reels and picking reels for orders. When the AGVs aren't tasked with work, they automatically switch to housekeeping mode, rotating stocks in order of age and consolidating stocks to maximize warehouse capacity.

Jennings said last year, "The recent boom in e-commerce has increased the demand for our papers and packaging. Every day, around 2,400 tons of paper leaves the Kemsley Mill and so it's critical that our talented team has the latest innovations to benefit our people, customers and the environment."

In a recent trading update issued to investors, DS Smith Group Chief Executive Miles Roberts said the company expects up to $768 million in adjusted operating profits for its fiscal year, which ended in April. He cited "continued momentum [with] good progress in profitability and cash generation" during the previous six months.