Shipments of the new BXC65 start November 2019.

UniCarriers Americas (UCA), Marengo, Illinois, has announced the launch of its BXC65 four-wheel, cushion tire electric forklift. The new BXC65, an extension of the BX series, has a capacity of 6,500 pounds.

The new BXC65 offers reliable, high-performance AC technology, including 100 percent AC motor and hydraulic systems, the company says in a news release. To reduce downtime, the BXC65 features onboard diagnostics delivering immediate truck status. Offering fast acceleration, travel and lift speeds, the BXC65 is engineered to deliver greater productivity in the most demanding applications.

Operator conveniences include a high visibility carriage, a five-piece overhead guard that takes 75 percent less time to make overhead guard leg replacements and a full suspension seat with lumbar support for maximum ergonomic comfort. A single handle control lever comes standard on the BXC65 for faster and easier functionality.

The BXC65 offers optional features including cloth and vinyl swivel seats, a 60-millimeter raised overhead guard required for swivel seats (also available as a standalone option) and a bottler’s tilt with an eight-degree forward and five-degree backward angle. A pallet attachment is also available as a custom order modification. The attachment allows the operator to move one pallet at a time or two at once, allowing for fewer trips and greater efficiency.

“We knew we needed a product like the BXC65 to fulfill customers’ needs, and we are excited about what it has to offer,” says Mark Porwit, director of corporate planning for UniCarriers Americas. “We are actively listening to our dealers and customers, so that we are able to develop products they can depend on for ultimate reliability and performance.”

The BXC65 is available with shipments starting November 2019.

Eduardo Rubio was promoted to be CEO of Smurfit Kappa North America.

Ireland-based Smurfit Kappa Group has appointed Eduardo Rubio as the company’s new CEO for Smurfit Kappa North America. Rubio will begin his responsibilities leading this operation of 4,900 people on Oct. 1.

Rubio joined Smurfit Kappa Group in 2010. He is a chartered accountant with an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology. Rubio currently serves as vice president for Smurfit Kappa North America’s Mexican Corrugated operations. Prior to his current position, Rubio held many leadership positions with the company, including director of finance for the Packaging Group, general manager for the company’s Tijuana Box Plant and regional general manager of the Baja California area with the incorporation of the Mexicali Sheet Plant to his responsibilities. 

Smurfit Kappa North America operations include 13 corrugated operations and one folding carton plant both in the U.S. and northern Mexico, a paper mill in Forney, Texas, and several recycling facilities. Smurfit Kappa North America is a producer of honeycomb with three plants in northern Mexico and also four packaging solutions plants. The operation also includes the regional Experience Center in Dallas and a sales office in Chicago. 

Rubio will be based in Dallas, reporting to Juan G. Castaneda, CEO of Smurfit Kappa The Americas. 

A pile of scrap metal feedstock at the shredder caught fire at MetalX’s Delta, Ohio, facility.

MetalX LLC, headquartered in Waterloo, Indiana, has reported that a fire was detected at its Delta, Ohio, facility shortly after 6 p.m. on Sept. 10 by company employees who immediately enacted emergency protocols, including alerting local fire authorities. While the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, it developed in a pile of scrap metal feedstock at the shredder infeed. Typical shredder feedstock is comprised of mixed sheet metal and unprepared steel, crushed autos, light demolition scrap and compacted appliances. Shredder feedstock is approximately 80 percent recyclable metal with the remaining 20 percent being nonmetallic, some of which can be combustible under certain circumstances.

According to MetalX, firefighters from multiple fire departments from several regional counties were called to the scene to work alongside company crews who are trained to use material handling equipment to help move or separate the material to minimize the effects of the fire. No injuries have occurred, and there was no property damage or loss. According to press reports from MetalX, two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion while fighting the fire last evening.

While some portions of the fire are ongoing, the company’s response team continues to work closely with first responders and with regulatory agencies to ensure that the fire can be fully extinguished as quickly as possible, MetalX reports in a news release on the fire. Even though no hazardous materials are accepted at the site, company protocol includes working with regulatory agencies to conduct air quality testing in an effort to prevent any impact on human or animal health.

The MetalX Delta facility was designed and constructed with an onsite reservoir that contains approximately 6 million gallons of water, MetalX reports. The primary function of the reservoir is to provide a continuous water source for fighting fires. There are three dedicated fire access intake points as well as direct reservoir access for fire trucks. The facility was designed in such a way that as water is pumped out, it returns to the reservoir as run off and is recirculated for ongoing firefighting activities, as a closed loop system that prevents the water from leaving the site. The MetalX facility also has deep well capacity to refill the reservoir during a fire event as well as a dedicated water distribution system around the shredder that draws water from the reservoir to assist with extinguishing the fire and to protect personnel and machinery.

MetalX CEO Danny Rifkin says, “While this is truly an unfortunate event, we are most relieved that no one was hurt and that there is no impact on the health of our employees or the community. We are grateful for the tireless efforts of the firefighters from the surrounding area that came to our aid, as well as the support from the village and the county during this event. We particularly want to recognize our own team, many of whom have been on site since the fire was detected, and who have responded calmly and effectively as the situation has unfolded.”

The tool gives MRF operators, sorting centers access to critical operational data on its equipment.

Pellenc ST, based in Pertuis, France, offers its Smart & Share tool to help customers transform data into resources. As a real performance support tool, Smart & Share has been designed to continuously analyze optical sorters and help material recovery facility (MRF) operators and sorting centers optimize their performance. According to Pellenc ST, Smart & Share complements existing solutions for overall process supervision and control.

According to a news release from Pellenc, Smart & Share provides access to critical operational data (such as machine status, stream composition and throughput) to ensure operational continuity and improve the sorting quality. Users also benefit from customized intelligent alerts to optimize their preventive maintenance and the availability rate of their equipment.

Pellenc ST works with its customers to develop a tailor-made business solution with dedicated dashboards that utilize this digital service.

Pellenc ST has also set up processes and dedicated organization to support operators. The company’s experts provide remote monitoring, alerting and data analysis, Pellenc reports in a news release. Using this information as part of a Global Performance Plan, the company recommends targeted actions to maintain their production tools to their full potential.

The Smart & Share solution is a software-as-a-solution (SaaS)-connected maintenance application that guarantees secure data that is accessible in real time and remotely on all types of media. The Smart & Share is currently being deployed in Pellenc’s main territories to meet the growing requirements of sorting quality and guarantee a sustainable and profitable circular economy. 

The company’s U.S. subsidiary, Pellenc ST America, is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Aluminum Association, Arlington, Virginia, released a study on the aluminum can’s sustainability performance.

The Aluminum Association, Arlington, Virginia, and the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), Washington, have released a report that shows that aluminum cans can outperform competitive packaging types on a number of key sustainability metrics. 

“The Aluminum Can Advantage: Key Sustainability Performance Indicators 2019” finds that consumers recycle aluminum cans at nearly double the rate of glass or plastic bottles and that average recycled content for an aluminum can produced in the United States rose from 70 to 73 percent, compared with 23 percent for glass and 3 percent for plastic. Also, the report states that aluminum can scrap is more valuable than glass or plastic in recycling bins, and as a result, aluminum subsidizes the recycling of less valuable material in the residential recycling stream. 

“Can manufacturers take great pride in providing the most sustainable package in the world,” says Robert Budway, president and CEO of CMI. “When consumers have finished enjoying their favorite beverages in aluminum cans, they should go the extra mile to recycle aluminum cans. Cans are the backbone of our country’s recycling system, and every can properly recycled makes a significant, positive impact in saving resources for future generations.”

The study tracks a number of sustainability “key performance indicators” for the aluminum beverage can, including industry recycling rate, consumer recycling rate, recycled content and value of material. According to the Aluminum Association, these indicators provide a holistic view of the sustainability performance of the can as a guide for consumers, customers, nongovernmental organizations, policymakers and other stakeholders across the value chain. The following were some of the results of the study:

• The industry recycling rate, which factors in used beverage container (UBC) imports and exports, remained steady in 2017 and 2018 at 63.3 and 63.6 percent, respectively. This exceeds the 20-year average industry recycling rate of 59.1 percent and is an indicator of the industry’s commitment to using recycled material in aluminum can production.

• The consumer recycling rate for aluminum beverage cans jumped nearly 5 percentage points to 49.8 percent in 2018 from 45.1 percent in 2017. The 20-year average for the aluminum can recycling rate is 50.1 percent.

• The average recycled content of an aluminum can (last updated in 2014) rose from 70 to 73 percent, exceeding other packaging types such as glass and plastic. 

• The aluminum can remains the most valuable package in the recycling bin, with a value per ton of $1,317 per ton compared with $299 per ton for plastic and $20 per ton for glass. 

“For every 5 percent increase in consumer recycling [of aluminum], approximately $100 million in aluminum value is saved from landfills,” Budway adds. “It is no exaggeration to say that the modern recycling system could not work economically without the contributions of aluminum.”

Multiple independent studies have concluded that aluminum is the only beverage container type in the recycling bin that generates a net profit for municipal recycling programs. For example, a study of the “Blue Box” curbside program in Ontario, Canada, showed that aluminum cans brought in $290 per ton of material collected in 2018 (after costs) while glass and plastic cost the system money. Similarly, according to CalRecycle data, aluminum cans generate $831 per ton collected in California’s bottle deposit system (after costs) while plastic and glass cost the system $253 and $120 respectively per ton of material collected.   

“The economic logic is simple: the more aluminum we can return back to the recycling stream, the healthier the overall system,” says Lauren Wilk, vice president for policy and international trade at the Aluminum Association. 

Each year in the United States about 45 billion cans, or more than $800 million worth of aluminum, end up in landfills, which is the equivalent of eleven 12-packs of cans for every person in the United States, the Aluminum Association reports in a news release on the study. The aluminum can industry supports efforts to increase recycling through public education, advocacy for public policy to increase the quantity and quality of recovered aluminum and engagement with groups, including The Recycling Partnership, which is a multimaterial nonprofit working with local municipalities to measurably improve residential curbside recycling programs and infrastructure.

For more information on the study, “The Aluminum Can Advantage: Key Sustainability Performance Indicators 2019” report can be found online here.