Supplier News

Nu-Star Inc., parent company of the PowerPusher material handling line of equipment, has been acquired by Traction Capital, a Wayzata, Minnesota-based private equity and venture capital firm.

“As a longstanding leader in material handling solutions, we are proud to announce our recent acquisition by Traction Capital,” Nu-Star says. “This milestone marks the beginning of a new chapter in our journey, one that promises continued excellence and even greater value [for our] customers.”

The company says the arrangement offers the ability to introduce cutting-edge technologies and advanced solutions into its product line. In its notice to customers, Nu-Star says, “We are enthusiastic about enhancing our offerings and services to better serve your unique needs. Our aim is to provide you with even more effective and efficient material handling solutions.”

At the same time, the company says the acquisition is not entirely about what will change. “We want to assure you that our commitment to providing the highest-quality products and exceptional customer service remains unwavering. “The Nu-Star team you know and trust will continue to be at your service, and there will be no disruptions to our day-to-day operations,” it adds.

Private equity firm Traction Capital comprises entrepreneurs and business owners and offers financial investment and guidance. Shakopee, Minnesota-based Nu-Star provides engineered material handling solutions designed to provide cost-effective load-moving solutions with its PowerPusher brand applications, including construction, renovation, recycling and solid waste. The company’s history dates to 1959.

“Traction Capital’s expertise aligns perfectly with our goals to enhance customer service and deliver the best solutions in the industry,” Nu-Star Vice President Ryan Blesi says. “We are confident that our collaboration will bring about significant improvements.”

M&J Recycling unveils automated welding robot

Denmark-based M&J Recycling has inaugurated a new fully automated welding robot cell. The green-tech company focused on manufacturing shredders for waste management says the welding robot will double capacity by eliminating a wide range of manual processes. Additionally, M&J says the robot’s induction heating method prevents loss of energy, resulting in a 20 percent reduction in its overall carbon emissions. 

“There is much to be excited about with our new welding robot,” says M&J CEO Uffe Hansen. “We’ve used robotics for more than 10 years, so the technology and process are not new to us. However, the new investment turbocharges our production output as even more processes will be automated. This shortens delivery time and secures even higher product quality and, not least, it helps us meet our ambitious ESG [environmental, social and corporate governance] goals.”

M&J Recycling says it first began automating production in 2010 and, as the company looks to accelerate production, finding ways to optimize the production of shafts for its shredders became a priority. Preprogammed and automated, the welding robot provides seamless and efficient production of shafts for any M&J shredder model, according to the company.

The next-generation welding robot is precise to the millimeter, M&J says, and provides easier and safer handling, simplifying employees’ lives with proper working postures and easy programming. The robot handles the welding of knives from start to finish, allowing employees to change the shaft design with the push of a button.

“It’s a fantastic feeling for everyone who has been involved in the process to finally see it in action,” says Kasper Hansen, head of global supply chain for M&J. 

New Way Trucks partners with Iser Equipment

Iowa-based garbage truck manufacturer New Way Trucks has appointed Iser Equipment as its exclusive distributor partner for the state of Ohio.

Lancaster, Ohio-based Iser Equipment is a new business founded by Josh and Katie Iser, and the Iser Equipment sales team has a combined 50 years of refuse equipment experience within the state of Ohio—including eight years of direct representation of the New Way Trucks brand.

“We are grateful to Josh for his years at New Way developing the Ohio market area and are pleased to be partnering with his new company to continue to offer New Way and K-PAC products to our existing and new Ohio customers,” says Don Ross, chief sales officer at New Way.

Josh Iser has 20 years of experience in the waste and recycling equipment industry, including warehouse management and aftermarket parts sales, territory sales management and distributor development in a combined total of 28 states. He most recently served as a regional sales manager for New Way Trucks.

“Our industry experience allows us to offer a complete portfolio of refuse industry-related products, while our existing customer relationships will streamline our path to success for not only our company, but for New Way as well,” Josh Iser says.

New Way Trucks is North America’s largest privately held refuse equipment manufacturer. Iser Equipment assumed responsibility for the Ohio market area effective Jan. 1.

Hydron Energy receives grant to scale gas upgrading system

Hydron Energy Inc., a North Vancouver, British Columbia-based clean fuel company commercializing a gas upgrading solution, has received a $365,000 grant from the Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF), an Ottawa, Ontario-based capital venture firm.

Hydron, founded in 2020, has developed what it says is a first-of-a-kind gas upgrader, the Intensified Regenerative Upgrading Platform Technology (INTRUPTor), that produces low-cost renewable fuels, such as renewable natural gas (RNG) from biogas and clean hydrogen from syngas.

“The high cost of biogas upgrading is an obstacle on the renewable natural gas development path. The first-generation INTRUPTor was developed for a mobile solution at Hydron’s facility in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada, to reduce the cost significantly,” Hydron President and CEO Soheil Khiavi says. “With the grant from NGIF, Hydron will be able to scale up this disruptive technology by orders of magnitude to service the conventional biogas upgrading market.”

Hydron Energy’s INTRUPTor system is described as a platform solution that converts biogas, landfill gas, syngas and natural gas into a pipeline-quality RNG. The compact system will provide significant capital and operating cost savings over conventional gas upgrading technologies, according to the company.

The system uses two proprietary technologies: novel nanoporous sorbent in parallel passage contactor form, replacing conventional adsorbents in bead forms, and integrated rotary valves, replacing solenoid-actuated valves used in cyclic pressure swing adsorption, NGIF says. This approach intensifies the process compared with incumbent systems, with the associated benefits of lower capital and operating costs. 

Hydron Energy is focused on providing an affordable and scalable solution to produce RNG from anaerobically digested biofuels. The grant from NGIF will provide funding for further product development and scale-up for the system. Hydron Energy is scaling up core components of the INTRUPTor system by up to 10 times.

The INTRUPTor operates in ambient conditions and does not require feed compressors, vacuum pumps, feed gas drying units or exhaust gas posttreatment systems to produce pipeline-quality RNG. As a result, Hydron says the system reduces capital and operating costs by up to 50 percent over conventional systems and delivers what the firm says is an industry-leading carbon intensity score.

Hydron will enter the existing biogas market with multiple sizes of the INTRUPTor. The system upgrades biogas for facilities from 100 normal cubic meters per hour (Nm3/hr) up to 3,800 Nm3/hr, offering an option to producers that previously wouldn’t have been able to upgrade to high-quality gas for various reasons.