Supplier News

Rotochopper hosts field day events across US

Over the course of the last several months, St. Martin, Minnesota-based Rotochopper has hosted three field day events across the country. The events, hosted at Rotochopper customer sites in Wisconsin, Tennessee and Texas, provided an opportunity for attendees to see Rotochopper equipment in action, network with other business owners and operators and connect with the Rotochopper team.

The first event was conducted at Hay Creek Companies in Pittsville, Wisconsin. Machines demoed at the event included two horizontal grinders owned by Hay Creek Companies—a B-66 and an EC-366 that feeds into a Rotochopper RMT Hammermill. In addition, the 75DK slow-speed shredder, GB-250 Bagger and Rotochopper’s new 365R Radial Stacking Conveyor were demonstrated at the event. During the field day, attendees were able to tour Hay Creek Companies facility and learn more about their operation in which they produce animal bedding, wood pellets and mulch.

The next event was hosted at The Compost Company outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Rotochopper’s Mid-Atlantic sales team provided attendees with a full day of demonstrations and learning. The day included demos of the Rotochopper B-66L, FP-66, 75DK Shredder and a GB-250. In between machine demos, attendees were also able to learn more about Rotochopper’s exclusive screen change system.

The final event was hosted by Rotochopper’s South-Central sales team at GWG Wood Group in Dallas. Attendees were able to see the B-66L grind green waste and whole logs and. after a screen change, switch to quickly process regrinding material. The MP-2 showed its ability to efficiently grind pallets and pallet scrap. Additionally, the 75DK Shredder was on-site to demo C&D materials and tires. Attendees were also able to view GWG’s two machines, the B-66 and B-66E, in action. Combined, these machines have over 11,000 hours logged. Rotochopper also provided a presentation on RotoLink to share the advantages of a remote monitoring system with attendees.

“The Rotochopper field day events provide a unique opportunity for attendees from a regional area to participate in an up-close-and-personal demo event. Attendees are able to not only learn from the Rotochopper sales and service team, but also from other business owners. The connections made at these events are immeasurable,” Rotochopper Marketing Manager Nicole Klein says.

AMCS acquires Dossier Systems

AMCS Group, Limerick, Ireland, announced Nov. 16 that it has acquired Dossier Systems for an undisclosed amount.

According to the company, Dossier fleet maintenance software helps companies to reduce downtime and maintenance costs, extend life of equipment, reduce parts costs and inventory, increase productivity and reduce fuel and tire costs.

Following the acquisition, the Dossier Systems’ team of almost 50 professionals, including their management team, will join AMCS. More than 750 new customers will be added to the existing AMCS customer base.

“We are very excited to expand our business with the acquisition of Dossier Systems, a brand that has earned a national reputation in North America as one of the most trusted names in the industry for fleet management maintenance software,” Jimmy Martin, CEO and co-founder of the AMCS Group, says.

“This acquisition will enable us to deliver and support Dossier’s unique SaaS (software as a service) solution for fleet maintenance on a global scale. We will be bringing the solution to the AMCS Platform where we envision integrations with our current solutions including ERP (enterprise resource planning), smart dispatch, mobile workforce, vehicle technology and route optimization so customers can benefit from a unique set of integrated capabilities. We look forward to welcoming new team members and integrating our combined teams under AMCS while continuing to innovate and grow in response to global demand,” Martin continues.

“I’m excited for Dossier to become part of AMCS and believe our customers and staff can look forward to a bright future,” Jack Boetefuer, CEO and owner of Dossier Systems, says. “Personally, I’m honored to have had the opportunity to lead our wonderful team to this point. Dossier’s reputation for excellence in fleet maintenance management has been earned through lots of hard work and dedication going back to our beginnings in 1979—I fully expect that to continue under Jimmy’s leadership. Dossier is in good hands.”

Calgary Aggregate Recycling awarded $8M grant to construct soil reuse facility

Calgary Aggregate Recycling Inc. (CAR), a concrete, asphalt and aggregate recycling business in Calgary, Canada, has been awarded an $8 million grant from Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) to develop a C&D waste recycling plant that will be operational by 2022.

The company says the grant will go towards building a fully operational soil reuse site at CAR’s current facility. The facility will recycle contaminated and mixed soils unsuitable for use in new construction. The wet processing technology to be used at the site will be supplied by Northern Ireland-based CDE. The goal is to significantly reduce waste and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while also improving economic recovery and long-term sustainability. 

“We are privileged to work alongside Calgary Aggregate Recycling Inc. to deliver the first C&D recycling system of its kind in Canada. The environmental benefits of this project are huge—the solution will divert over half a million tons of waste destined for landfill into valuable resources for the construction industry. It also eliminates the requirement to haul material across 350 kilometers to landfill, saving an estimated 22,567 tons of greenhouse gas emissions in Alberta annually,” Adrian Convery, business development manager at CDE, says. The facility is made possible through ERA’s Shovel-Ready Challenge via the government of Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction fund (TIER).

According to a news release from CAR, by weight, contaminated soil is Alberta’s largest hazardous waste stream, with an estimated 3 million metric tons of contaminated soil landfilled in Alberta annually. CAR says the soil washing technology to be deployed at the site has been proven to reduce carbon emissions in the construction industry by diverting contaminated waste away from landfills and turning it into products for reuse.

“At Calgary Aggregate, our mission is to reduce the cost of construction—socially, environmentally and economically,” says Travis Powell, president of Calgary Aggregate Recycling Inc. “With the support from ERA and the government of Alberta, we are pleased to construct Canada’s first C&D waste recycling plant to disrupt the out-of-date practices in the construction industry with economical and viable solutions to position Alberta as a leader in sustainable and responsible construction.”

CAR says its soil reuse facility will reduce soil waste in landfills, reduce aggregate mining, reclaim communities, reduce environmental impacts and create jobs. The facility will have the capacity to recycle 600,000 metric tons of excavated construction materials annually. It will also redirect 510,000 metric tons of soil from landfills and reduce GHG emissions in Alberta by an estimated 22,567 metric tons annually.

Weima America names new CEO

Weima America, Fort Mill, South Carolina, the U.S. subsidiary of Weima Maschinenbau GmbH of Ilsfeld, Germany, says its growth has prompted the company to strengthen its leadership team to better meet the needs of its current and future customers.

Madison Burt has been a member of the leadership team of Weima America for more than a decade. He will transition from the role of vice president of sales and marketing to CEO beginning Jan. 1, 2022.

A graduate of Mississippi State University, Burt has an extensive background in engineering, the company says. His career in size reduction began in the hammermill industry. He joined the Weima sales team in 2002.

“After more than 25 years in the size-reduction industry, I am thrilled to have been offered to lead Weima’s North American team. I see a bright future for Weima and look forward to continuing the momentum we have built,” Burt says.

As Burt shifts into his new role as CEO, Jeremy Boggs will assume the role of national sales manager.

Weima says Boggs has been an integral part of Weima’s growth since 2007. His skill set lends itself to overseeing the intricacies of the sales and engineering processes that take place prior to the shipment of a machine to a customer’s facility.

Weima has been manufacturing equipment used in the recycling industry for more than four decades and has sold more than 40,000 machines worldwide. Its lineup includes single-shaft shredders, four-shaft shredders, cutting mills, briquette presses and packaging and draining presses that are used in the wood, plastics, paper, packaging, metal and waste-to-energy industries.

King County, Washington, purchases Kenworth T680E BEV

Kenworth, Seattle, has announced that King County, Washington, has ordered a zero-emissions Kenworth T680E battery electric vehicle.

The vehicle is slated to be one of the first of its kind in the region to offer greener refuse collection.

King County is Washington’s most populous county with more than 2.7 million residents. The Kenworth T680E will operate in the county’s solid waste division, where it will be used to transfer refuse from King County’s Recycling and Transfer Station in Enumclaw to the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill in Maple Valley.

According to Pat McLaughlin, King County Solid Waste Division director, cities in King County were among the first in the U.S. to implement curbside recycling programs in the 1980s. When the Kenworth T680E is placed into service, it will become one of the first Class 8 zero-emissions trucks to be used in waste management in North America.

“We’re committed to protecting the natural resources that define our region,” said McLaughlin. “Deploying the Kenworth T680E is one of the steps we’re taking that will help us cut our carbon footprint and reduce diesel emissions while supporting the region’s need for responsible waste management.”

In 2020, King County announced its Strategic Climate Action Plan that sets goals directed at cutting greenhouse emissions in half by the end of the decade. To help accomplish this goal, King County plans to continue to add zero-emissions vehicles to its fleet.

“As a company headquartered within King County’s jurisdiction, we take pride in the county’s decision to add our Class 8 battery-electric truck,” said Jim Walenczak, Kenworth assistant general manager for sales and marketing. “We’re committed to manufacturing vehicles that are better for the environment and look forward to seeing King County’s T680E operating in our local community.”

The Kenworth T680E was ordered through Papé Kenworth Northwest–SeaTac and represents the first Kenworth battery electric vehicle order in Washington state. “This King County order for the zero-emissions T680E marks a significant milestone as our customers begin to seriously explore the environmental benefits of Kenworth electric vehicles,” said Mitch Hatfield, general manager of Papé Kenworth Northwest.

Designed for pickup and delivery, regional haul and drayage applications, the T680E is available as a day cab as either a tractor or straight truck in a 6x4 axle configuration. The new model is offered in an 82,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR).

Fecon adds Vermeer Texas-Louisiana as forestry mulcher dealer

Fecon LLC, Lebanon, Ohio, announced the addition of Vermeer Texas-Louisiana as a forestry mulcher dealer on Nov. 8. 

With 13 dealership locations throughout Texas and Louisiana, Vermeer Texas-Louisiana will begin stocking Fecon-made forestry mulching tractors and attachments in addition to their full lineup of Vermeer-branded forestry equipment.

With Texas dealership locations in Alamo, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Kilgore, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, San Antonio, Victoria and Waco, as well as a location in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Vermeer Texas-Louisiana offers new and used equipment for sale, as well as rental, parts sales and full-service capabilities.

Stadler, RecycleMe to conduct sorting tests

Germany-based international consultancy RecycleMe and Stadler Anlagenbau GmbH, also based in Germany, will cooperate to conduct sorting tests to determine the recyclability of packaging.

The tests will be performed at the Stadler Test and Innovation Center in Slovenia for RecycleMe GmbH—a company of the Raan Group, which also includes the Reclay Group companies active in the field of extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems.

At the test center, RecycleMe customers can analyze sorting behavior of their packaging under current real-life conditions.

“We are pleased to have Stadler as a globally active and renowned partner at our side,” says Sabrina Goebel, managing director at RecycleMe. “This cooperation allows us to offer our clients sorting tests under the best conditions using the latest technology, simulating the behavior of packaging in practice—and with meaningful quantities. This will enable us to further increase the quality of the results in our recyclability analysis and optimization of packaging.”

This testing will be made possible through RecycleMe’s Circulate Optimize initiative.

Once the behavior of a package has been analyzed by RecycleMe and Stadler, customers receive reports, a trend analysis and additional recommendations from the RecycleMe team, which is built around experts specializing in the circular economy and recycling industry.

Willi Stadler, managing director at Stadler, says, “I am very much looking forward to the joint projects and to the findings we will take away from them. Our Test and Innovation Center is representative of a state-of-the-art sorting plant. In addition, we have sensor technology that allows us to provide RecycleMe clients with tailor-made solutions.” 

He adds, “As one of the most sought-after specialists in the field of premium plant construction, we see ourselves as pioneers in our industry. By working with an innovative and well-connected company such as RecycleMe GmbH, we gain important insights into current market developments, which we will then incorporate into new projects.”