U.K.-based maker of crushing equipment names Lee Johns to global sales post.
United Kingdom-based crushing equipment maker Tesab Engineering has announced the appointment of Lee Johns as its sales director. Johns has spent more than a decade in the heavy equipment industry, most recently as general manager of U.K.-based JCB Financial Solutions.
The appointment of Johns, who will be based in the U.K., is effective immediately, says Tesab.
“Working previously for a global organization such as JCB allows me to quickly implement the structures and processes needed to move Tesap into a new era of growth,” says Johns. “There are tremendous opportunities in the crushing and screening sectors for new distributors, partners and customers and I can’t wait to get started on what will be an exciting journey.”
At JCB Financial Solutions, Johns dedicated much of his time at developing dealer, distributor and finance partner relationships, says Tesab.
Tesab says Johns “has developed unique insights through roles in sales, commercial and financial solutions,” and he will bring that experience to Tesab “to accelerate their growth aspirations in the short, medium and long term.”
Johns will lead the sales organization within the Tesab business and will work with the firm’s current distribution network as well as identifying and recruiting potential new dealers in his new role.
“Lee’s experience within the heavy equipment industry will allow him easily integrate into our existing dealer network while creating new relationships and distribution channels to keep pace with rising demand for our equipment worldwide,” says Ben Frettsome, a vice president with Tesab.
He adds, “We look forward to continuing and building on this momentum in a meaningful way to contribute to the business success of our partners and customers.”
Tesab, with manufacturing capacity in Northern Ireland, describes itself as part of the Canada-based McCloskey business unit within the Finland-based Metso Outotec organization.
Metso Outotec announced its acquisition of Tesab Engineering this April.
Germany-based Vecoplan says modular design and customized components can help recyclers tackle an ever-widening materials stream.
The world’s product and packaging designers are busy introducing new items that eventually will be discarded for recycling. To Germany-based shredding equipment manufacturer Vecoplan AG, that circumstance provides a reason to offer new varieties of shredders.
At the same time, the equipment maker says recycling plant operators can be wary of complications that can add to training or component replacement costs.
Thus, Vecoplan says it has “taken a fresh look” at its shredding machines and standardized the interfaces. Users also now can take advantage of a modular system that will handle a wide range of materials, the company adds.
Manufacturers of shredding equipment have long had to deal with special customer requirements in the recycling sector. That provides a reason, according to Vecoplan, to modify components such as rotors, cutting tips, counter knives and screens to match a given task.
These choices and the relevant combinations are critical to the performance and quality of the shredding process, Vecoplan states. One user may have to process especially tough materials while another might require electric motors that comply with specific standards in its operating region.
The design effort for such diverse solutions can be considerable, and manufacturers must keep an increasing number of different parts in stock in order to be prepared, the company adds.
In response, Vecoplan says it has modified its product architecture and established different system platforms depending on the application and size. It has also classified separate modules according to their specific function.
The interfaces used by operators, though, are standardized and the platforms remain unchanged, says the firm. “Application engineers can put together suitable products according to each customer’s needs, much in the way vehicle manufacturers use a configurator,” states Vecoplan.
A shredder buyer or operator can select appropriate modules for the screen, the rotor and the drive. Each module is available in different variants and can be combined as needed with other assemblies, according to Vecoplan.
Components such as cutting tools, counter knives, screens and rotors have been organized in a grid with uniform module sizes. The Vecoplan grid allows shredders to vary in width by small increments from 800 to more than 3,200 millimeters (31 inches to 10.5 feet).
Vecoplan debuted its modular system on its VIZ shredder line at a trade fair in Germany in 2019. It says it is extending the principle to its entire range of shredding machines and plans to present several platforms in the months ahead. The company also is planning additions at the module level to make its shredders more versatile for buyers to be “perfectly matched to their needs.”
“A wide range of tool sizes and types can be mapped within this grid without the need to change the designs of adjoining components,” says Vecoplan, which also is applying a similar grid idea to other components such as drives.
Thanks to this grid principle, Vecoplan can design custom solutions within the spectrum while at the same time maintaining a manageable degree of complexity, the company says. “There is no need to start from scratch with the design, and no time-consuming special solution is necessary."
When a user decides to purchase a new machine adapted to its requirements, Vecoplan can tailor a shredder faster and manufacture it immediately, claims the company. As the grid concept takes hold, customers also benefit from even faster parts availability thanks to streamlined warehousing, adds Vecoplan.
Retrofitting remains an option for “the various modules,” according to Vecoplan, allowing the machine’s functionality to be adapted to changing requirements.
Latest weekly U.S. figure shows a small decline from previous week and 6 percent drop from one year ago.
The Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) says in the week ending July 16, 2022, steel production in the United States checked in at 1.74 million tons at a capability utilization (mill capacity) rate of 78.9 percent.
The weekly figure is down 0.6 percent from the previous week ending July 9, 2022, when production was 1.75 million tons and the rate of capability utilization was 79.3 percent.
One year ago, in the week ending July 16, 2021, output was 1.86 million tons, representing a 6.7 percent decrease year on year. The mill capacity rate one year ago was 84.4 percent.
Year-to-date steel production in the U.S. through July 16, 2022, stands at 49.35 million tons, which is down 2.5 percent from the 50.62 million tons made during the same period last year.
The mill capacity rate year to date, at 80.4 percent, is not greatly changed from last year’s 80.1 percent rate through July 16, 2021.
The stagnant steel situation in the U.S. will not help the price of ferrous scrap, which already is suffering from a lack of export market demand. Pricing service Argus has calculated the No. 1 busheling grade as having a $480 per ton national average price in the early July buying period. That means its value dropped a whopping $150 per ton, or nearly 24 percent, in just 30 days.
Legislation proposed in Massachusetts could let property owners avoid some cleanup costs to redevelop power plant site.
While retired coal-fired power plants have been providing a source of steady work for demolition contractors, one natural gas-fired plant in Massachusetts may soon be demolished to make way for a professional soccer team’s stadium.
According to local media reports in the Boston area, legislators in the Bay State have been moving forward with a bill that would allow the New England Revolution to build a soccer stadium on the site of the Mystic Generating Station in Everett, Massachusetts, currently operated by Constellation Energy.
The Revolution Major League Soccer team is owned by Robert Kraft and other members of the Kraft family, who also own forest products conglomerate International Forest Products (IFP) and the New England Patriots football team. The Kraft Group also owns packaging board producer New Indy Containerboard.
The Boston Globe indicates a state legislative proposal would essentially rezone the power plant’s land away from a marine or port exclusive status to a more general-purpose designation. That same legislation reportedly also exempts the property from some environmental cleanup hurdles that would be in place for other redevelopment purposes.
A writeup on the Peabody, Massachusetts-based Banker & Tradesman website indicates an economic development bill moving through the Massachusetts House of Representatives “includes a clause that removes Constellation Energy’s 43-acre Mystic Generating Station property from a designated port area and exempts it from the Chapter 91 waterfront access law, which includes state limits on uses and size of buildings.”
According to that same writeup, the amendment also “removes a layer of regulatory oversight under the Chapter 91 Public Waterfront Act that seeks to balance competing economic interests on coastal properties.”
The Boston Globe’s coverage says the proposed legislation “would exempt the 43-acre industrial property straddling the Everett and Boston line from a slew of environmental requirements.”
According to the Banker & Tradesman, however, the project will be “subject to a local review and opportunities for public comment.” The website quotes one environmental advocacy group staff member who expresses alarm about the legislature’s request to have the property “removed from jurisdiction by the legislature.”
On its website, Constellation Energy describes the Mystic Generating as “a six-unit, 1,413-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fueled electric generation facility” that operates “two-on-one combined-cycle gas turbines.”
The ISO-New England regional standards organization issued a notice in July of last year indicating “the Mystic Generating Station will retire on June 1, 2024.” Media reports indicate the plant’s reliance on imported liquified natural gas, partly from Yemen, was rendering it less profitable in the energy marketplace.
Portions of the Metrocenter Mall complex, including a movie theater, will remain on the site.
One of the largest shopping malls in the western United States, Metrocenter Mall in Phoenix, is headed for a demolition process if a proposed redevelopment plan is finalized.
The 1.4 million-square-foot mall, situated on more than 80 acres, is joining the sizable group of shopping malls that are either being demolished or, in some cases, converted to Amazon distribution centers or other non-retail uses.
According to an online article by Phoenix-based National Public Radio affiliate KJZZ, Metrocenter Mall opened in 1973. In 1989, it gained some screen time as a chase scene setting in the movie, “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.”
In its heyday, the mall hosted as many as five department stores, according to the radio station. As with shopping malls across the U.S., the last couple of decades saw its retail vibrancy diminish until it closed last year.
The property’s current owners, Miami-based Concord Wilshire Companies and Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based TLG Investment Partners, say they are planning a redevelopment effort that will include parks, an amphitheater and more than 2,600 apartments. Phoenix area developer Hines also will be involved in the redevelopment.
While the vast majority of the retail space will be dismantled, KJZZ reports that a movie theater and a Dillard’s department store “Clearance Center” will remain on the site and be integrated into the new development.
A spokesperson from the development consortium tells the radio station the construction project carries an estimated $750 million price tag.
Nate Sirang, president of Concord Wilshire, is quoted as saying that the 80 acres of land “right in the heart of Phoenix” make it a rare mixed-use development opportunity in the region.
KJZZ says Phoenix city council members are indicating they likely will support the redevelopment effort by approving bonds to build public parking at the site, in part to connect with a light rail network that is under construction.