Atlas Copco to acquire Focus and Prisma in India

Atlas Copco, India, has exercised an option to buy the remaining 75 percent of shares in Focus Rocbit and Prisma Roctools. They provide complementary products and services for rotary and down-the-hole drilling. The acquisitions will strengthen Atlas Copco’s position in the market for drill bits and hammers.

Atlas Copco acquired 25 percent of the companies in April, 2008 and the companies have been operating as joint ventures of the Secoroc division since then. Focus is a manufacturer of bits for rotary drilling and Prisma makes bits and hammers for down-the-hole drilling. They are headquartered in Hyderabad, India.

As part of the acquisition agreement, Focus Mining Service Company, out of Charleston, West Virginia, will continue to act as an Atlas Copco distributor, primarily in the eastern coal markets.

Veteran scrap trader Fred Rosenfeld joins Krentzman

Krentzman Metals Corporation (KMC), a scrap broker, based in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, with a buying office in Toronto, announced that veteran scrap trader and broker Fred Rosenfeld has joined the Krentzman firm in a new Port Jefferson, New York office.

Rosenfeld will head the newly created River Division of KMC, which will specialize in the domestic and export sales of ferrous and copper-bearing scrap materials and usable metal products.

Halvorsen returns as Hallco’s general manager

Russ Halvorsen returned to Hallco Industries, Inc. after a 7-year hiatus.

Halvorsen will hold the same position of general manager that he held for 12 years prior to the split.

CARE releases annual carpet recycling report

The Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) released figures for 2008 that show a reduction in the recycling and diversion of post-consumer carpet, compared to 2007 levels.

CARE’s 2008 Annual Report, presented at the organization’s annual conference, showed that 243.4 million pounds of post-consumer carpet were recycled and 292.4 million pounds were diverted from landfills in 2008. These figures represent an 11.4 percent decrease in recycling and a .8 percent decrease in diversion compared to 2007.

However, according to CARE board chairman Frank Hurd, the decrease was less than expected by the group, especially in light of profoundly negative business results reported by other industries in 2008, and given the tough economic environment currently faced by United States businesses.

RecycleBank’s Ron Gonen receives award

Ron Gonen, co-founder and CEO of RecycleBank, is the recipient of the 2009 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Champion of the Earth award in the Entrepreneurial Vision category. Gonen is one of only seven honorees to earn the prestigious distinction this year and will be recognized at a special international ceremony held in conjunction with the Business for the Environment Summit (B4E) in Paris.

Champions of the Earth is an international environmental award established in 2004 by the UNEP to acknowledge the best and brightest who have made a significant contribution globally, regionally and beyond, to the protection and sustainable management of the earth’s environment and natural resources.

This year’s award recognizes prominent and inspirational examples of environmental leadership in the areas of Policy Leadership, Science and Innovation, Entrepreneurial Vision, Inspiration and Action, and Next-Generation Champions.

Gonen was chosen for his environmental leadership as co-founder of RecycleBank. RecycleBank recycling carts are outfitted with RFID tags and RecycleBank uses a proprietary technology to record and translate the amount each home recycles into RecycleBank Points that can be used to shop at over 1,400 local and national businesses.

Company Wrench completes acquisition

Company Wrench, headquartered in Carroll, Ohio, has acquired the demolition and scrap metal recycling assets of Interstate Equipment Co. of Lexington Kentucky. Growing in a down market through acquisition has become Company Wrench’s focus.

Through this agreement, Company Wrench will market its specialty demolition and scrap processing products in Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition, Company Wrench has recently established branch locations in Columbia, South Carolina and Pasco, Washington.

Verenium appoints Levine executive VP and CEO

Verenium Corporation announced the appointment of James E. Levine to the position of executive vice president and chief financial officer. Levine will report directly to Carlos A. Riva, Verenium’s president and chief executive officer.

Prior to joining Verenium, Levine held various positions with Goldman Sachs & Co., most recently as a managing director in the Power and Utilities Group in New York. Prior to that, he was a managing director in the Energy Group in London. The majority of his tenure at Goldman Sachs & Co. centered on investment banking in the oil and gas industries, with a particular focus on the refining and marketing sectors.

Norb Geiss joins SiCon America in Florida office

SiCon America opened a new sales and consulting office for the Americas in Venice, Florida. Norb Geiss has joined SiCon GmbH.

Geiss will be representing SiCon America, and their equipment partners, to provide innovative recycling solutions that implement custom-tailored turnkey metal recovery and greener ASR recycling systems.

Geiss held many management positions during his 30 years in the shredding, metals separation, used auto part and sales/administrative functions of The David J. Joseph Company, in the United States and Europe.

Primary Energy Recycling declares cash distribution

Primary Energy Recycling Corporation announced that a cash distribution of Cdn$ 0.06667 per enhanced income security (EIS) of the company will be paid on June 30, 2009 to holders of record on May 29, 2009.

Each EIS consists of one common share and a subordinated note with par value of Cdn$ 2.50 which pays interest at a rate of 11.75 percent per annum. The EISs trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PRI.UN. The total distribution of Cdn$ 0.06667 per EIS reflects a cash distribution of Cdn$ 0.04219 per common share and an interest payment of Cdn$ 0.02448 per subordinated note for the period from May 1 to May 31, 2009.

Deltalok USA expands management team

Deltalok announced the addition of Robert Race, P.E. to its management team in the capacity of director of engineering services for Deltalok USA.

Race comes to Deltalok with over 20 years of expertise in the design, testing, implementation, marketing, training and sales of retaining wall systems for civil engineering applications. His work includes senior management roles at Millenia Retaining Walls, Keystone Retaining Wall Systems, The Tensar Corporation and Stone & Webster Engineering. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and master’s degrees from Purdue University and Georgia College.

Harsco names CEO for Harsco Metals group

Harsco Corporation announced the appointment of Galdino Claro as the new CEO of its global Harsco Metals business group, effective June 1, 2009. Claro will be directly responsible for more than 160 locations in over 30 countries employing approximately 11,500 people.

Claro comes to Harsco with nearly 30 years of executive leadership experience in the worldwide metals industry, including 20 years as an international operations executive within Alcoa Inc. where he led the strategic growth of operations in the Asia-Pacific, European and Latin American regions. He joins Harsco from Aleris International Inc., a Texas Pacific Group company and a global leader in the aluminum rolling and recycling industries, where he served as CEO of Aleris Americas.

Prior to Aleris, Claro was the president and CEO of the metals processing group of Heico Companies LLC, a Chicago-based firm specializing in acquiring underperforming companies and growing them into industry leaders.

Claro will be based in the United States, heading up a new global headquarters organization for Harsco Metals that will oversee the group’s regional headquarters throughout the world. He will be responsible for executing a number of key strategies of the Company including emerging market growth, as well as customer and market diversification. He will report to Geoffrey D. H. Butler, who as Harsco’s president and member of the Company’s Board of Directors will continue his overall responsibilities for the Company’s operations and strategic business objectives.

Norcal Waste Systems changes corporate name

Norcal Waste Systems has formally changed its corporate name to Recology.

The name is rooted in the company’s 89 year heritage as one of the nation’s first urban recyclers.

Recology has relocated to a Gold LEED-designed corporate office in downtown San Francisco. Environmentally, the new office space will achieve the highest performance certification practical in this building, saving energy, water and money.

Morbark and Great West Equipment join forces

Great West Equipment, of British Columbia, Canada, recently signed on as an exclusive dealer of Morbark recycling, forestry and tree care equipment. Great West has been serving the forestry and construction industries for 22 years.

Formerly Marcels Equipment, Ltd., Great West Equipment also offers Volvo Construction Equipment, used equipment, parts and service. They serve the province of British Columbia with nine locations: Campbell River, Cranbrook, Fort St. John, Kamloops, Nanaimo, Prince George, Vancouver, Vernon and Williams Lake.

Brosick to direct product strategy for Doosan

Stefan Brosick has been promoted to director of global product strategy for Doosan Infracore International. The appointment was made by Scott Nelson, chief executive officer, Doosan Infracore International.

In his new role, Brosick will be responsible for supporting the global development of Doosan Infracore International product strategy, working closely with regional product strategy leaders.

Brosick brings marketing and business development experience to his new position, having held marketing and business analyst roles with Bobcat Europe and Ingersoll Rand, as well as integration leader for marketing and sales for the Geith acquisition and product manager for DII Attachments businesses.

Most recently, Brosick served as industry marketing manager for Doosan Infracore Portable Power in Statesville, North Carolina. Before joining Ingersoll Rand in 2005, he was an independent owner-operator of a contracting business for seven years.

ROUND2 Inc. acquires PolymerCycle LLC

ROUND2 Inc. has announced the acquisition of PolymerCycle LLC, a national processor and reseller of plastics, including ABS, PC/ABS, HIPS and PC.

The acquisition complements ROUND2’s strategy to deliver a closed-loop recycling solution for processing eWaste.

Effective immediately, PolymerCycle will operate as a wholly-owned company from ROUND2’s 183,000 square foot facility in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, the largest electronics recycling facility in Texas.

EPA research indicates 18 percent of the 2.25 million tons of e-waste in the United States was recycled in 2007. With an EPA estimated 140 million TVs and computer monitors in storage, there is an impending avalanche of plastic byproduct waiting to be recovered. ROUND2 is positioned to assist clients and municipalities properly manage this potentially large flow of material.

Harsco names CEO for Harsco Metals group

Harsco Corporation announced the appointment of Galdino Claro as the new CEO of its global Harsco Metals business group, effective June 1, 2009. Claro will be directly responsible for more than 160 locations in over 30 countries employing approximately 11,500 people.

Claro comes to Harsco with nearly 30 years of executive leadership experience in the worldwide metals industry, including 20 years as an international operations executive within Alcoa Inc. where he led the strategic growth of operations in the Asia-Pacific, European and Latin American regions. He joins Harsco from Aleris International Inc., a Texas Pacific Group company and a global leader in the aluminum rolling and recycling industries, where he served as CEO of Aleris Americas.

Prior to Aleris, Claro was the president and CEO of the metals processing group of Heico Companies LLC, a Chicago-based firm specializing in acquiring underperforming companies and growing them into industry leaders.

Claro will be based in the United States, heading up a new global headquarters organization for Harsco Metals that will oversee the group’s regional headquarters throughout the world. He will be responsible for executing a number of key strategies of the Company including emerging market growth, as well as customer and market diversification. He will report to Geoffrey D. H. Butler, who as Harsco’s president and member of the Company’s Board of Directors will continue his overall responsibilities for the Company’s operations and strategic business objectives.

Enerkem awarded permit to build biofuels facility

Enerkem, a waste-to-biofuels technology company, announced that Enerkem GreenField Alberta Biofuels (EGAB) has completed the necessary environmental regulatory process and has been granted a permit to commence construction of a commercial facility to produce biofuels and green chemicals from sorted municipal solid waste in Edmonton, Alberta.

The permit was granted by Alberta Environment under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act of the Province of Alberta.

In 2008, EGAB entered into a 25-year agreement with the City of Edmonton to build and operate a waste-to-biofuels facility on municipal land and to receive the City’s sorted municipal solid waste as feedstock. The City of Edmonton will supply 100,000 tons of sorted municipal solid waste per year. The sorted municipal solid waste to be used is the end-waste after recycling and composting. These residues would otherwise be landfilled.

Construction of the biofuels facility is expected to begin by the end of 2009, at a total cost of approximately CDN$70 million.