Upstate acquires Towanda Iron & Metal

Upstate Shredding - Ben Weitsman & Son announced the acquisition of the property and assets of Towanda Iron & Metal, Inc., in an all-cash transaction. The closing will take place on January 2, 2011. The Towanda Iron & Metal scrap metal business, located at One River Street in Towanda, has been serving the northeastern Pennsylvania area for over 60 years. M. Barry Aronson originally purchased the company in 1947 from Sol Spitulnik.

It will be renamed Ben Weitsman of Towanda. Brad Aronson, the current president and owner, will manage the location. All current managers and staff will remain to ensure business continuity.

Smurfit-Stone promotes Craig A. Hunt

Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation’s board of directors has named Craig A. Hunt to the position of chief administrative officer and general counsel. Hunt currently serves as senior vice president, secretary and general counsel.

Hunt joined the legal department of the former Jefferson Smurfit Corporation in 1990 and has served as general counsel for the past 12 years. In his new role, he will be responsible for all of the company’s non-financial corporate functions and will continue to report to the chief executive officer.

Three elected to American Solar Energy Society Board

The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) has elected three new members to its board of directors.

Mary Guzowski, associate professor of architecture at the University of Minnesota, represents the solar buildings division. She works on Minnesota’s Initiative for Renewable Energy in Architecture (reARCH), and is the author of the books Daylighting for Sustainable Design and Toward Zero-Energy Architecture.

David Panich, LEED AIA, an owner at Panich + Noel Architects in Parkersburg, West Virginia, represents the ASES Sustainability Division. A 1971 graduate of the Ohio University School of Architecture, he has been designing passive-solar and energy-conserving residential and commercial buildings throughout his career. He serves on the board of Green Energy Ohio.

Phil Smithers is technical services leader in the renewable energy unit of APS, Arizona’s largest electric utility company. He represents the ASES Clean Energy Division. His background is in civil, structural and mechanical design and project management and transmission siting.

Universal increases stainless bar base prices

Universal Stainless announced a base price increase of 3 percent on all stainless bar products effective for all new orders placed, shipping January 1, 2011 forward.

IESI-BFC selects new president and COO

IESI-BFC Ltd. has selected Joseph Quarin to serve as its president and chief operating officer, effective immediately. Quarin will succeed Mickey Flood, current president of the company. Flood will become a vice chairman of the company and IESI Corporation, IESI-BFC Ltd.’s United States subsidiary.

Quarin will immediately assume responsibility for all of the company’s operations. This appointment is the result of a comprehensive succession planning process led by the company’s board of directors, and will help ensure a smooth transition of operational responsibilities within the organization.

Quarin currently serves as the company’s executive vice president and has been with the company since its inception in 2000. Prior to this year, Quarin held the position of executive vice president and Canadian chief operating officer, was chief financial officer from February 2002 through September 2005, and vice president, finance from July 2000 through February 2002.

EnergySolutions adds David Lockwood to board

EnergySolutions, Inc. has added David Lockwood to its board of directors. Lockwood is a founder and managing partner of ValueAct SmallCap.

Prior to founding ValueAct SmallCap in 2006, Lockwood was chairman and CEO of Liberate Technologies, a provider of software to digital media companies. Lockwood also previously served as vice chairman and CEO of Intertrust Technologies Corporation, a company that develops software for digital rights management and licenses intellectual property.

Newpark Resources hires new president

Jeff Juergens has been named president of Newpark’s Mats and Integrated Services and Environmental Services businesses. Juergens will also serve as an executive officer of the company and will be based in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Before joining Newpark, Juergens held the position of chief executive officer of B&B Oilfield Services, where he successfully led and refocused the company to regain profitability. Previously from 2007 to 2009, he was at Omni Energy Services, where he led the company’s Seismic Drilling Division as general manager. Prior to 2007, he served SPS International, a wellbore cleanup tools and technology company, as vice president international operations, with responsibility for the development of operations in Canada and Latin America. Juergens began his career with BJ Services and also worked for Baker Hughes.

Midpoint renames its container systems business

Midpoint International indicated that its recycling container business is now CleanRiver™ Recycling and Waste Stream Systems. The announcement coincided with the announcement that founder Bruce Buchan is assuming the new position of CEO and that David Jarrett has been named president.

Bruce Buchan started Midpoint International in 1990 as a distributor of office recycling products. Buchan is now CEO and assuming the role of “recycling ambassador.” As such he will work with organizations, government agencies, customers and other recycling advocates on ways to improve waste stream management and programs to make recycling more effective.

Jarrett joined the company as general manager in 2008 after holding management positions with Wiremold and Hubbell. An advocate of lean manufacturing, Jarrett has introduced continuous improvement initiatives, Kan Ban ordering and Kaizen to sharpen the company’s response time for custom orders.