Mass production of the Doosan DD100 will begin in June and will launch in North America in the third quarter.
Hyundai Doosan Infracore (HDI), which has a North American office in Suwanee, Georgia, has shipped the first Doosan dozer model DD100, a 9-metric-ton dozer targeted at the North American market.
HDI also produced two additional pilot machines and shipped them to North America for various performance tests, sales, marketing and service training.
The mass production of the Doosan DD100 will begin in June and will launch in North America in the third quarter, according to the company. With the launch of the dozer, HDI hopes to create synergies with its existing excavator and wheel loader models.
“This is the next significant milestone in the development of the new Doosan dozers,” says Edward Song, CEO of Doosan Infracore North America. “Our North American dealers and their customers are eager for the arrival of the new Doosan dozers. We look forward to launching the new line of construction equipment later this year.”
The company says the dozer model was the first to be produced through the collaboration of various departments at HDI, including development analysis, market research, competitive benchmarking, validation and pilot vehicle assembly. In addition, purchasing and quality teams investigated parts supply while production teams completed the first production dozer model.
HDI also says it set plans for its 13-metric-ton dozer, the Doosan DD130, and will be shipping a pilot machine later this year. The company plans to start production as early as February 2023.
While grateful for booming demand, plastic recyclers are scrambling to fill orders.
Although plastics recyclers are enjoying the benefits of “massive demand and extremely high prices,” they are struggling to source sufficient feedstock to enable them to cope with this “undoubted boom time.”
That was the observation of Max Craipeau of Singapore-based Greencore Resources Ltd., who also chairs the Plastic Committee of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR). The committee met in late May in Barcelona at the BIR World Recycling Convention.
Steve Wong of Hong Kong-based Fukutomi Recycling Ltd., who also is executive president of the China Sustainable Plastics Association, said there is an urgent need for more investment in the plastic scrap upstream collection, sorting, grinding and washing infrastructure. In the Far East, he maintained, “most factories operate at less than 20 percent of their capacities.”
Craipeau also identified hugely increased shipping costs as “really restricting the flow of material globally.” Whereas a 40-foot container heading from Asia to Europe or the United States two years ago would have cost around $2,500, the outlay was now nearer $15,000, he said.
Among the other pressures within the plastics recycling sector, he listed the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, high energy prices, inflation and lack of labor.
An initiative intended to enhance global flows of quality recycled plastics was outlined by guest speaker Doug Woodring, founder and managing director of the Ocean Recovery Alliance. The Rebound Plastic Exchange, for which he holds the title of lead expert, is scheduled to go live in late August.
Woodring says the platform will seek to serve as a transparent global trading platform aimed at facilitating movements of bales, pellets and flakes on the basis of “certification, verification and trust.”
In the past, ministries and governments have heard the negative publicity surrounding trade in used plastics and have not wanted to be “caught out on the wrong side of the story,” Craipeau said. By implementing standardized facility inspection protocols and using well-known, global certification bodies, the Exchange will attempt to build their confidence in global trade while at the same time driving the innovation and investment required to boost circularity and propel the current global plastics recycling rate beyond its estimated 10 percent rate.
Woodring also identified lack of feedstock as a consistent challenge and contended that investment of $56 billion is required in the plastics processing infrastructure over the next five years, rising to $400 billion by 2040.
“Many, many big brands now finally are trying to get more recycled content into their products,” Woodring said, naming Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Ikea, Procter & Gamble and Unilever as examples. However, this was proving to be “a giant challenge” because the necessary supply chains were not in place and “you cannot find the feedstock,” he said to convention delegates.
According to Woodring’s presentation, the market for recycled material is forecast to grow around 30 percent from 2020 levels to $45.6 billion by 2025. “This is a very great opportunity for those of you in the recycling industry,” he said. But until the necessary infrastructure investments have been made, the annual shortfall of recycled material would be a minimum of 6 million metric tons, he added.
Referring to the Rebound Plastic Exchange’s focus on achieving consistency in inspection and quality, Sally Houghton of The Plastic Recycling Corp. of California said, “We need standardization at the collection level as well.”
Natalia Cruz of Spain-based Ferromolins SL welcomed the Exchange initiative as “a very useful tool” for all of those businesses involved in the search for solutions to circular economy challenges.
The 2022 BIR World Recycling Convention was May 22-25 in Barcelona.
Rumpke will supply plastic feedstock to the U.S. subsidiary of PTT Global Chemical for use in an upcoming manufacturing plant.
PTT Global Chemical America (PTTGCA) and Rumpke, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based waste and recycling company, have announced a plan to work together as PTTGCA establishes a new facility to create products from recycled plastic.
As reported by The Times Leader, the companies signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding regarding the provision of bale supply for a new recycling complex.
PTTGCA is the U.S. subsidiary of PTT Global Chemical Public Co. Limited, or GC, the largest integrated petrochemical and refining business in Thailand and the same company that has proposed the construction of a petrochemical complex in Belmont County.
In addition to the Belmont facility, Columbus-based spokesman Dan Williamson told The Times Leader that PTTGCA will soon announce the location of a new manufacturing plant of recycled plastics in the U.S. Rumpke has agreed to supply bales of plastics as feedstock to the facility once a final project investment decision is made by the end of 2022.
“This project is consistent with our full participation in the green economy and our ambitious goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to combat climate change,” says Panod Awaiwanond, CEO of PTTGCA. “We are proud to partner with Rumpke, which has earned its reputation as a leading U.S. recycling business.”
“As the leader in Ohio when it comes to recycling, we are always looking for new end users for our commodities,” Rumpke Director of Recycling Jeff Snyder says. “We are excited to have GC coming to the Midwest as this aligns nicely with our announcement of our new Resource Recycling plant in Columbus, Ohio, and the continued growth of recycling.”
As You Sow, Oceana, propose the company should report on its plastic use and take action to reduce plastic use.
Last week at Amazon’s annual meeting, 48 percent of the company’s shareholders voted in favor of a resolution asking the e-commerce giant to address its growing plastic packaging problem, falling just short of a majority.
As You Sow Senior Vice President Conrad MacKerron presented the resolution calling for Amazon to issue a report on its plastic packaging footprint and commit to reducing that footprint going forward. The proposal received the most support of any of the multiple resolutions considered at the meeting, with more than 181 million votes in its favor.
Oceana Senior Vice President Matt Littlejohn adds his voice to the nonprofit As You Sow, calling for Amazon to report publicly on its use of plastics in packaging, which, according to Oceana, increased 29 percent in a single year.
“Nearly half of Amazon shareholders have spoken up for the oceans, sending a clear message that it’s time for the company to address its contribution to the plastic pollution problem,” he says. “Sea turtles and other ocean animals often mistake plastic for food, which can ultimately prove fatal. Amazon is a data-driven company and has indicated to Oceana that it already measures its plastic use. It’s time for the company to be transparent about its plastic packaging and commit to quantifiable and time-bound companywide goals to reduce it.”
Ahead of the May 25 shareholders’ meeting, Oceana launched a campaign asking Amazon employees (who also are company shareholders) to support the resolution seeking transparency. The campaign included social media, canvassing, mobile billboards, 500 posters and 1,000 yard signs, as well as a letter to shareholders providing a rationale for the resolution.
Additionally, Oceana rallied support for the resolution from signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), some of whom are Amazon shareholders.
The multitine grab excels in terms of exceptional load-bearing capacity, resistance and durability.
Liebherr, a European construction and scrap handling equipment manufacturer, has launched the multitine grab GMM 50-5.
According to a news release from Liebherr, the multitine grab excels in terms of exceptional load-bearing capacity, resistance and durability. The equipment features a comprehensive portfolio of buckets and a wide selection of optional equipment, meaning diverse materials can be handled efficiently and economically in recycling and scrap handling. The GMM 50-5 is available for material handlers with an operating weight of between 35 to 55 metric tons.
The components of the GMM 50-5 are made of sturdy cast steel as well as low-wear, high-strength steel sheets. The consistent use of high-quality materials guarantees extreme stability and resistance for the toughest applications and material handling scenarios, and the special shape of the tine support and the buckets was developed based on state-of-the-art calculation and simulation software.
The company says it paid special attention to maximizing service life in the design phase. To split the high torque, the slewing drive, for example, was equipped as standard with two motors. Both rotary transmission and the reinforced slewing drive are sealed multiple times to give maximum protection against external factors such as dust and water.
Large and flow-optimized oil ducts ensure fast work speeds and efficient machine operation. The sealed, anti-twist piston rod protection for hydraulic cylinders is also included with the grab as standard. The latter comes with new cylinder kinematics, which guarantees a long-lasting and good closing mechanism when the tines become worn.
As the lubrication points are arranged ergonomically, the GMM 50-5 is supplied with the lubrication in a short space of time. Perfect tolerances and generously dimensioned bearing surfaces lead to a smooth interplay of the individual components, according to the company.
Due to the optional motor and hose protection, damage to rotary motors and hydraulic lines is minimized. An optional central lubrication system assumes regular, automatic lubrication of all central points. The GMM 50-5 can be equipped with shackles to protect magnetic plates. The tines can be equipped with a reinforcement set of wear-resistant sheets.
The GMM 50-5 is designed especially for optimal grabbing of mixed and shredder waste as well as chippings or shavings with content of up to 1.10 cubic meters. The arrangement and shape of the tines are optimized for perfect penetration and holding of bulky, loose material.
There is a choice of three different tines for handling diverse materials. The version with open tines can handle large-size and bulky scrap objects. The version with semiclosed tines handles medium-sized, mixed materials and shredding waste. Small, fine materials and chippings or shavings can be handled most effectively with closed, heart-shaped tines.