Sizable home of former Packard plant in Detroit has been vacant for more than two decades.
A judge in Michigan has ordered the demolition of the more than 100-year-old Packard auto plant in Detroit, deeming it a public nuisance.
According to AP News, Wayne County, Michigan, Circuit Court Judge Brian Sullivan determined that the plant’s owner, Fernando Palazuelo, and his company, Arte Express Detroit, “must remove all rubbish and debris” from the remaining buildings on the property before arranging for their demolition.
According to the HistoricDetroit website, design and construction work on the Packard Motor Car Co. plant began in 1903 and the complex “eventually grew to 80 some buildings spread across 80 acres.”
The last Packard was built there in the mid-1950s. In subsequent years, attempts were made to revive the site as “the Motor City Industrial Park.” But by 1999, those efforts ceased, and subsequently vandals and metal thieves set in “literally ripping the place apart, turning it into 3.5 million square feet of rubble and ruin,” says the website.
Judge Sullivan has not seen sufficient progress from that sorry state, apparently, with his ruling declaring the remaining structures “a public nuisance which interfere with common rights enjoyed by the general public by significantly threatening the public’s health, safety and welfare.”
The judge wants to see a quick timeline, ordering demolition and abatement work to start within 42 days, according to AP News. After 90 days, if cleanup work is not completed, the city of Detroit is authorized to have it done at Palazuelo’s expense, according to the report.
The news article does not determine if there is any remaining salvage or metal recycling value on the property, instead pointing to “costs [that[ are expected to be in the millions of dollars.”
A city official quoted by AP News expresses agreement with Judge Sullivan’s ruling, saying the “dangerous and blighted portions of the Packard plant” had recently yielded nothing but unpaid tax and utility bills.
CME analyst sees copper demand continuing to outpace supply.
Global demand for copper in several applications is rising, but “copper mining supply has grown by less than 2 percent per year since 2013” writes a CME analyst in a recently published report.
In an April 6 CME website post, Erik Norland, executive director and senior economist with the Chicago-based CME Group, says global sales of electrical vehicles (EVs) that surged 160 percent in 2021 are a leading factor in boosting demand for copper.
Norland writes, “Copper prices have risen 125 percent from their March 2020 [COVID 19-impacted] lows, and the red metal has been among the commodities hitting record high prices since the pandemic began.”
While high scale pricing may bring out a little more copper and brass scrap, that potential increase does not merit a mention from Norland, who focuses on the mining sector. “Over the past three decades mining output for copper grew far more slowly than for most other metals, rising just 123 percent. Over the same period, aluminum production grew by 256 percent and iron ore production rose by 257 percent,” he writes.
One factor for the mining sluggishness, Norland says, is that “the copper content of copper ore has declined steadily over time. While total discovered reserves of copper have continued to climb, the cost of extracting copper has been on the rise and a large part of that cost is energy.”
Soaring oil and gas prices costs give caution to mining investments, but they actually spur demand because of another market reaction. “The sharp rise in oil and natural gas prices in 2021 may be raising demand for copper by fueling interest in alternative technologies such as wind, solar, batteries and electric vehicles, all of which imply the use of copper either directly or indirectly,” he says.
Norland continues, “If EV sales continue to grow at this fast pace, increasing their market share relative to combustion engine-powered cars, it implies potentially strong demand growth for copper and other metals. The cost of EVs has been falling rapidly, and EVs may become less expensive than vehicles powered by combustion engines by the second half of the 2020s.”
Car buyers in China and Europe are particularly fond of EVs, he says. In the United States, EV sales might be slower, but another factor is prompting increased demand.
“Between December 2019 and December 2021, U.S. consumers spent 18 percent more on manufactured goods but only 6 percent more on services,” he writes. “Around the world, lockdowns and pandemic-related restrictions made it difficult for consumers to spend money on experiences like travel, dining out and entertainment. Instead, they shifted to purchasing more manufactured goods, including consumer electronics and other items that involve significant copper content.”
That particular prompt may be on the downward curve, but the overall message from Norland is that the historically high price of copper seems to be underpinned by legitimate supply and demand factors.
The TB2150R is among the company’s largest excavators.
Takeuchi, with its North American headquarters in Pendergrass, Georgia, has launched its newest excavator, the TB2150R. At 15 tons, it is among the company’s largest excavators, second only to the TB2150.
The primary difference between the new TB2150R and the TB2150 unit is the TB2150R’s fixed boom arrangement and reduced tail swing design. The company also offers a variety of compact excavators.
“The design of the TB2150R makes it an exceptional platform for applications that require more compact dimensions and powerful performance,” Takeuchi National Product Manager David Caldwell says. “These applications would include road and bridgework, urban revitalization projects, large scale utility installations and general construction.”
The TB2150R has an operating weight of 34,215 pounds, a maximum bucket breakout force of 22,256 pounds and a maximum arm digging force of 13,490 pounds. It is powered by a 114-horsepower DEUTZ TCD3.6L4 turbocharged engine that delivers 338 foot-pounds of torque and features a DOC+SCR diesel exhaust after-treatment system.
The TB2150R offers three working modes—eco, standard and high altitude—allowing operators to select the working mode based on their specific application. Additionally, the hydraulic system includes three standard auxiliary circuits with the high-flow circuit capable of delivering up to 59.2 gallons per minute. The second auxiliary circuit can deliver up to 14.5 gallons per minute, making the TB2150R a powerful attachment platform. A factory-installed third auxiliary circuit also is included and serves as a dedicated coupler circuit.
The TB2150R’s cab offers a wide range of features, including an air-suspension seat with heat and a 7-inch, multifunction color display that keeps the operator informed of machine performance. The display also can be used to set flow and pressure rates for the attachments. Automatic climate control, heat and defrost are standard, along with 24-volt and 12-volt power outlets. The TB2150R also includes an external LED light package for greater visibility in low-light working conditions.
The Takeuchi Fleet Management (TFM) telematics system comes standard on the TB2150R. With TFM, owners and operators can remotely connect to their Takeuchi excavators and track loaders. TFM delivers alerts and machine data, such as location, utilization, performance and maintenance status, as well as insights into how equipment is being operated.
“Takeuchi is extremely excited to now offer this full-size, feature-rich excavator,” Caldwell says. “By adding the TB2150R to our excavator line-up, we’re providing our customers with a larger, more powerful option that can help them tackle a much broader range of jobs."
Nucor Steel Lexington is expected to cost about $350 million and have an annual capacity of 430,000 tons.
Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina, has announced plans to build an electric arc furnace, or EAF, rebar micromill in Lexington, North Carolina, in Davidson County.
This will be Nucor's third rebar micromill, joining existing Nucor micromills in Missouri and Florida, both of which began operations in 2020.
Nucor has 15 bar mills that it says are strategically located across the U.S. that manufacture a broad range of steel products, including concrete reinforcing bars, hot-rolled bars, rounds, light shapes, structural angles, channels, wire rod and highway products in carbon and alloy steels. Four of the bar mills have a significant focus on manufacturing special bar quality, or SBQ, and wire rod products. Steel produced by Nucor bar mills serves numerous end-use markets, including the agricultural, automotive, construction, energy, furniture, machinery, metal building, railroad, recreational equipment, shipbuilding, heavy truck and trailer market segments. Nucor's steel bar production capacity is estimated at approximately 9.56 million tons per year.
The company says the mill will employ 200 full-time workers when operational and create an additional 500 temporary jobs during construction, which is expected to take two years, pending permit and regulatory approvals.
"We are very excited to grow our steel business here in our home state of North Carolina,” says Leon Topalian, president and CEO of Nucor. “The corridor between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta is one of the fastest-growing regions in our nation, and new federal spending for infrastructure will further increase demand for rebar in the region.”
Topalian adds that the mill will produce steel with nearly 100-percent-recycled content. Currently, Nucor steel bar products contain 97-percent-recycled content.
"We would like to thank Gov. Roy Cooper, Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders and other state officials, Davidson County, Lexington and Thomasville for their help and support of this project,” says Mike Hess, vice president and general manager of Nucor Steel Lexington. “We are excited to grow our Nucor family in this area and to partner with local schools and non-profit organizations that support members of this community."
Last year, Nucor announced it was looking at the South Atlantic region to construct a rebar micromill with spooling capabilities.
“We have recently executed two successful rebar micromill startups and believe the East Coast market will be in need of additional rebar supply in the coming years, particularly with the recent passage of the infrastructure spending bill,” Topalian said previously. “Rebar has been a core business for Nucor since we got into steelmaking, and this project will enable us to maintain our leadership position in the rebar market.”
Luke Walker brings more than 20 years of experience in developing startups and early-stage companies.
Starlight Software Solutions, a Denver-based software company for the waste and recycling industry, has announced the addition of Luke Walker as vice president of corporate development and sales operations.
Walker brings more than 20 years of experience in developing startups and early-stage companies. His accomplishments include securing $500 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utility Service to build wireless 4G networks throughout rural America. Additionally, he has held positions with telecom carriers, original equipment manufacturers and property groups and introduced new technology solutions for various design engineering teams.
At one point in his career, he was vice president of delivery at SAC Wireless, a Nokia company, where he was responsible for construction for T-Mobile in the central, south and western regions of the U.S.
Starlight, which provides software solutions for solid waste haulers and recycling facility managers, aims to improve profitability and overall business growth by monitoring and analyzing key metrics live and making real-time functional and operational changes that dynamically improve efficiencies. In Walker’s role at Starlight, he will oversee investor and customer success while expanding revenue streams and strengthening financial sustainability.
“Luke is an invaluable member of our development and executive team [and is] already helping us better streamline our processes and work more efficiently, which is precisely what our solutions do for our own customers,” Starlight CEO and founder Bill Bradley, CEO says. “Our company is on a strong growth trajectory, and we are excited to have Luke’s expertise to keep propelling us forward.”