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.”

Company started by designing reverse vending machines in 1972.

The Norway-based Tomra Group and its Germany-based Tomra Recycling business unit celebrated the company’s 50th anniversary early this April.

Each of the group’s four divisions - Collection, Food, Recycling and Mining – marked the milestone by declaring a collective mission for the future to “transform how we all obtain, use and reuse the planet’s resources to enable a world without waste,” says the company.

Tove Andersen, Tomra’s president and CEO, remarks, “We live in a world that needs big transformation. We urgently need to improve sustainability, develop the circular economy and make more efficient use of resources--challenges which Tomra’s solutions can help address.”

She continues “Fifty years after its humble beginnings, Tomra can be proud of the fact that it is a highly respected global market leader. This is living proof of our ability to adapt, innovate, and provide the solutions our customers really need. This is also a time to look forward because we are now opening the chapter in Tomra’s story where we step up our role leading the resource revolution.”

Tomra was founded in Norway on April 1, 1972, by brothers Petter and Tore Planke. After seeing a local grocer struggle with the manual collection of empty bottles in its store, the brothers developed what Tomra calls the first fully automated reverse vending machine (RVM) in their family garage.

Over the years, Tomra’s technology has expanded to include sorting systems for the recycling, mining and food processing industries. Tomra currently employs more than 4,600 people globally and has annual sales of 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion).

Tom Eng, senior vice president and head of Tomra Recycling, comments, “We continue to innovate and support our customers in achieving their business goals as well as those set by legislation. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary, we would like to recognize our customers and partners that made our long-standing success possible.”

Tomra Recycling describes itself as a global supplier of sensor-based sorting technology and connected digital services designed to transform discarded items into valuable secondary raw materials. The company has installed more than 8,200 sorting units in more than 100 countries.

Property redeveloper has acquired the Cheswick coal-fired plant in western Pennsylvania.

Louisville, Kentucky-based Charah Solutions Inc. says it has completed the acquisition of the coal-fired Cheswick Generating Station near Pittsburgh, along with the Lefever Ash Landfill and the Monarch Wastewater Treatment Facility.

The trio of properties were obtained from Atlanta-based GenOn, and Charah says it will “begin environmental remediation and sustainable redevelopment of the Pennsylvania properties immediately.”

The existing power plant will be demolished and potential redevelopment uses for the properties include renewable energy and battery storage options that utilize the existing transmission system; re-use of a rail switchyard; transportation and logistics that utilize river shipping assets; and “other potential industrial uses,” says Charah.

The asset purchase agreement with GenOn was signed last December and the full transfer was completed April 6. The Cheswick Generating Station ceased electrical generation operations on March 31.

The purchase comes on the heels of another Charah transaction with GenOn that involves the demolition and remediation of a power plant site on the shore of Lake Erie near Cleveland.

Charah, which describes itself as a leading provider of environmental services and byproduct recycling to the power generation industry, says the Cheswick acquisitions have been made through three companies related to its subsidiary, Charah Environmental Redevelopment Group LLC (CERG).

The retired Cheswick Generating Station in Springdale, Pennsylvania, is near Pittsburgh and located along the Allegheny River. The 56-acre primary generating station site, along with an adjacent 27-acre parcel, consists of an operating rail line, a coal yard, bottom ash emergency and recycle ponds, waste ponds, a coal pile runoff pond, coal delivery equipment, and an ash handling parcel, says Charah.

“CERG will be responsible for the shutdown and decommissioning of the coal power plant, the remediation of the two ash ponds and performing all environmental remediation and redevelopment work at the site,” states the firm.

The Lefever Ash Landfill is located three miles from the Cheswick power plant. The 182-acre site includes a 50-acre landfill that currently is operating and provides disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR) and residual waste from the Cheswick Generating Station “under an active solid waste permit,” according to Charah. CERG will be responsible for the closure design, remediation closure work and post closure monitoring of the landfill.

The Monarch Wastewater Treatment Facility is located on seven acres in Springdale. CERG will be responsible for day-to-day management and operations and compliance with all applicable environmental regulations, according to Charah.

“Our environmental risk transfer (ERT) services are innovative and sustainable solutions designed by Charah Solutions to meet the evolving and increasingly complex needs of our utility partners to lower their costs and meet their environmental commitments,” says Scott Sewell, Charah Solutions president and CEO. “The Cheswick project is another example of Charah Solutions providing a custom approach for these complex projects while sustainably remediating the site and redeveloping the properties in an environmentally responsible manner designed to create economic and environmental benefits for the entire community.”

CERG has retained Toronto-based Avison Young to provide real estate advisory, development, and brokerage services.

With approximately 240 existing coal-fired power plants in the United States expected to be decommissioned over the next 10 to 15 years, Charah says it is positioned to capitalize on its ERT services model to partner with additional utilities “to perform the shutdown, remediation and redevelopment of these plant properties for years to come.”

“This is the end of an era for Cheswick, and the retirement of this facility reflects the changes occurring in our nation and around the world,” comments David Freysinger, CEO of GenOn. “We are delighted to reach agreement with Charah Solutions. This transaction will bring Charah Solutions’ expertise to bear in redeveloping the property for the benefit of the community.”