Aluminum producer says it will invest more than $50 million to expand scrap melting capacity in Pennsylvania.

Norway-based aluminum producer Norsk Hydro ASA says it will make a $51.3 million investment in its extrusion plant in Cressona, Pennsylvania, to “expand the site’s recycling capabilities, which include remelt and extrusion billet casting, producing low-carbon aluminum products.”

The announcement follows quickly on the heels of other capacity expansion projects in the United States, in Henderson, Kentucky, and in Cassopolis, Michigan.

The Cressona project is expected to be fully operational in late 2024 and will expand Cressona’s casting capacity by more than 50,000 metric tons, Hydro says. “The investment will allow for a significant increase in use of pre- and postconsumer aluminum scrap and will support the plant in achieving a 5 percent reduction in the average carbon footprint of its extrusion billet,” the firm states.

“The ability to cast our own extrusion billet is extremely important,” says Paul Warton, executive vice president at Hydro Extrusions. “This investment will strengthen our ability to produce innovative alloys and offer our customers products with a high recycled content and lower carbon footprint. We anticipate strong demand for these locally supplied greener products in the future and are excited to help drive the circular economy in North America.”

In addition to pointing to the Cassopolis project, Hydro Extrusions says it has recently invested $27.7 million to upgrade its scrap-melting extrusion plant in The Dalles, Oregon. Part of that upgrade was tied to meeting emissions standards set by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

The company has reported what it calls record financial performance, though shipments are down slightly.

Novelis Inc., Atlanta, has reported financial results for the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, saying net income and net sales have increased though shipments have decreased slightly. 

"Novelis once again delivered record financial performance in the first quarter, following our record performance last fiscal year," says Steve Fisher, president and CEO of Novelis Inc.   

According to the report, net income attributable to its common shareholder increased 28 percent compared with a record $307 million in the previous year. Net income from continuing operations increased 1 percent to $307 million. Excluding special items in both years, in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, net income from continuing operations increased 18 percent compared with the previous year largely because of higher underlying adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), unrealized derivative gains and a lower tax provision in the current year, partially offset by a tax litigation gain benefiting prior year net income.  

Net sales increased 32 percent to $5.1 billion for the first quarter of Novelis' 2023 fiscal year compared with $3.9 billion in the prior-year period. This was primarily driven by higher average aluminum prices and local market premiums. Total flat-rolled product shipments were 962,000 metric tons, 1 percent lower than prior-year shipments of 973,000 metric tons, mainly owing to supply chain constraints.  

Adjusted EBITDA increased 1 percent to a record $561 million in the first quarter of its fiscal 2023 compared with $555 million in the prior-year period, which included a $47 million gain related to a favorable decision in a Brazilian tax litigation. The underlying increase in adjusted EBITDA is primarily from higher product pricing, including some higher cost pass-through to customers, favorable product mix on improved automotive and aerospace shipments and lower metal costs arising from improved recycling performance, partially offset by high-cost inflation and unfavorable foreign exchange translation, according to the company.  

Adjusted free cash flow from continuing operations was an outflow of $72 million in the first quarter of its fiscal 2023, higher than the $30 million the previous year. This is primarily because of a less favorable metal price lag. Novelis reports that it had a net leverage ratio of 2.2x at the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023 compared with 2.5x the prior year period.  

“In a strong demand but capacity-constrained environment, we continue to focus on delivering high-quality, high-recycled-content products to customers while continually optimizing our operations and portfolio,” says Devinder Ahuja, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Novelis Inc. “Given the growing market, we are vigorously allocating capital to continue to grow alongside our customers, with more than $4.5 billion of investment opportunities on our horizon.”

Earlier this year, Novelis broke ground on its $365 million investment in a highly advanced recycling center in Guthrie, Kentucky, that will be able to cast 240,000 tons of sheet ingot for its automotive customers per year. It also announced a strategic partnership with Sortera Alloys Inc. of Fort Wayne, Indiana, designed to help the company increase its use of prime and obsolete scrap. 

The company says it continues to maintain a strong total liquidity position of $2.4 billion as of June 30. 

Members of the Year are selected based on service to the mission and goals of NWRA and the industry over the past year.

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, has announced its 2022 Membership Award recipients across three categories for their contributions in support of the waste and recycling industry and the association.   

Members of the Year are selected based on extraordinary service to the mission and goals of NWRA and the industry over the past year. Chapter Leadership awards are presented to members whose contributions to an NWRA chapter were notable.  

Distinguished Service awards are presented to longstanding members of NWRA who render service in pursuit of the association’s mission and goals.

The association says these awards recognize the highest spirit of volunteerism, personal integrity, professionalism and performance in an honorable and ethical manner.

Service Member of the Year was awarded to Shelley Seyward of Casella Waste Systems, Rutland, Vermont, who has been involved in fighting for the association’s major issues in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut. She helped in a successful fight to keep Vermont’s bottle bill from passing. She also stood against HB 1454 in New Hampshire, which required a buffer between landfills and bodies of water and was eventually vetoed by the governor. Seyward also was a constant in the battle taking place in Maine and helped lead the fight in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts on extended producer responsibility. She now is in her first term as the vice chair of NWRA’s Government Affairs Committee.  

Suppliers Member of the Year was awarded to Martin Mattsson, Volvo Construction Equipment North America, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, who was selected for his significant contributions to the industry through his service leading committees and volunteering on the supplier board of governors and supporting NWRA’s Future Industry Leaders Alliance.  

Indiana Chapter Chair Brad Eisenhart of Houston-based WM, was recognized with the Chapter Leadership award. He first took over the unexpired term from a chair who moved to a different state and has since been a steady hand on the wheel of the chapter. He has helped the group to navigate successfully many legislative and regulatory challenges the industry has faced over the past year.  

The Distinguished Service award was given to Pete Keller, Republic Services Inc., Phoenix, who chaired the recycling committee from its formation in 2013 until the end of 2021 when he had to step aside because of term limits. During his time as chairperson, Keller led the committee through multiple crises, starting from China’s Green Fence, National Sword and Blue Sky initiatives to COVID-19 pandemic challenges.  

The Supplier's Distinguished Service award went to Mike McLaughlin, McLaughlin Family Cos./New Way Trucks, Scranton, Iowa. McLaughlin has consistently supported the industry by volunteering on boards and committees such as the Supplier Board of Governors, NWRA says. He and McLaughlin Family Cos./New Way Trucks continue to provide financial support to NWRA and the industry.   

“Our member companies and their employees are the strength of NWRA," NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith says. "Without these individuals’ leadership and contributions, NWRA would not be the leading association in the waste industry. I congratulate them on their achievements.” 

The association says the honorees will be recognized at NWRA’s Executive Leadership Roundtable event in October. 

The license will allow a subsidiary of the Canadian company to handle asphalt shingles and collect tipping fees.

Northstar Clean Technologies Inc., a Vancouver-based technology and recycling company focused on the recovery and reprocessing of asphalt shingles, has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Empower Environmental Solutions Ltd., has received its brokering license from Metro Vancouver. The brokering license allows Empower to handle recyclable material, specifically asphalt shingles, at its facility in Delta, British Columbia, and to collect tipping fees on the deposit of end of life or postconsumer asphalt shingles.  

Aidan Mills, president and CEO and director of Northstar, says, “This is an important step for Northstar and our Empower pilot facility. We are pleased to receive our brokering license from Metro Vancouver, which allows us to begin collecting discarded asphalt shingles and charging tipping fees at our Empower pilot facility. We receive numerous ongoing enquiries from potential customers, municipalities and manufacturers on our ability to collect shingles, and the award of this license enables that to be fully realized. This lays the platform for us to contribute to assisting Metro Vancouver in its quest towards zero waste by 2040 by providing a diversion alternative for single-use asphalt shingles that would otherwise be discarded in landfill. We believe we are strongly positioned to become a national solution to the burgeoning problem of asphalt shingle waste.” 

As of Aug. 2, tipping fees for construction and demolition waste at the Vancouver landfill located in Delta are approximately CAD$130 ($101) per metric ton. The landfill is approximately 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) from the company’s Empower pilot facility and approximately 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from downtown Vancouver.  

Sales strategy for collection of asphalt shingles 

With the brokering license issued, the company says it plans to begin collecting shingles from waste hauling companies and roofing contractors. Northstar says tipping fees charged to customers will depend on the volume and term of shingle supply.  

The company also is sourcing additional shingles from manufacturers that have shingles that do not meet specifications and would otherwise be deposited in landfills.  

Northstar says it has received numerous inbound inquiries from other municipal jurisdictions about the possible reprocessing of their asphalt shingles at the Empower facility.  

Based on a 2012 report, the city of Vancouver has an estimated supply of 70,000 metric tons of asphalt shingles, Northstar says. The company currently has an internally estimated stockpile on-site at its Empower pilot facility of approximately 10,000 metric tons. 

Outgoing Tigercat Industries President Grant Somerville will continue serving the company as a director.

Grant Somerville has stepped away from his role as president of Tigercat Industries, Brantford, Ontario, as planned when he took on a five-year term in the role in 2017. Ken MacDonald, Tigercat’s founder, will assume the role of president. "I wish to thank Grant for all of the contributions that he has made to our company during his entire 30 years with us," MacDonald says. "I want to particularly recognize the leadership he provided during his presidency. He very capably steered us through and oversaw record production and sales volumes in 2019. He then went on to lead our team through the incredibly trying last two and a half years during which we dealt with the COVID pandemic, as well as the effects on our business related to the war in Ukraine. Despite these challenges, he took everything in stride and saw to it that we still managed to complete two major plant expansions and launch several new product lines." Somerville will continue to serve the company as a director. In his new role, he will offer advice and support various engineering initiatives focused on the development of new products and the improvement of existing products.