Scrapheap challenge

Andreas Zöllner explains how Metso is helping the recycling industry prepare for a more efficient, cost-effect and sustainable future.

“We are moving our product offerings to be more environmentally friendly”
-Andreas Zöllner

EUINFRA. The products and services you provide cover a variety of industries. What are the main challenges that these industries are facing today and how are you helping your customers to overcome these challenges?
Andreas Zöllner. Our equipment is sold primarily to steel mills, scrap yards and to the automotive industry. There is currently an oversupply of steel worldwide, which has resulted in a drastic reduction in demand for shredded and cut scrap as well as baled scrap. We are using this down time in the market to work with our customers to do refurbishments and upgrades to their equipment. We are also developing value added equipment to allow our customers to diversify their operations.

Sustainability is an issue that is very high on the agenda of most governments at the moment and in Europe in particular the member states are facing strict targets designed to promote a more sustainable form of development. In what ways is Metso involved in furthering this goal of sustainability?
We are moving our product offerings to be more environmentally friendly and to make our business more recession proof. We are implementing development training programs for our talented younger managers to prepare them for future leadership roles. In addition we are creating an in-depth succession plan for all mid-level and senior management positions.

What are some of the recent projects you have been involved with? What can you tell us about the technologies currently be used or developed for use by those you supply?
We developed a new scrap shear called LUC. The word most frequently heard during development was 'efficiency'. The LUC, which reduces the volume of scrap by cutting, has been specially developed to process medium production volumes with minimum energy consumption and costs. Another factor is flexibility, which is essential in cases where the recycler has to cope with changing types of scrap.

We also provided a prototype air filtration system for EMR-Northern Recycling to allow them to meet very rigid emission standards in their consent decree with the city of Minneapolis, MN. No other competitors offered a solution.

Another example of Metso's drive to create new state-of-the-art technology is the new series (TSH) of shredders that Mesto Recycling North America has just designed, introduced to the market and sold in the US. We are working with Carolina Metals Recycling in Garner, N.C. and Southern Metals in Charlotte, N.C. to install and start the first prototype machines.

In October this year, Metso took over M&J Industries A/S, Denmark, a leading provider of machines and plants for the recycling of solid waste. Through the acquisition of M&J, Metso's Recycling Business Line has expanded its position to become a high-performance global provider of technology and services uniting the metal and waste recycling market segments under one roof, thus becoming an important partner for the entire recycling industry.

Given the current economic climate and enhanced interest in green issues many companies are increasingly interested in solutions that preserve the environment and cut costs. How does Metso meet this need?=
Metso is expanding into solid waste recycling and waste-to-energy technology. As stated earlier we are developing new emissions technology for shredder plants and have partnered with ILG-Industrielaermschutz GmbH, a manufacturer of sound proofing equipment for scrap yard applications.

What do you think the future trends for your sector will be and what challenges will this entail?
The future for recycling is the development of systems that recycle as many materials as possible and provide environmentally safe disposal of non-recyclable materials. Furthermore, we will continue focusing on value added technology for separation and retrieval of nonferrous metals and material.

Andreas Zöllner has worked for Metso since 2003 fulfilling numerous different roles. He is currently Vice President Europe and Africa and Head of Marketing Metso Recycling Business Line. He formerly held the role of Product Manager Scrap Shears, Country Manager South Africa and prior to this he was Sales Engineer France for Metso Lindemann. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the RWTH in Aachen, Germany.