Equipment Report

McCloskey International Grows in 2012
Screening and crushing equipment manufacturer McCloskey International, Peterborough, Ontario, continued its expansion in 2012, with 60 percent overall growth, a 30 percent increase in workforce and the addition of more than 136,000 square feet to its plants in Canada and Northern Ireland over the past year, the company reports.

In 2012 the Peterborough factory expanded its facility to house 42,500 square feet of new warehouse space and a shipping/receiving building and additional space for production lines adding up to 78,000 square feet. Since 2008, the company says the footprint of the Canadian factory has increased by more than 50 percent, with five new buildings and production areas added within the past year. The plant in Northern Ireland has added a 9,000-square-foot building and a 7,000-square-foot assembly building to assemble C38, I44 and I54 crushers.

In addition to its physical expansion, over the past year the company says it has continued to add international dealers across all regions. “There have been many contributors to our success, but one of the greatest is the strength of our dealer base worldwide,” says Paschal McCloskey, president and CEO of McCloskey International.

The expansion will continue into 2013 and 2014, as the Peterborough plant will install new equipment valued at more than $1.2 million to meet worldwide demand for its products. The Northern Ireland plant will add conveyor construction to its production mix. McCloskey says the additional space will allow the company to keep pace with anticipated double-digit growth for 2013-2014.

BHS Acquires Nihot
Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), based in Eugene, Ore., has acquired Nihot Recycling Technology BV, an Amsterdam-based company that designs and manufactures air sorting and separation equipment for the recycling, solid waste and other industries.

“We are very excited to welcome Nihot to the BHS family of companies,” says BHS CEO Steve Miller. “Having partnered with Nihot for a number of years, I have great respect for the company’s people and product quality. They are the best at what they do, and our new relationship will strengthen the integrated solutions that BHS offers its customers.”

“BHS and Nihot are similar in that both companies manufacture equipment to the highest levels of quality,” says Cees Duijn, director of Nihot. “Combining our technology, product offerings, global resources and expertise will enhance every function of our business. BHS has positioned itself as the premier systems provider. Nihot is excited to be joining this team and is looking forward to a prosperous partnership.”

Nihot, which was established in 1945, has more than 500 installations worldwide. Its air separation technologies can sort a wide variety of material, including municipal solid waste (MSW), fuel generated from waste, construction and demolition materials and biomass.

BHS designs, engineers, manufactures and installs sorting systems and components for the solid waste, recycling, waste-to-energy and construction and demolition industries.

Fecon Adds Komatsu Equipment Co. as Dealer
Fecon Inc., Lebanon, Ohio, has announced that regional Komatsu distributor Komatsu Equipment Co., Salt Lake City, is now its stocking dealer and service and parts provider in Utah, Wyoming and much of Nevada.

Komatsu Equipment Co.’s seven locations in the three states also will act as service facilities for all Fecon products and customers, according to the two companies.

Wastebuilt Names VP of Sales & Marketing
Wastebuilt Environmental Solutions LLC, a Chicago-based distributor and manufacturer of equipment, parts and services for the waste and recycling industry, has appointed Jerry Samson as vice president of sales and marketing.

Samson joins Wastebuilt with more than 20 years of experience in the waste industry. Prior to joining Wastebuilt, he spent 12 years in senior management roles at Waste Management Inc., Houston, and also was vice president of sales and marketing at Wastequip, Charlotte, N.C. Most recently, Samson led the sales group at Liberty Tire Recycling, Pittsburgh.

“Wastebuilt is committed to creating a senior management team that can grow our business and be relentless in customer service,” says Greg Podell, CEO of Wastebuilt. “Jerry brings a wealth of experience and leadership to our sales organization and has a successful track record in the industry.”

“I’m extremely pleased to be moving to this new, exciting role within Wastebuilt,” says Samson. “I look forward to providing our customers with outstanding service and contributing to the company’s long-term success.”

Rapid Recovery Celebrates 10th Anniversary
Rapid Recovery, a Peoria, Ariz.-based refrigerant recovery company, finished 2012 by celebrating its 10-year anniversary. Founded in 2002, the company says it has “revolutionized the way refrigerant gets recovered in the U.S.”

“The need for providing mobile EPA-certified refrigerant recovery at faster speeds then available to HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) contractors was what got us started,” says Adam Dykstra, president of Rapid Recovery. “Then identifying that using a franchise model to service them and provide national coverage is what has enabled us to expand so quickly.”

Dykstra also says Rapid Recovery’s “superior service, backed by local ownership, provides a great partnership for local contractors who need jobsite refrigerant recovery.”

Rapid Recovery now has more than 30 locations throughout the U.S. and work experience in at least 47 states, according to the company. In a news release announcing its 10th anniversary, the company says its use of “proprietary AHRI- (Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute-) certified gas powered recovery equipment, custom tools and applying 250-plus years of combined HVAC industry knowledge gives [us] a distinct speed advantage over ‘do it yourself’ options.”

“I like to say that we are really in the man-hours-savings business,” says Dykstra. “We can recover as much as 500 pounds of refrigerant in an hour, 10 times faster than your average recovery machine. From one unit to hundreds of units, from one pound to thousands of pounds of refrigerant, we’ve handled it all,” Dykstra adds.

Rapid Recovery also helps document each recovery to meet EPA requirements, Dykstra notes. “In fact, we assume the contractor’s liability for every pound of refrigerant we remove and every unit we recover. Our contractors never have to worry about an audit, as our process exceeds all [of] their needs,” he says.

“In 2011, we recovered over 1.7 billion pounds of carbon equivalent carbon dioxide. For year-to-date 2012, we recovered roughly 4.5-plus billion pounds. To put that in laymen’s terms, that is roughly the equivalent of not burning 224.5-plus million gallons of gas that would have polluted our environment,” says Dykstra.

Rapid Recovery most recently opened in Atlanta with its franchise partner Todd Beaver, prompting Dykstra to reminisce on starting the business 10 years ago.

“I remember when Rich Dykstra, Les Rhynard and I opened up Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco,” Dykstra says. “We spent each day driving our trucks out to visit contractors and supply houses—introducing ourselves, educating everyone on our capabilities and earning their work. It sounds foolish but we had a vision, some know-how and a passionate belief we were the guys to explore outsourcing recovery. We just needed to find enough customers to get paid for doing it! Sure, crazy, I know. But that’s what America is about.”

Rapid Recovery offers refrigerant abatement nationwide through its franchise network. More information on the company is at www.raprec.com.

Volvo Rents Expands California Footprint
Volvo Rents has opened a new rental center in Turlock, Calif. Volvo Rents provides small to medium-sized construction equipment to companies. With the new location, Volvo Rents now has 14 rental centers in California.

Volvo points to what it calls huge growth opportunities in the state. In a news release, Volvo says a forecast by economists at IHS Global Insight says California will lead the country in a nationwide construction recovery through 2016. According to IHS statistics, California will have the most construction dollars spent ($723 billion); the largest gain in yearly spending dollars ($76.40 billion); and the third highest annual average percentage gain (15.6 percent).

“There’s evidence showing a bit of sunshine for the construction industry that has seen too much rain,” says Mike Crouch, vice president of business development for Volvo Rents. “We couldn’t be more excited about further expanding our California footprint.”