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Recycling International • April 2008 17
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Weyerhaeuser offloads
packaging and recycling
operations
One of the world’s leading paper
producers, Weyerhaeuser, has
announced the sale of its
Containerboard Packaging and
Recycling (CBPR) business to its
rival International Paper for US$ 6
billion (Euro 3.85 billion) in cash.
Weyerhaeuser says it expects to use
a substantial portion of the after-tax
proceeds from the sale to pay down
debt.
International Paper has commit-
ted financing for the entire purchase
price and the transaction is current-
ly expected to close in the second
half of 2008. The takeover package
includes nine containerboard mills,
72 packaging locations, 10 specialty
packaging plants, four kraft bag and
sack locations, and 19 recycling facil-
ities. According to Weyerhaeuser,
the transaction affects approximate-
ly 14 300 employees.
Weyerhaeuser Chairman and CEO
Steven Rogel says the announcement
completes the company’s strategic
review of the CBPR business. ‘We are
pleased with the outcome and we will
continue to focus on those areas that
present the greatest opportunities for
the future,’ he states. ‘This future
begins with the trees and the land,
and our outstanding stewardship of
these resources. To this we add our
unique expertise in growing and
extracting value from the trees and
the land on which they grow.’
www.internationalpaper.com
* Philips
The German medical appliances division of electronics giant Philips is
to invest Euro 26 million (US$ 39 million) in the expansion of its
Hamburg X-ray tube production facility. The investment will be used to
build a new line for X-ray source assembly as well as a ‘Returns &
Recycling’ centre. The recycling of used products will reduce production
and transport costs for Philips and its suppliers.
www.philips.com
* Nucor
Nucor, which purchased 22.8 million tonnes of ferrous scrap last year
and is North America’s largest buyer, has acquired Metal Recycling
Services Inc. (MRS) of Monroe, North Carolina. Founded in 1999, MRS
operates a full-service processing facility (including an automobile shred-
der) and two feeder yards in North Carolina. MRS employs 150 people
and expects to process 220 000 tonnes annually.
Upon completion of the acquisition, MRS will become part of Nucor’s
wholly-owned subsidiary, The David J. Joseph Company.
www.nucor.com
* CMA
A US$ 9.3 million CMA Ecocycle plant in Campbellfield to the north of
Melbourne will recycle mercury from lighting products (fluorescent tubes
and HID lamps) and dental amalgams. The plant can recycle mercury
from lights for 1.5-5% of the light’s retail value. The mercury can then be
locally reused, according to CMA Ecocycle’s General Manager Dale
Robbins. The Swedish-designed plant uses crushing and separation tech-
nology. Glass, aluminium and other metals, along with phosphor powder,
are also separated.
www.ecocycle.com.au
Business news
Start-up for India’s first ‘green’
shipbreaker
A new ‘green’ ship recycling facility is to begin
operating in India’s shipbreaking region of Alang
as the local industry attempts to shed its nega-
tive image.
Under pressure to improve workers’ conditions
and reduce pollution in the region, India’s
Supreme Court demanded in September last year
that the country’s shipbreakers clean up their act.
Leela Recycling Yard began making changes
ahead of the ruling and has recently begun pro-
cessing its first ship. Describing the facility as one
of the most advanced in India, Managing Director
Komal Sharma told the ‘Lloyds List’ shipping
magazine: ‘We have begun the cold work of
removing the pollutants from the ship. We are
doing it the green way.’
Mr Sharma expected the new recycling approach
to take 20% longer ‘as my people need to change
their mindset’. But he added: ‘It will become quicker
as they become used to the processes.’
Mr Sharma is fully confident that Leela’s new
facilities will meet the strictest standards expect-
ed from international bodies such as the
International Maritime Organisation, the
International Labour Organisation, the
International Standards Organisation and the
European Union.
He went on to explain the difficulty involved in
breaking a vessel in an environmentally-sound
way without first obtaining an environmentally-
sound vessel. However, with pressure being placed
on ship owners as well as breakers, he decided to
forge ahead with the changes in order to convince
owners to send their ships to his facility.
The asbestos dump at Leela’s
ship recycling yard
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