Prime time for recycling.

Byline: Sherri Buri McDonald The Register-Guard

Bulk Handling Systems, a local manufacturer of equipment that sorts the contents of recycling bins, has tripled its sales in the past three years.

And more growth appears to be on the way now that the company has secured a $3.8 million loan from Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank, which set up a line of credit with backing from the Ex-Im Bank, the official export credit agency of the United States.

The lending arrangement allows Bulk Handling Systems to issue letters of credit to foreign customers, assuring them that it will perform its end of the contract, and freeing up the company's credit line, making more money available as operating cash, said Steve Miller, the company's president.

Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank, which has an office in Portland, is the only U.S.-chartered bank dedicated solely to international trade.

"We believe exporting goods and services that protect the environment is an area of great opportunity for U.S.-based companies," Marcus Hall, a Trade Bank manager for Oregon said in a statement. "We offer customers our experience working with the Ex-Im Bank to help them export their goods, services and expertise."

Miller, who had 24 years of experience in the recycling industry in the Seattle area, purchased a controlling interest in the 30-year-old Bulk Handling Systems in March 2005. Since then, he has pumped up the company's sales efforts and boosted investment in research and development.

"We've been around for a long time," Miller said. "We have a strong reputation for building high-quality, durable, long-lasting equipment.

Bulk Handling Systems is one of four major manufacturers worldwide of bulk recycling equipment. The others are based in the Netherlands, San Diego, and Montreal.

It had kept a relatively low profile, so one of Miller's priorities was to increase its exposure in industry trade magazines and add sales people.

Today, Bulk Handling Systems products are sold in Canada, the United States and Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

The systems can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $10 million, Miller said.

The company is interested in selling its products in China, which is a huge consumer of the paper fiber, plastic, aluminum and other materials the machines recover from the waste stream in North America and Europe.

But "that's a tough market for us to access," Miller said, adding that Bulk Handling Systems will be part of a trade show of Oregon products the state Economic and Community Development Department is organizing in China.

China's middle class is growing, but the recycling trend is taking hold mostly in developed countries, he said.

"China is just not ready yet," Miller said.

Bulk Handling Systems' success signals the growing acceptance worldwide of commingled recycling, whereby newspapers, junk mail, plastic bottles and aluminum cans are all tossed together by the consumer, and separated later by machines.

"There's more focus on environmental sorts of issues and there's a greater need to pull things out of the waste stream for recovery," Miller said. "There's a worldwide shortage of raw materials, (such as) fiber, metals and plastics."

In addition to its patented technology that separates recyclable materials, Bulk Handling Systems is also developing technology that can cull recyclable materials from the municipal waste stream - or unsorted trash.

The company installed a top-of-the-line system in San Jose, Calif., that sorts 55 tons of material per hour. One line sorts through 20 to 25 tons of recyclables an hour, while another line sorts through 35 tons of trash an hour, Miller said.

"It's an exciting time," he said. "People are becoming more environmentally conscious, and we're in a good position to address these needs."

BULK HANDLING SYSTEMS

Business: Designs and builds machines that sort out recyclables

Address: 1040 Arrowsmith St., Eugene

Established: 1976

Majority owner:

Steve Miller

Employees: 72