Schnitzer upgrades Portland operation.

Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc., headquartered in Portland, Ore., has announced that it has invested more than $14 million dollars in upgrades to its Portland metals recycling operation, including the addition of a new auto shredder from Metso Texas Shredder.

Schnitzer has purchased a 122x108 Metso Texas Shredder, which is equipped with a 7,000hp motor. The company says the shredder will nearly double the operation's shredding capacity, which is currently 250,000 tons per year, though energy consumption will increase by a modest 10 percent.

The company will also install a new electric substation and 115-kV transmission line and a downstream ferrous metals recovery system with a designed output capacity of 40,000 tons per month as well as rebuild its dock and upgrade its ship-loading crane.

"As Schnitzer Steel prepares to enter its 100th year in business--a business founded in Oregon--we are making considerable re-investments in our Portland metals recycling operation to enhance its position as a leading West Coast metals processor and recycler," says Jim Goodrich, general manage of Schnitzer Steel's Portland metals recycling operation. "These investments will significantly increase the production capacity and cost efficiency of our operations, allowing us to recycle considerably more metal at a lower cost per ton."

Schnitzer is working with Portland General Electric (PGE), the utility serving its Portland operation, on the installation of the shredder. In addition to providing engineering and construction support, PGE also helped Schnitzer apply for financial incentives from the Energy Trust of Oregon and a Business Energy Tax Credit from the Oregon Department of Energy. PGE estimates that the new shredder will save 2 million kilowatt hours annually. As a result, the shredder project has been approved for a $410,000 production efficiency incentive from the Energy Trust of Oregon and a $360,000 Business Energy Tax Credit.

"These investments will further enhance our operation's competitiveness and capabilities and Schnitzer Steel's leadership in the global steel marketplace," Jay Robinovitz, Pacific Northwest vice president of operations for Schnitzer Steel, says. "As worldwide demand for scrap steel continues to increase, we competitively serve both export markets, such as Asia and Europe, through our strategically located, deep-water ports and global trade brokerage business, and domestic customers, like our Cascade Steel Rolling Mill in McMinnville, Ore."

Within the past five years, Schnitzer Steel has invested more than $77 million in capital improvements in its wholly owned recycling and steel manufacturing businesses. Additional capital improvements the company has planned for 2006 include the installation of upgraded, larger shredders at Schnitzer's Oakland, Calif., and Everett, Mass., yards and the initiation of induction sorting systems to recover nonferrous metals from the shredding process at its Oakland; Tacoma; and Johnston, R.I., facilities. Schnitzer says it expects these and other projects will substantially increase its capacities, improve operational efficiencies and capabilities and reduce energy consumption while meeting commitments to workplace safety and environmental quality.