Cyclyx’s goal is to provide the supply chain transformation needed to enable advanced recycling on a large scale.

Agilyx Corp., Tigard, Oregon, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oslo, Norway-based Agilyx AS, has partnered with ExxonMobil to form Cyclyx International LLC Jan. 1. The companies have 75 percent and 25 percent stakes, respectively, in Cyclyx, which will aggregate and preprocess plastic scrap to meet the technical requirements of a wide range of recycling processes while ensuring reliable supply to its customers. Cyclyx’s aim is to “transform the current supply chain and help accelerate the growth of the advanced recycling industry by connecting companies looking for plastic waste solutions with customers engaged in recycling initiatives,” according to a news release issued by Agilyx.

In the summer of last year, Agilyx announced that Cyclyx International Inc., which was formed in 2019, had signed a licensing agreement with Boston-based General Electric (GE) to use its artificial intelligence technology (AI) to jointly develop a set of AI tools to improve recycling options for end-of-life plastics through Cyclyx’s customized demand approach, thereby increasing the recyclability of this material, says Kate Ringier, vice president, communications and government affairs, Agilyx GmbH. “The addition of Exxon to Cyclyx does not impact the work being done with GE,” she adds.

The Cyclyx International LLC joint venture combines Agilyx’s experience in converting end-of-life plastics through its pyrolysis process with Spring, Texas-based ExxonMobil’s technology expertise and large-scale petrochemical manufacturing network. As part of the agreement, Cyclyx will help supply plastic feedstocks for ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling projects.

“This is a significant milestone for Agilyx and Cyclyx as it marks the beginning of an entirely new approach to plastic waste recovery,” says Tim Stedman, chief executive officer at Agilyx, in a news release about the joint venture. “Our mission at Agilyx is clear—to help solve the issue of plastic waste.”

“This joint venture represents an entirely new proposition about the way we handle plastic waste,” adds Joe Vaillancourt, the newly appointed chief executive officer of Cyclyx International LLC. “The Cyclyx business model brings tangible solutions, turning plastic waste into valuable new products. Leveraging Agilyx’s expertise in plastics recycling and the scale of partners like ExxonMobil, we aim to create a lasting and impactful change.”

“We see Cyclyx as helping to fill an important missing link in the plastics recycling value chain that is needed for advanced recycling solutions to scale,” Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Co., says. “We share society’s concern about plastic waste, and our new joint venture is an important step in our efforts to develop advanced recycling technologies and approaches to help meet demand for certified circular polymers.”

In addition to supplying plastic waste to Agilyx’s customers and ExxonMobil, Cyclyx also aims to supply other customers with feedstock solutions for a wide range of recycling initiatives.

Cyclyx is looking for member companies including retailers, brand owners, waste management companies, petrochemical companies, municipalities and others looking for solutions to address plastic waste in the environment.

New recycled-content mill in Monterrey, Mexico, has 400,000 tons per year of capacity.

COVID-19 caused delays, but Mexico City-based Grupo Gondi has reported that its new 400,000-metric-tons-per-year containerboard mill, fed with scrap paper, began producing its first rolls in January.

An early February article by Fastmarkets RISI indicates the firm produced its first reel Jan. 5. The new Grupo Gondi mill and paper machine will make “lightweight linerboard and medium paper machine,” according to RISI.

The article also quotes Grupo Gondi CEO Eduardo Posada as saying, “Despite the challenges we faced due to COVID-19, we are going to market in a very favorable moment, when we see increased demand and lack of supply.”

Posada says much of the board produced will likely be sold in Mexico, but export options have been explored for sales to the United States, South America and even China.

In a late January news release announcing the mill’s startup, Posada remarks, “With this new paper mill, we will be [able to produce] more than 1 million tons of recycled paper per year, [adding] the component of lightweight paper, balancing the equation between paper and packaging to become totally integrated.”

On its website, Grupo Gondi says it has seven mills in total, including a large complex in Guadalajara.

The Scrapper series scales are ideal for scrap yards, recycling centers.

Cardinal Scale, Webb City, Missouri, offers its Scrapper series truck scales that are engineered specifically for scrap yards, recycling centers and landscaping facilities that require a medium-duty National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP) legal-for-trade scale at an economical price.

According to a news release from Cardinal Scale, the Scrapper uses high-tensile-strength, prestress concrete (PSC) deck weighbridge that is 10-feet wide with lengths up to 52-feet long. The Scrapper series comes in capacities ranging from 25 tons to 45 tons, which Cardinal Scale says provides “an excellent low-cost scale for midsized trucks and pickup trucks pulling trailers.”

In addition, Cardinal Scale offers single-source convenience and quality construction using stainless steel model CBC compression load cells. The lifting lugs and a foundation template are included with each PSC truck scale to ease the installation.

The company tested roofing made from postconsumer flexible plastic at two of its manufacturing plants in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Kraft Heinz Co., which is co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh, has completed a pilot project that demonstrates the use of roof board made from recycled flexible packaging. The pilot was made possible through the company’s participation in Materials Recovery for the Future (MRFF), which is a nonprofit research collaborative that is working to prove technical and economic feasibility to collect, sort, bale and recycle flexible plastic packaging.

According to a news release from Kraft Heinz, the project installed roofing made from postconsumer flexible plastic into two Kraft Heinz manufacturing plants in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and Holland, Michigan. The recycled roofing materials were installed late in 2020. Kraft Heinz says the materials included 4-foot-by-8-foot boards, and 94 percent of each board was made of postconsumer recycled plastic and fiber. Kraft Heinz says it’s using flexible plastic packaging in materials across its product portfolio.

The company says the pilot project will be monitored for performance versus standard building materials. If the recycled materials perform as well as or better than standard building materials, Kraft Heinz says it will “strongly consider standardizing the use of this recycled material in the future.” The company plans to report on its use of recycled content to the Association of Plastic Recyclers Demand Champion program, having joined late last year.

“It was a privilege being part of MRFF, which not only helped identify ways to curbside collect and recycle flexible packaging but also identified end markets that we could leverage within our facilities,” says Erik Groner, senior principal packaging engineer at Kraft Heinz. “Our test project highlights the company’s commitment to sustainable packaging and the priority it places on its environmental, social and governance commitments. Kraft Heinz continues to search for ways to make our packaging recyclable and to incorporate recycled content within our supply chain.”

Susan Graff, vice president of Michigan-based Resource Recycling Systems and a MRFF research director, adds, “This Kraft Heinz project is a powerful example of environmental stewardship, reducing use of virgin materials by choosing roofing material made of recycled flexible plastic packaging.” Working with recyclers, they’ve provided a model for addressing expectations for full life cycle management of plastic while using an efficient, low-cost package for consumer product protection.”

The packaging company says its strong financial performance was driven in part by healthy containerboard demand.

Cascades Inc., Kingsey Falls, Quebec, has reported strong financial results for its fourth quarter and 2020 fiscal year. According to the packaging producer, it achieved sales of $1,284 million in its fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2020, compared with $1,275 million in the third quarter of 2020 and $1,227 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.

In its fourth quarter, the company had an operating income of $109 million compared with $73 million in the third quarter of 2020 and an operating loss of $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The company says operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBD) was $181 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with $154 million in the third quarter of 2020 and $76 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Cascades says its net earnings per share totaled 72 cents in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with 51 cents in the third quarter of 2020 and a net loss per share of 27 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2019.

For its full fiscal year, Cascades reports it had sales of $5,157 million compared with $4,996 million in 2019. Operating income was at $366 million compared with $261 million in 2019, and operating income before depreciation and amortization was $665 million for the year compared with $550 million in 2019. The company had net earnings per share of $2.04 in 2020 compared with 77 cents in 2019.

The company says its net debt was at $1,679 million as of Dec. 31, 2020, compared with $1,982 million as of Sept. 30, 2020, which Cascades says reflects “solid cash flow from operations.” In 2020, total capital expenditures paid net of disposals were at $195 million compared with $231 million in 2019. Cascades says its forecasted 2021 capital expenditures will be between $450 million and $475 million, including $250 million for the Bear Island containerboard conversion project in Virginia.

Mario Plourde, president and CEO of Cascades, says the company’s consolidated adjusted OIBD of $166 million surpassed the company’s “cautious outlook for the period,” representing an increase of 2 percent sequentially and 9 percent year over year, driving profitability to a record level for a third consecutive year.  

He says, “These results demonstrate good operational execution within the context of a challenging environment, benefits being realized from our ongoing margin improvement initiatives and the resiliency and dedication of our employees throughout the challenges of COVID-19.”

Cascades reports that its fourth-quarter performance was driven by “a solid contribution” from its Containerboard segment, fueled by stronger-than-expected demand on both the manufacturing and converting side.

According to its earnings report presentation, shipments within the Packaging Products and Containerboard segment decreased 3 percent sequentially, driven by a 6 percent decrease in manufacturing shipments that reflects 1 percent lower capacity utilization rate and higher integration rate in the current period. Shipments of converted products increased by 1 percent on a sequential basis. The company says its average selling price in this segment increased by 2 percent in Canadian dollars, reflecting early benefits being realized from its Nov. 1 price increase.

Cascades says its Tissue segment generated “good” results, with stable consumer retail tissue demand helping to offset lower demand levels for away-from-home products as a result of the pandemic. Plourde says the Tissue segment generated a solid fourth-quarter adjusted OIBD margin of 10.5 percent in spite of ongoing challenging market conditions.

In its earnings presentation, the company reports shipments in this segment increased 5 percent on a sequential basis in the fourth quarter of 2020, driven by a 7 percent increase in shipments of converted products in all market segments, which is a reflection of weaker shipment levels in the prior quarter related to COVID-19’s impact on demand levels, primarily for away-from-home converted products. The company says the average selling price in Canadian dollars was stable in the quarter.

Additionally, Cascades says its Specialty Products and European Boxboard segments generated slightly lower results in the quarter.

This year, Cascades has announced planned progressive and permanent closure of its tissue operations at its Laval plant in Quebec by June. The company adds that its tissue operations in Pennsylvania ceased in December 2020. Additionally, Reno De Medici S.p.A. had announced the signature of a put option for the sale of Cascades’ French subsidiary, which produces virgin fiber-based boxboard, in February 2021. The company says that transaction is expected to close at the end of the second quarter of 2021.

The company says it also will be progressing on its conversion of the White Birch Bear Island paper mill in Ashland, Virginia, which will produce lightweight, 100-percent-recycled linerboard and medium for the North American market.

Plourde says, “A large portion of our announced modernization investments in the Tissue segment have been completed, with the remaining two state-of-the-art converting lines expected to be installed in the coming quarters. In Containerboard, we announced details of our strategic Bear Island conversion project in mid-October and helped to de-risk the project with a concurrent $125 million equity issuance offering.

He continues, “The European Boxboard segment announced the acquisition of Papelera del Principado S.A. (Paprinsa) and three affiliated companies … will strengthen and consolidate Reno de Medici's competitive positioning within European recycled boxboard markets and is expected to close at the end of the first quarter of 2021.”

Plourde concludes that Cascades’ near-term outlook “is positive despite ongoing COVID-19-related uncertainty.” He says containerboard demand remains strong and, combined with recent industry price increases, will help to offset raw material price increases. With the Tissue segment, he says stronger-than-expected volumes in December, usual seasonal softness in the first quarter of the year and unfavorable demand impact on away-from-home products related to the pandemic will likely translate into weaker sequential performance in the segment. He adds that the company predicts stable sequential performance for its Specialty Products segment, with higher average selling prices and good demand trends for consumer food packaging offsetting the slightly higher raw material costs. He concludes that results in European Boxboard are expected to remain stable as well, with higher volumes and a favorable exchange rate mitigating higher forecasted raw material and energy costs.

Additionally, Plourde says he predicts higher average old corrugated container (OCC) costs in the near-term future, increasing in line with usual seasonal trends of the period. He adds that prices for white recycled fibers will likely remain stable, while virgin pulp prices are expected to increase “given recent moves in index pricing.” He says raw materials have been “readily available,” and “we do not foresee any changes in this regard.”

Plourde concludes that he expects 2021 to be a “busy year” for Cascades.

“The highlight will be our Bear Island containerboard project, which will account for the lion’s share of our capex program,” he says. “We will also be finalizing modernization investments in our tissue converting operations, with all of these projects encompassed within our $450 to $475 million capital program for 2021. We expect these investments to be fully funded by solid projected cash flows for the year, in part driven by our ongoing margin improvement initiatives that are targeting net revenue management, production efficiency, organizational effectiveness and supply chain optimization. These initiatives are expected to contribute 1 percent annually to consolidated OIBD margins in both 2021 and 2022, regardless of external factors."

He says, “As we continue to navigate the challenges and uncertainties inherent in the ongoing pandemic business environment, we remain focused on ensuring the health and safety of our employees and on proactively engaging with our customers to ensure that their needs and expectations are met consistently, promptly and professionally.”