SPX FLOW's Waukesha Cherry-Burrell Reduces Landfill Impact by 90+ Tons per Month with Sand Mold Recycling Breakthrough

Partnering with The Recy Group, the company finds new life for foundry sand, providing eco-friendly materials to local construction industries. 

DELAVAN, Wis., Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Waukesha Cherry-Burrell (WCB), an industry leader in food processing equipment and part of SPX FLOW, has taken its commitment to sustainability to new heights by completing a fully circular economy model in pump rotor production at its Delavan, Wisconsin facility. This groundbreaking achievement was recently solidified with the addition of a sand mold recycling program, approved by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and in partnership with The Recy Group. Through this initiative, sand used in the casting process is now recycled for road construction, bringing SPX FLOW even closer to fulfilling its theme of making, "Earth Day, Every Day."

"By integrating sand mold recycling with our existing metal recycling processes, we're able to turn what was once waste into a valuable resource for local infrastructure," says Brandon Marvin, Environmental, Health and Safety Manager at the Delavan site. "It's a perfect example of how industrial innovation can support environmental and community wellbeing at the same time."

To see the existing metal recycling process in action, watch this video: https://youtu.be/p-laxJGko_M

How It Works: The Circular Economy in Action

At the core of WCB's circular model is Alloy-88, a proprietary metal alloy developed in-house. Alloy-88 rotors are designed to withstand intense use in food processing pumps, known as the "heart" of any food and beverage pump. When these rotors wear down with time, customers can return them to SPX FLOW, where they're remelted and reshaped into new rotors—keeping valuable metal in use and reducing landfill impact. In 2023 alone, the facility received 43,000 pounds of returned rotors through this buy-back program, reinforcing the company's commitment to a closed-loop system.

The sand mold recycling process now completes the cycle. After Alloy-88 is poured into sand molds to shape the rotors, the molds cool and harden, then are broken away to reveal the rotor. Instead of discarding this sand, SPX FLOW now collects and sends it to The Recy Group, where it is repurposed for construction, particularly benefiting road projects in colder climates by extending the construction season.

"The sand molds are mixed in with our other recycled construction materials which then are grinded and used for trench backfilling," says Matt Sattelberg, Vice President at The Recy Group. "Overall, this is a huge recycling win for SPX FLOW by diverting over 90 tons per month of its sand molds that were originally going to the landfill."

Following the success in Delavan, SPX FLOW has plans to expand this circular economy model to its other global facilities, starting with its largest pump manufacturing site in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

To follow the company's journey toward a more sustainable future, visit: https://spxflow.com/about/earth-day-every-day

About SPX FLOW, Inc.
Based in Charlotte, N.C., SPX FLOW, Inc. improves the world through innovative and sustainable solutions. The company's product offering is concentrated in process technologies that perform mixing, blending, fluid handling, separation, thermal heat transfer and other activities that are integral to processes performed across a wide variety of nutrition, health, and industrial markets. SPX FLOW has operations in more than 25 countries and sales in more than 140 countries. To learn more about SPX FLOW, please visit www.spxflow.com. 

Media Contact:
Melissa Buscher, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
[email protected]

SOURCE SPX FLOW, Inc.