£1.5m equipment upgrade

Bondholder Ward Recycling has completed a £1.5 million upgrade at its metal processing facility in Ilkeston.

In early 2019, Ward has purchased a new EtaRIP 250 pre-shredder which is now fully operational, following significant groundworks and infrastructure improvements at a cost of over £1.5 million.

From September 2019, the company has monitored the new equipment and, even during the current period of disruption caused by the Coronavirus, is now able to report on the benefit since the installation was commissioned.

Even though the new kit is working in addition to the original large metal shredding plant, processing essential waste to keep supply chains running, there has been no real increase in the energy consumption. Ward has also found there are now few energy spikes meaning the pre-shredding equipment is improving the overall energy usage on its Ilkeston site.

Damage caused to machinery in the main shredding plant by processing very large pieces of metal has also reduced thanks to the pre-shredder, reducing maintenance downtime. Ward is pleased to report a significant reduction in controlled explosions in the main shredder, which are now almost non-existent.

Donald Ward, Managing Director, said: “Legislation around metal shredding sites is constantly changing as standards continually improve across the UK and Europe. This installation enables us to be at the forefront of recycling within the metal industry and demonstrate best available techniques when processing cars and other large metal items.”

The recycling company has invested significantly over the last two years with a brand new purpose built site at Chesterfield, a complete office renovation at Ilkeston of Donald Ward House, opening a dedicated deep sea dock at Immingham for further expansion of its metal recycling capabilities, plus launching a new textile recycling service WARDRobe. It also installed a new IT infrastructure which enabled the team to seamlessly move its office functions to work from home during the period of lockdown.