// Scrap metal
There is no lack of scrap metal or
people to buy the material.
(Credit: Andrew Malone, Flickr CC)
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If you can get through the tough times and you run a leaner,
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NICK CHAMBERS
lot more ability for even the small scrap
recycler to export. There has also been
an advent of interest from India and
Bangladesh and [other parts of] Asia, and
they’ve come here physically looking for
scrap... in some circumstances, knocking
on people’s doors saying, we want to buy
your scrap.”
For Coyle, this has presented an
opportunity for suppliers.
“It’s created a market for us because
we sell machines to help small to
mid-tier scrap recyclers remain
competitive. We sell equipment that
people may buy for their small yards,
not the big facilities,” Coyle said.
“They’re
simplistic
machines
that either cut scrap up into a size
that can be put into a container so
recyclers get maximum density, or
they’re compressed into bales and put
into containers.”
How long are you in it for?
It may be a challenging market but Sell
and Parker has been on an expansion
drive. Over the last few years, the
company has opened and installed
large processing plants in Port Hedland
in Western Australian and the Northern
Territory, and will soon open a facility
in Blacktown in NSW.
Parker believes there will always be
scrap that needs to be recycled, even
as Australian manufacturing continues
to decline.
“But the feedstock is changing. With
the closure of these manufacturers,
you’re losing a lot of prime grade
scrap, which is the offcuts from
the manufacturing process. But the
secondary grade, which is postconsumer so your cars or white goods
or galvanised iron, that is still growing
because it’s a function of population as
opposed to manufacturing,” Parker said.
The company’s plan is to continue to
invest in order to maximise efficiencies
because the 50-year-old scrap recycler
intends to stick around for a long time.
But not all recyclers are on the same
page. It’s difficult to fault them given
margins are tight and in order to get by,
many are turning to cheaper equipment
to ride out the storm.
“The challenge that we and other
suppliers are facing, is the advent of
Chinese manufacturers who can do it
much cheaper. But the quality of these
machines is not there. You can buy them
cheaply but they will last for maybe
three years. That’s a big game changer,”
Coyle said, which makes sense because
when it comes to scrap metal recycling,
machines make a world of difference
given you’re talking about processing
extremely abrasive materials.
So it all comes down to how long
you’re in it for?
As Parker aptly put it: “We’ve
seen good times and bad times,
iw
that’s life.”
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AUGUST 2016 INSIDEWASTE
23