RECYCLING
Global giant Urbaser makes significant investment in Teesside
Since Urbaser completed the acquisition of Hartlepool-based J & B Recycling last summer , the global environmental management giant has made significant investments in its Teesside operation .
While most day-to-day operations remain the same at J & B – a waste management company that has provided services throughout the North-East since 1998 – the recent investment has fuelled new employment opportunities and operational improvements across the business .
J & B Recycling managing director Vikki Jackson-Smith said : “ The deal with Urbaser has allowed us to continue our growth within a global organisation that shares our values and goals .
“ They have already invested heavily in infrastructure to help improve our processing power and upgraded IT systems to streamline processes . We will shortly be moving over to a new software system , Purgo , that will allow us to provide customers with a real time , informationdriven portal .
“ This investment has enabled us to increase our processing capabilities , making us more competitive in the local marketplace , so we have been able to increase our workforce here in the North- East , creating more jobs for local people .”
There is more investment planned for the near future , including additional plant upgrades , a multi-storey office extension , improved parking facilities for staff and visitors and fleet replacement .
There are also plans to enhance health and safety management across the sites with the introduction of a vehicle / pedestrian safety system ( SiteZone Safety ).
Vikki added : “ Urbaser and J & B Recycling share the same passion for improving the environmental impact of our operations , therefore many of the developments focus on reducing our carbon footprint , including the investment in electric forklift trucks and moving to paperless processing systems .”
Urbaser has been delivering environmental services across the world
Ambitious – J & B Recycling managing director Vikki Jackson- Smith continues to drive the Hartlepool firm forward .
since 1990 . Its parent company also operates in the USA , Asia , North Africa and South America .
In the UK , Urbaser currently provides environmental services to more than 14 local authorities and 4.5m people .
114 | Tees Business