For over 30 years, there has been a metal recycling centre in Woodchurch, Birchington, Kent. However, the last three years have seen seismic changes as Reclamet has grown from a household name in the East Kent area to the leading metal recycler across all of Kent and further afield.
Why? Because Reclamet has been proactively adapting to demand – upgrading its metal recycling facility, creating more space, investing in more efficient material handling, and recruiting specific operational expertise.
Whilst consolidating and improving the traditional metal recycling capability, they have repositioned to provide a more effective ‘green’ auto-part recycling centre as well as being a leading waste company and Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF).
Central to the most recent changes has been the acquisition of the new 35,000-square-foot warehouse space in Manston, Kent, which has transformed the vehicle dismantling and auto-part recycling side of the business to create a highly accessible, multi-use and well-stocked auto centre.
It already houses over 100,000 green recycled parts and is fitted out with four dismantling rigs, imaging bays and panel storage.
Instead of being stored in situ on car racking and dismantled to order, vehicles are now systematically dismantled at the warehouse, and the parts are cleaned, photographed, indexed, listed for sales, and stored on easy-access industry-leading racking systems. In short, this has massively increased the auto-recycling capacity and speed to market parts.
Importantly, the warehouse also features a fully equipped body repair centre – Reclamet Repair and Refinish. Now open and taking bookings, this currently makes Reclamet the only dismantler who owns and operates its own body shop with the option to repair with green parts.
At the yard, Reclamet has also been busy. They recently invested in a container inverter, giving access to domestic and foreign markets to export materials worldwide directly to the end-user.
The inverter is gradually tilted so that gravity disperses the materials evenly and avoids piercing the container – maximising the capacity by reducing voids. The container is also held in a restraining cradle to restrict overloading and swelling. Swollen or damaged containers will be rejected for cargo shipping.
This investment is due to the increased demand in domestic and industrial scrap metal recycling – roll-on-roll-off bins, skips and articulated bulkers – which creates a need to find new end-user markets and be confident of effective fulfilment.
Reclamet has also replaced the 2-high racking with new 4-high vehicle racking to increase capacity within the limited space, and a newly acquired multi-directional forklift makes it easier to access selected vehicles when needed.
This is because a strong reputation locally, on account of guaranteed prices, great customer service and drive to be the best in the market, has greatly widened the catchment for vehicle collection.
Many salvaged and privately bought scrap vehicles require storing and holding for periods of time to extract the best recycling value from them. Some of these vehicles will be scrapped with a certificate of destruction (COD) via Reclamet’s links to the DVLA database. Some will be stripped of original manufacturer parts in the new warehouse, and others will be suitable to resell or auction.
Additionally, by fine-tuning the logistics of the increased coverage, Reclamet has invested in their car carrier fleet – ordering new Euro 6 lorries to improve their green footprint.
With all recycling, from vehicle-related through to metal disposal, the focus is on the speed and professionalism of buying in, processing, and selling on. Reclamet takes great pride in how they do this.
Visit www.reclamet.co.uk
