Recycling sites are just small cogs in a vast machine
It has been a familiar fixture in Derbyshire for more than 70 years, but not many people realise what happens at Ward Recycling. Stephen Sinfield finds out more about the business and the people behind it
WARD Recycling started life in the 1940s with Donald Ward at the helm. Today, 70 years later, the firm is still family-owned and has invested and expanded to great heights.
The firm is now run by the third and fourth generation of the family with operations covering the whole of the UK for metal and waste recycling services.
Progression in the business – which started life as Donald Ward Ltd – was very gradual until the year 2002 when things really stepped up a gear and expansion increased.
Back in 2002, the firm had around five lorries and employed only 40 people – today it has around 120 vehicles with many more on order, and a workforce of around 400 people. Turnover is close to £150 million a year.
Donald Ward, commercial manager at Ward, said: “The turning point in the firm was the acquisition of a second site for the business in the Derbyshire town of Ilkeston where, in subsequent years, we spent over £5 million in infrastructure.
“In 2002 we bought a site in Ilkeston at the Quarry Hill Industrial Estate. We initially installed a metal shear at the site which meant our metal output almost doubled overnight and prompting the need for more vehicles.
“This has been the story throughout when we have opened new sites or installed new machines or opened new offices. In 2011 we
opened a second site in Ilkeston and in 2015 we opened a site in Chesterfield. In 2018 we opened a site in Immingham.
“Last year in Ilkeston we also took over the old Albion Leisure Centre and transformed it into offices but when doing so we made certain that we retained the old sports hall at the back so our staff could use the facilities.”
The firm’s Swadlincote site forms a major part of the success story of the business but is also just one cog in a big machine.
Donald explained what takes place at the Moira Road site and how it works alongside all of the other sites in the firm’s portfolio.
He said: “One of the things we do here at Swadlincote is deal with the metals from demolition projects.
“For example, we processed materials from the British Celanese Factory at Spondon and we are now working on the demolition arising from Imperial Tobacco in Nottingham.
“Thousands of tonnes of metal from these projects arrive here at Swadlincote and the main process is to size and cut up the metal into manageable pieces for end users.
“We take the heavy steel and shear it into 2ft lengths, which tends to be a size a steelworks requires.
“We also separate the types of metals such as steel from the copper, lead and aluminium.
“Over the years our business has changed because the market has changed. If you rewind 15 or 20 years, it would be safe to say that 99 per cent of the metal we sorted would stay within the UK and would go to companies like British Steel.
“Today, as there is little steel industry in Britain, 95 per cent of our metal is exported to countries such as India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey.
“We have a contract to collect steel cuttings from Toyota and these still stay within the UK and go to processing in Sheffield, while some of the higher value metals may now end up in end destinations such as China.
“As an example, we deal directly with a metal foundries in India. They order 1,000 tonnes of processed metal. We book and fill around 40 of the 20ft shipping containers with metal and despatch via road and vessel.
“Last year we opened a site at Immingham Docks near Grimsby. The site had previously been used as a processing and export depot but when this facility became available, we were really keen to take on the operations.
“This enables us the option of bulk loading a vessel (cargo ship) with scrap metal rather than having to fill containers.”
On its maiden voyage for Ward, the MV Fearless ship, which has five storage holds and four onboard cranes to unload the scrap, transported almost 20,000 tonnes of metal to Habas in Nemrut Bay, Turkey.
The key to all of the firm’s operations is the processing equipment which size reduces metal. Donald said: “The engine for the Swadlincote site here is the shear. The shears are like the wheels to your car – without them you cannot run. Our business is like your car and has to keep the wheels turning.
“What you see at Swadlincote is just one cog in a much larger machine. For example, at our Ilkeston site we have a much bigger metal shredder and what we process at Swadlincote in a week they can process at Ilkeston in a day.
“At Swadlincote we have one main shear and a mobile shear. The mobile shear enables us to take our processing capabilities to the customers site rather than having to bring the materials from the site back to us.
“Our Ilkeston site has a shredder which shreds lighter steel and cars – it can process over 1,000 tonnes a day. But likewise, Ilkeston cannot process the heavy metal such as steel girders.
“Other facilities at the Swadlincote site include a vehicle de-pollution setup where scrap cars are drained of all hazardous liquids before being sent for shredding and recycling at our Ilkeston depot.”
But while the company has expanded, it has always been respectful to its neighbours and the community. Swadlincote site manager Lee Park explained how the firm was only too happy to help a local school develop its sensory garden.
Lee said: “We were contacted by the Elmsleigh Infant and Nursery School in Newhall who wanted to create a sensory garden for its pupils. We supplied them with some tyres and some old car wheel trims which the children painted to create a caterpillar along its fence.
“We’re also keeping stuff to one side such as old cow bells which may also be of use to the
sensory garden. We are always keen to support the local community. I remember when we first painted the crane here as a giraffe, it attracted a lot of attention from children as they could see this giant giraffe head going up and down.
“We knew there was a lot of children interested in the giraffe so one day we had them all in a special viewing area so they could see it working in action.”
This work and investment in the company and the community has seen the firm scoop many leading awards. Earlier this year, Ward triumphed as winners of the Midlands and Central Family Business of the Year 2019 award, hot on the heels of double award wins at Midlands Family Business of the Year 2018, Business Masters Awards and the Derby Telegraph Business Awards 2019.
This latest award was the seventh win for Ward in less than six months, following on from being announced double winners at the Derby Telegraph Business Awards for “company” and “employer of the year”, scooping the “best large business” and “best family business” at the Businessdesk.com’s Business Masters awards and “family business” and “fastest growing family business” at the Midlands Family Business Awards.
Speaking after the awards, Donald said: “Being named as the family business of the year is a fantastic achievement and a true celebration of the phenomenal hard work of the team here at Ward.
“To be recognised as the best family business on a national platform is an incredible achievement and a very proud moment for our family.
“Over the last 70 years we have built up the business from a single site at Swadlincote with a handful of staff to six sites across the East Midlands and East Lincolnshire employing more than 400 people.
“We are immensely proud of our achievements to date.”