QC POLYMER
UK recycler robbed of equipment on eve of creditor's auction / Police launch probe
— By Plasteurope.com correspondent —
 QC Polymer has been robbed of recycling equipment worth an estimated GBP 1.3 mn (Photo: Hudson Weir) |
The West Midlands Police have launched an investigation into the theft of machinery worth more than GBP 1 mn (EUR 1.2 mn) from the premises of collapsed UK plastics recycler QC Polymer (QCP, Bilston), just hours before an auction to sell off the equipment was due to be held.
The PET bottle recycling specialist, which in January this year had been acquired for GBP 900,000 by India-based Mysore Petro Chemicals (MPCL, Mumbai, Maharashtra; www.mysorepetro.com) went bust earlier this month, citing rising costs of doing business. Administrators Hudson Weir had hoped to sell as much of the equipment as possible at the auction to realise some money for creditors of the 18,000 t/y capacity operation.
But when staff from commercial valuers GJ Wisdom visited the former QCP operation the day before the auction was due to take place, they found the facility empty; all the recycling equipment, worth an estimated GBP 1.3 mn, had been removed.
Related: Viridor to shutter mechanical recycling plant
Hasib Howlader of QCP’s administrator Hudson Weir, told the BBC: “To understand the sheer scale of this robbery, GJ Wisdom & Co estimated it would have taken seven days to dismantle this plant and a fleet of 10 articulated lorries and two cranes to cart it away.”
Howlader said the equipment removed from the site was “highly specialist PET recycling machinery with a limited market for its sale and disposal. So, we are asking the industry to be on the lookout for this type of technology being offered, second hand, at well below market value.”
The sudden collapse of QC Polymer came as a surprise to industry watchers. As recently as August of this year, managing director Arpan Dhanuka spoke to Plasteurope.com about the potential in reprocessing waste PET and of his plans to grow the company, which then employed around 40 staff.
At the time, Dhanuka also said, perhaps prophetically, that it was expensive to run such an operation in the UK. “It is definitely hard to get good-quality waste PET here. The Labour government’s introduction of a deposit return scheme would be very helpful in this regard.
“The cost of production in the UK is quite high too, especially for rent and insurance. Labour costs are also quite expensive here.”
West Midlands Police and Hudson Weir did not respond to Plasteurope.com queries by press time.
The PET bottle recycling specialist, which in January this year had been acquired for GBP 900,000 by India-based Mysore Petro Chemicals (MPCL, Mumbai, Maharashtra; www.mysorepetro.com) went bust earlier this month, citing rising costs of doing business. Administrators Hudson Weir had hoped to sell as much of the equipment as possible at the auction to realise some money for creditors of the 18,000 t/y capacity operation.
But when staff from commercial valuers GJ Wisdom visited the former QCP operation the day before the auction was due to take place, they found the facility empty; all the recycling equipment, worth an estimated GBP 1.3 mn, had been removed.
Related: Viridor to shutter mechanical recycling plant
Hasib Howlader of QCP’s administrator Hudson Weir, told the BBC: “To understand the sheer scale of this robbery, GJ Wisdom & Co estimated it would have taken seven days to dismantle this plant and a fleet of 10 articulated lorries and two cranes to cart it away.”
Howlader said the equipment removed from the site was “highly specialist PET recycling machinery with a limited market for its sale and disposal. So, we are asking the industry to be on the lookout for this type of technology being offered, second hand, at well below market value.”
The sudden collapse of QC Polymer came as a surprise to industry watchers. As recently as August of this year, managing director Arpan Dhanuka spoke to Plasteurope.com about the potential in reprocessing waste PET and of his plans to grow the company, which then employed around 40 staff.
At the time, Dhanuka also said, perhaps prophetically, that it was expensive to run such an operation in the UK. “It is definitely hard to get good-quality waste PET here. The Labour government’s introduction of a deposit return scheme would be very helpful in this regard.
“The cost of production in the UK is quite high too, especially for rent and insurance. Labour costs are also quite expensive here.”
West Midlands Police and Hudson Weir did not respond to Plasteurope.com queries by press time.
19.11.2024 Plasteurope.com [256625-0]
Published on 19.11.2024