Swedish recycler wins Danish market

Through the acquisition of their Danish competitor Rødkærsbro Produkthandel in 2006, the Swedish company Stena Metall became the leading recycler of metals and metal scrap in Denmark. Stena Metall had already been the leader of the field in the rest of the Nordic region.

“When it comes to company values and environmental issues, Rødkærsbro Produkthandel is the perfect match for us,” says Anders Skibdal, country manager in the business area Stena Jern & Metal.

Rødkærsbro has more than 75 years of experience in environmental services and recycling technology in Denmark. Mr Skibdal recounts the benefits this has brought to Stena Metall’s clients and suppliers:

“We now operate 16 scrap yards and shredding facilities around the country, which means that we can offer customers anywhere in Denmark efficient solutions for collecting, processing and recycling ferrous and non-ferrous scrap and other waste. And thanks to modern technology the recycling itself can be done over and over again-we estimate that paper waste can be recycled 6-7 times before the paper fiber is worn out, and metal scrap can be re-used indefinitely.”

Mr Skibdal also points out that in their field of business, every expansion promotes sustainable development:

“The Stena Metall group recycles millions of tonnes of scrap, paper, electronics and hazardous waste worldwide every year. We have calculated that this reduces emissions of carbon dioxide by over ten million tonnes annually-compared with producing all new raw materials from mines, forests or oil reserves.”

NIB supports the expansion

Stena Metall’s new investments in the Danish recycling industry have totalled over SEK 600 million (EUR 63 million), and NIB has participated in the financing with a loan of SEK 300 million (over EUR 30 million). Lars Synnes, Senior Manager at NIB, says that Stena Metall is an interesting new customer in an important field of business:

“Stena Metall is a strong, medium-sized company with good growth potential. We are glad to be able to support this expansion, since the environmental sector has high priority in our lending activities. The project also supports the competitiveness of Stena Metall.”

Stena Metall AB was founded in 1939. Its operations also include international trading in steel, metals and oil. By the end of 2007 the company had operations in more than 250 locations in the Nordic countries and worldwide.