Project:  Removal of metal conveyor system at packaging and distribution depot
Client: Armac Group
Sector(s): Logistics
Material(s): Ferrous and non-ferrous metals
Services: Combined demolition, asset removal and material transportation for processing
Location: Nuneaton, UK
Contract Date: April 2020

In brief…

Due to a huge increase in demand for online shopping and parcel delivery which has increased at a greater rate due to the coronavirus pandemic, a nationwide parcel distribution company needed to upgrade its distribution depot. Armac Group worked closely with Ward to complete the demolition, removal and recycling of the conveyor system to make way for new equipment. 

A partnership package

The parcel depot was capable of processing 20,000 parcels per day with its existing conveyor system. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 the business needed to rapidly scale up its production and logistics operations to meet the increased demand from online shopping orders. Following a recommendation from UK leading car manufacturer, Armac Group was appointed to carry out the demolition and removal of the old conveyor system.

As a fellow family business that has a long history of working with Ward, Armac partnered with Ward to remove and recycle the bulk materials.

Express delivery

The client required to project to be fully completed with a very tight deadline. This involved carefully removing the old 350 tonne steel conveyor system which would normally take several weeks to dismantle. In this case the timescale was condensed to seven days. Armac and Ward teams worked in partnership throughout the Bank Holiday weekend and following days to ensure the project was completed on time.

Steely determination 24/7

The teams worked round the clock with three specialist excavators in constant use throughout the week and using number of Ward roll on/off containers. Armac Group worked day and night dismantling, cutting and demolishing the steel conveyor belt. Ward’s specialist drivers exchanged full containers using their wagon and drag service ensuring that there was always an empty container ready for reload.

Socially distanced success 

Throughout the project the depot remained up and running and continuing to process packages, while moving around the site to implement social distancing and following health and safety guidelines.

Armac demolished 350 tonnes of steel and Ward collected over 50 loads for recycling. The project cleared the way to enable installation of an upgraded conveyor system, increasing capacity from 20,000 to 160,000 parcels per day.

Client quote/testimonial:

“It was a fast turnaround demolition and removal project, but we rose to the challenge and it went really well. The client was pleased and its always great working with Ward. It’s easy to get in touch, get things like transport and logistics sorted and have a reliable partner on a job like this.” 

– Adrian McLean, Operations Director at Armac Group

“This was another great project to work on with Armac Group. Interesting, challenging and a real team effort to demolish, remove and recycle over 350 tonnes of steel and other metal arisings in just one week, during a global pandemic. Now that’s impressive.”

– David Ward Jnr, Commercial Director, Ward

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Project: First ship of the year to export metal from Ward’s Immingham dock
Client: Habas
Sector(s): Reinforcing bar production
Material(s): Ferrous scrap metal
Location:  UK – Chesterfield & Immingham
Date: February 2019

In brief

#TeamWARD had to pull out all the stops to hit the deadline for its first shipment of scrap metal to Turkey in 2019 or face a £15,000 cost for every day of delay. With 20,000 tonnes of metal to recover, process and load onto the 200 metre-long vessel, it was a race against time for brothers Thomas and Donald Ward and their teams.

Increasing exports

In April 2018 Ward opened its fifth site, a dock at ABP Ports in Immingham. The £1million+ investment was a key milestone for the fourth generation, independent family business in expanding its metal processing capabilities and increasing its export potential.

The 2.5 acre port facility near Grimsby, with the capacity to hold up to 30,000 tonnes of material at a time on stock, enables the deep sea shipping of metal cargo to new destinations, particularly Turkey – the main importer of scrap metal in the world.

Meeting the challenge

Having worked hard to find buyers, including foundries and rebar producers, they were on countdown to load the first ship with 20,000 tonnes of Heavy Melting Steel (HMS) 1 and 2, grade 80:20 destined for Habas in Nemrut Bay, Turkey. With just one week until the scheduled date of departure, the Ward teams in both Immingham and its sister site in Chesterfield, worked around the clock to prepare scrap metal for loading.

Sustainable success

After a week’s hard graft, at the end of the shift, the team had successfully met the 20,000 tonne target to send the ship to Turkey on time. A huge win for Ward and a sustainable success story for a pile of scrap. Within two weeks of arriving in Turkey, 4,000 nautical miles away, it would be melted in a furnace to make new products. The recycled metal will be then be shipped around the world giving it new life.

“Many of the pieces of metal were probably produced in steelworks here in the UK many years ago and then used in building for 100 years and now they’ll leave and find a new home abroad. This first ship of 2019 heading for Turkey was another major milestone for Ward and our metals business. The team’s done really well, really pushed it.”

– Thomas Ward, Commercial Director

Download the full case study here. Or watch for yourself as it featured on Sky show “Scrap Kings – The Seven Million Dollar Man” in 2019. You can watch the full episode at cutt.ly/scrap-kings

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Family run business, Goodman Metal Works Ltd, supplies steel fabrication and stainless steel fabrication services to businesses throughout Europe. With over 50 years experience it specialises in large metal work fabrications up to and over 100 tonnes in sectors including construction, defence, mining, quarrying, recycling, renewable power and subsea and offshore. It is about to embark on a major aluminium recycling plant in the USA and key project for the World Health Organisation, having completed the Angel Wings Sculpture at the entrance to the N1 shopping plaza in London.

Ward has been working with Goodman for more than ten years, providing a range of skips and metal waste recycling support – from eight yard skips to larger roll on off containers – for all different types of metal such as profile plate, turnings and light iron/steel.

Donald Ward, said: “We have built a strong relationship with Goodman’s and the company is a great example of British manufacturing. Our work fits the circular economy model and is of great benefit to the environment.”

Richard Goodman, owner of Goodman Metal Works Ltd, added: “Ward has always been on hand to help with all kinds of recycling from our day to day production waste, waste segregation into various size bins or containers, to dealing with hazardous waste such as asbestos when we refurbished one of our factories.

On the other side, we also supply spare parts for their recycling processes. This has included designing and fitting a new trommel used for their segregation of waste.”

You can download a copy of this case study here.

For more information on metal recycling call our dedicated metal recycling team on 0345 337 0000 or visit https://www.ward.com/metal-recycling/ for details of waste removal services in your area.

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Ward Recycling were initially invited to the London situated North Pole Depot (NPD) by Faithful+Gould (FG) to view ferrous metal items on site associated with the maintenance of the Eurostar Fleet, that were unsold lots from a prior auction. The removal of these items was in preparation for the potential sale of the site by BRBR (now London and Continental Railways (LCR)).

During the visit Ward Recycling proposed to incorporate a total turn-key solution to prepare the Site, including the demolition of six structures, the removal of hazardous waste, additional non-ferrous, ferrous and rail ballast.

Due to the location and of the Site and proximity to live railway networks restrictions were placed on logistics including, vehicle types and access times. The Site itself was not live, however it was positioned adjacent to a live rail infrastructure and also incorporated a logistic route, requiring 24 hour a day access through, for Network Rail (NR) and associated/complimentary companies involved with the active rail system. Strict traffic management plans were adopted, continually modified and adjusted in line with the progressing programme to ensure that material removals did not impact on either the live rail network or the required access road.

Due to the evolving programme, status of the Works and the access requirement site operatives and the site manager stayed on site Monday to Friday by agreement with the client ensuring safe access through the Site out of normal working hours.

The streamlining of the programme generated a number of activities running concurrently, being managed with weekly forecast meetings on site between Ward Recycling and clients FG/BRBR.

The initial works involved the coordination of the removal of 12,000m of rail and sleepers, taking place concurrently as removal of overhead cabling and associated supporting steel work.

During this Period a number of buildings were demolished, located adjacent and in close proximity to the access road. To avoid disruption to the road arisings were stockpiled and collections of these materials and ballast was limited to days when the road usage was minimised.

All mixed wastes, timber, ferrous and non ferrous, other than the rail track and ballast, was returned to Ward Recycling depots for reprocessing and recycling into a number of saleable products. Coordination and management of outgoing loads was live, reacting daily to the Site and stakeholder requirements by the site manager and Ward Recycling transport management with vehicles travelling from the Midlands to make collections at the agreed times. The optimisation and minimisation of transport movements was carried out via the utilisation of roll on/off vehicles that can carry two containers.

The project produced a recycling rate in excess of 98%, with over 5,000 tonnes of material recycled within the four month programme.

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