TURMEC
PIONEERING RECYCLING SOLUTIONS ON A GLOBAL SCALE Powered by Inside Sustainability
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TURMEC
I PROFILE
Recycling plant specialist Turmec is a leading international provider of materials handling and recovery solutions to the waste processing sector. Turmec has developed a unique set of expertise and skills, positioning themselves at the top of the industry. Turmec are busy finalising the mechanical installation of the biggest recycling facility in the world. Associate Sales Director Gavin Dunne filled Richard Hagan in on the details.
T
urmec’s reputation as a trusted
like fish net washers and fish cages. That
supplier of powerful recycling
all changed in 2000, when Turmec was
solutions spans the globe, serving
sold to Joe Coffey, hailing from the mobile
diverse customers from family-owned
crushing and screening industry. Mr Coffey
enterprises to national and international
immediately switched Turmec’s focus to
operators alike.
the recycling industry and began mar-
Turmec was established over fifty years ago in 1972. Initially, the company provided
keting its services accordingly. Turmec was awarded its first recycling-
contract and general engineering ser-
based project only a year later in 2001, and
vices for the aquaculture and fisheries
from there, the company has gradually
industry, for which it manufactured items
grown its market share in the recycling
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industry. Having conquered its home market
Built for the circular economy
in Ireland, Turmec entered the United
Turmec is headquartered in Rathcairn in
Kingdom in the late 2000s, followed by
County Meath, Ireland – about 45 minutes
Australia in 2016.
from Dublin. But do not be fooled by its rural,
“Since then, the Australian market has
small-town location. With 110 staff members
been very good to us, with five installations,”
employed at Turmec, its 66,000sqft factory
Associate Sales Director Gavin Dunne
is fully equipped and staffed to manufacture
explained. “The scale of the projects we
everything required for its projects any-
have built in Australia are the largest in the
where in the world. It also boasts various
world, handling three to four times the ton-
certifications, including EN 1090 (a set of
nage of our standard projects.
European standards that regulate the
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TURMEC
I PROFILE
fabrication and assembly of steel
nage throughput, high recovery and purity
and aluminium structures), ISO 45001
of recyclates and low manual intervention.
(occupational health & safety), ISO 9001
“Our systems get as much as possible
(quality management) and ISO 14001
out of the waste in an efficient, low-energy
(environmental management).
manner,” said Mr Dunne. “They are specifi-
Turmec specialises in designing highly
cally built for the circular economy. For
automated processes that deliver high-ton-
example, most of our construction waste
Turmec Associate Sales Director, Gavin Dunne
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Turmec Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Bailey
facilities recycle up to 99 per cent of the waste, recovering stone, concrete, timber, ferrous and non-ferrous materials such as aluminium. Any residual waste is further processed and used as an alternative fuel by the cement or waste to energy sectors.
Going Down Under Turmec is proud to announce that it will soon complete the construction of the largest recycling facility in the world. Located just outside Brisbane, Australia, the new facility is designed to process an impressive 475 tonnes of waste per hour; ultimately aiming for landfill diversion and recovery rates of up to 99%. “The project, for Rino Recycling, is valued at $89 million and is licensed to process one million tonnes of mixed construction waste annually,” Mr Dunne explained. “When complete, the plant will be one of the largest construction and demolition (C&D) waste recovery sites in Australia. It will process a range of waste types from pure demolition waste and skip waste to NDD (Non-destructive digging) waste.” The plant - which has an interior volume equivalent to twenty Olympic-sized swimming pools - will process these recyclables
Turmec’s expertise really shines. “The pro-
into a range of high-quality sand, fill, road
cessing plant features great flexibility in
base and aggregate materials which will
design; and is made up of four different
be supplied back into new construction
infeed’s. The various lines can be oper-
projects, including everything from road
ated individually or operated together,”
building to mega projects such as stadiums.
Mr Dunne said.
Clearly, getting finished products out of
“At the back end of the plant, the
raw demolition materials is not easy, but it’s
clean aggregates are fed through a wet pro-
exactly in this type of challenge that
cessing supplied by CDE. There, the materials
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TURMEC
I PROFILE
are washed, sand and silt removed, graded by size and then delivered to storage bays.” Construction on the new plant began in January 2023 and by August 2023, the project had reached mechanical installation completion, with commissioning and handover to follow in the coming months.
Opportunities in the Big Easy In May 2023, for the first time, Turmec attended the New Orleans Waste Exhibition. Having previously identified the United States as a potential growth opportunity for the company, Turmec participated in the
receptive to us; they would welcome more
exhibition as a first step to a possible entry
suppliers in the recycling space, because
into the US market.
the existing players are suffering from long
“The opportunity for Turmec in the US is
lead times due to huge demand.”
huge,” Mr Dunne explained. “Thus far, we’ve
Consequently, Turmec is investigating
found that the waste companies there are
the viability of setting up its own physical
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presence in the US, as this will ensure that
with the Middle East featuring prominently
it is able to quickly and reliably deliver its
in its plans. “Momentum in our business is
crucial after-sales service and support to
growing fast in the Middle East, particularly
its US customers.
in the United Arab Emirates and in Saudi
Looking beyond the US, Turmec is already
Arabia,” Mr Dunne said, concluding. “Of
putting feelers out for other growth markets,
course, we’re always looking into the future to predict which direction the waste industry is moving: what’s coming next and what future projects may lie ahead. “For example, we are asking ourselves whether the opportunity still lies in traditional recycling, or do we get involved in something a bit more exotic, like solar panel recycling?” In the meantime, Turmec warmly invites you to visit its team at Waste Expo Melbourne, in which it will be exhibiting, October 26th to 28th 2023, to discuss your recycling machinery needs and challenges.
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