Sapphire Merges With Glacier

Sapphire Energy Recovery – now fully-owned by Lafarge Cement UK following a buy-out of joint venture shares from Michelin Tyre plc – has restructured in what it describes as “an aim to operate closer to the sources of waste and further improve customer service.” The business has completed a merger with sister Lafarge resource recovery company Glacier, which was dedicated to sourcing alternative raw materials and fuels for the cement business. The Glacier name will go, and the new company will operate across the waste spectrum with one management team.

Headed by General Manager Jamie Randall, the new-look Sapphire Energy Recovery will continue to serve the tyre recovery market, and even has plans for growth despite the current downturn. Thanks to recent new contracts, it expects to process well over 18 million tyres in 2009; a significant increase on previous years’ averages of 16 million.

“The joint venture with Michelin provided us with excellent foundations and helped to build a strong and reliable presence in the tyre recovery market which we are very proud of,” said Randall. “Bringing our other resource recovery activities under the same banner will mean we can join forces and share expertise as we investigate more opportunities for waste recovery in the future.”

Business growth and development will be spearheaded by Business Development Manager Tim Stott, who has over a decade of experience in the tyre industry and is currently president of the Tyre Recovery Association. “I’m looking forward to taking Sapphire to the next stage of its development, which we hope will come not just in the form of expanded processing capabilities and services but even via acquisitions – it’s an exciting time,” he said.

Other members of the team include Clive Roberts, Supply Chain Manager, who will lead customer service and supply arrangements, and Commercial Manager John Pickering, who will manage sales and marketing as well as contract management

Martin Stocks, Optimisation Development Manager, recently joined the business from Lafarge Cement’s Cauldon Works – his role will focus on the use of new alternative fuels and raw materials in cement works and wider technical issues.

Incorporating tyres into the cement manufacturing process makes the most of the energy locked within them and reduces the amount of fossil fuels required – which in turn helps reduce CO2 emissions.

“The tyre recovery business will remain a core area of business for us, and in fact we want to see it expand,”continued Tim Stott. “Although the cement industry is undoubtedly facing a tough time as the construction downturn bites, it will continue to look for alternative fuels and materials that help reduce emissions and reduce consumption of non-renewable resources.

“We’ll also be looking for opportunities to extend the use of processed tyres and other wastes in other areas such as landfill engineering and possibly even construction as we continue to support customers in managing their waste disposal issues.”