A metal recycling facility to be built in Dundee later this year will take the city’s decom ambitions “up another level”.
John Lawrie Metals and Forth Ports are investing more than £5 million in a new facility at the Port of Dundee designed to dismantle and recycle redundant offshore infrastructure.
The firm’s Decommissioning and Projects Director, Julian Foley, will be a panellist at the Courier Business Briefing which has the theme of Decom and Renewables: The Opportunity on March 18.
Mr Foley said the investment showed John Lawrie’s confidence in Dundee’s decom future.
He said: “Unlike a lot of companies that are talking about decom, we are investing in building a facility.
“We are investing in Dundee now to ensure we have everything in place and are ready for the anticipated bow-wave of offshore decommissioning.”
“We expect to be up and running by the middle of this year, and our new facility directly on the quayside enhances Dundee’s offering.”
Mr Foley has spent 28 years in the hazardous waste management industry, with a focus on waste produced by the oil and gas industry across the globe.
He joined John Lawrie in October.
As an active member of the Decom North Sea Leadership Group he currently sits on the Re-se, Recycle, Repurpose Special Interest Group working to explore options for various pieces of decommissioned infrastructure both within oil and gas and alternative industries.
He said John Lawrie’s Dundee facility would fit with their drive towards a circular economy aims and increase volumes of material coming in and out of the port.
“Our unique selling point is that if you bring us a structure all of the metal stays with John Lawrie minimising the number of parties within the Duty of Care custody chain.
“We take it in and process on site before shipping it back out of Dundee by boat, directly for recycling.
“Unlike other decommissioning operations, we will minimise off-site road transport.
“It’s a complete solution on the quayside, with more than half of the 9,500m2 new site area dedicated for decom.”
The Courier Business Briefing, held in association with Fairways, will be held at Malmaison in Dundee on Wednesday March 18.
The keynote speaker will be Forth Ports chief executive Charles Hammond and the event will start at 7.30am and run until 9.30am.
Tickets, priced £25, include a buffet breakfast and can be purchased from thecourierbriefings.co.uk
rmclaren@thecourier.co.uk