DERL managing director Alan Jones has tendered his resignation and will leave his post at the end of December.
He is departing for a new position in the industry to continue his career after the ending of DERL’s contract to operate the Baldovie waste-to-energy site.
Mr Jones arrived at the company in January 2011 having held senior roles in the industry, and oversaw the Baldovie plant’s rebuilding and £8 million upgrade after a major fire in May 2012.
The improvements led to an increase in productivity and turned around the plant’s fortunes.
In the 18 months to June last year during which Baldovie was closed by the fire, DERL posted a loss of £5m but in the six months to December the company made a profit of £360,000. The turnaround was hailed as making the plant a better prospect for a future investor to take over a new waste-management contract for the city.
DERL chairman Ivor Kelly said: “I thank Alan for the valuable contributions he made to the company, and wish him every success in his future career.”
Rodger McMullan, currently DERL’s operations manager, will replace Mr Jones and takes on the role of acting managing director in the interim.
He has more than 30 years’ industry experience, having held operations and technical management positions over the years in companies including Courtalds PLC and GlaxoSmithKline.
More recently, he was head of operations with Silberline in Leven and led business improvement and technology projects at Novartis in Dundee before joining DERL last year.
Mr Kelly added: “I look forward to continuing to work with Rodger as he leads the team to maintain and develop the current high levels of performance achieved under Alan’s leadership.”
It was reported in June that the future of the £43 million plant, which receives the waste of Dundee and Angus and turns it into electricity for the National Grid, could be in doubt.
Owners Dundee City Council were considering other means of waste disposal, with the mothballing of the facility an option along with seeking a new operator to bring forward investment to comply with changes to waste-management legislation.
A spokesman for the city council said last night that discussions into the plant’s future are continuing.
The Scottish Government wants 70% of all waste to be recycled and no more than 5% sent to landfill by 2025.
Recycling rates in Angus and Dundee fell when the DERL facility was closed by the fire, but the two councils’ rates improved with the Baldovie plant’s reopening.