Steel scrap shredder to be built at Sockburn

Press, 22 August 1989, Page 4

Steel scrap shredder to be built at Sockburn

By

KAY FORRESTER

Pacific Metal Industries, Ltd, plans to have its $2 million shredding plant in Christchurch ready to process car bodies and light gauge metal scrap in nine months. The company’s general manager, Mr Tom Grahams, said the shredder will be established on a Sockburn site, near the company’s present heavy gauge recovery plant in Sockburn, which employs 10 people. The company will employ three extra staff to run the shredder.

Pacific Metal has opted to return to the light gauge recovery market after stopping its South Island collection of crushed scrap last year. Mr Graham believes the 10,000 to 12,000 tonnes of steel scrap the company 7 plans to put through the Christchurch shredder each year is about the limit available in the

South Island. The company had returned to the light gauge market after stopping its South Island collection in June last year on economic grounds because it wanted to protect the raw material supply for the New Zealand steel market, he said. “We have been keeping an eye on it over the last year. It was not viable to freight the scrap to Auckland for processing at our shredder there but with a shredder in Christchurch the plan is to freight the material in processed form.” The scrap will be used by Pacific Steel, Ltd, a sister company in Auckland. Mr Graham was aware of the competition in the light gauge market from the company set up by a Rolleston couple to fill the gap left by Pacific Metal last year. He doubted there was room for more

than one recovery operation. “We can only get so much steel out of the South Island — 10,000-12,000 tonnes is about it.” Pacific Metal had not opted back into the light gauge market because of the competition, he said. “We’ve been keeping an eye on costs.”

The company plans to send all South Island scrap for processing, including car bodies and whiteware, to Christchurch, put it through the shredder and freight it to Auckland.

It stopped collecting car bodies in the south last November. “We cleaned the South Island out before we stopped. We intend to start collecting again,” Mr Graham said.

Pacific Metal’s pull-out last year triggered concern about the disposal of unwanted car bodies.