Investment is key for recycling firm as they celebrate 25 years in business

05/11/2019

A NORTH-east recycling and waste-management firm is celebrating 25 years in business amid a period of significant investment and growth.

Formerly A. & M. Smith Skip Hire, A. & M. Smith Recycling Services has invested £6 million over the past seven years across its two sites in the North-east. The Aberdeen-headquarted company opened the doors of its second state-of-the-art recycling facility in Peterhead in 2012. Last year it developed new office space and double weighbridge facilities along with extended processing capabilities at its 39-acre site at Bankhead, Portlethen. Further significant investment has seen most of the company’s fleet of 16 trucks upgraded to new, low-emission vehicles within the last two years.

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The firm, which employs 45 members of staff, offers commercial and industrial trade waste services, hazardous, electrical and electronic waste collection and sorting for recycling and registered PAS 100 Green Waste Composting, as well as a full range of skip hire services. It is also the largest processor of timber waste in the North-east.

Managing director, Scott Smith, commented: “The evolution of our business is a reflection of the Scottish parliament’s drive for an end to waste. The company’s name change signifies our goal to prioritise recycling and derive maximum resources from the materials we manage on behalf of our clients. Since the company was established in 1994, we have invested heavily in our fit-for-purpose facilities that are designed to be as safe and efficient as possible and that allow us to offer a consistently high standard of customer service. This has led to us being awarded significant commercial contracts and having high levels of repeat business with contractors and trades people throughout the North East.”

Alistair Speid, technical director, added: “We are committed to mitigating the impact of our operations on the environment. Establishing two bases in the north and south of Aberdeenshire addresses this priority – being closer to our customers benefits them, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of trucks on the road. It also means that in the event of any temporary disruption to service at one site, we have the contingency to fulfil contracts at our other facility.”

The business has evolved over its twenty-five years and while it still offers skip-hire, it has diversified to offer a host of other recycling services.

Kerry Smith, director, said: “We operate one of Scotland’s most efficient materials sorting plants, and consistently recycle up to 75% of the resources we manage on behalf of our customers. Increasingly, the corporate market is playing a key role in our business, and we have secured contracts with a number of national and multinational firms as well as the local council. Our ability to evolve and diversify in line with our customers’ needs has been instrumental in us reaching our quarter of a century in business milestone.”

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