Posted on: 28th Feb 2014
Andusia RFL confirmed as market leader for RDF exports to Scandinavia
As RDF exports continue to increase (see Letsrecycle.com story (/RDF exports top 1.5million tonnes in 2013) Andusia Recovered Fuels goes from strength to strength.
Formed in February 2012, just as the RDF export market was developing, the company has taken a different approach to the export of RDF. Whilst the largest exporters; Sita, Biffa, Shanks Waste and New Earth Solutions have concentrated on the Dutch market, for the obvious reasons of proximity, Andusia Recovered Fuels has looked further afield to Scandinavia.
Unlike the Northern European destinations where door-to-door logistics is possible with standard articulated trailers, Scandinavia required a whole different approach. The RDF needs to be handled a lot more and innovative logistics solutions need to be developed which are, above other things, economically and operationally viable. Quite often the supply chain also needs to address bale opening within the process as Scandinavian plants are often not as developed as those plants in the Netherlands and Germany who have been handling imported RDF for a number of years and have invested in bale opening technology.
This is not the only factor that differentiates Andusia Recovered Fuels from the others. The business is set-up to offer UK Waste Management Companies the same commercial advantage as the UK majors, who have sufficient resources available to them to develop their own export markets.
Stewart Brackenbury, the other Director of Andusia Recovered Fuels, explains that the company aims to be the in-house RDF expertise for these businesses, so that they can concentrate on their day to day collection and processing activities whilst Andusia Recovered Fuels develops and manages the end markets and logistics solutions which meet both the requirements of the UK processor and the export WTE plant. This is a fully managed service and all we need the processor to do is load the trucks when they arrive.
So far this methodology has served Andusia Recovered Fuels very well. Within 2 years they have become the largest UK exporters to Norway and Sweden, as confirmed by the recent Environment Agency data release, and are currently exporting at a rate of 270,000 tonnes per annum; enough to put them at the top of the UK export market. Germany is the next market on their radar, and they have already signed 3 contracts with different German plants, which may well see them as market leader in that country within the next 12 months.
Tim Shapcott, Business Development Director of Associated Waste Management in Leeds says – Having worked with Andusia Recovered Fuels for almost 3 years now they have consistently provided quality and more importantly off take flexibility throughout the year by offering AWM an additional 4 to 5 CHP outlets with R1 status. This service runs in parallel with own and managed TFS operations to an additional 4 outlets in Northern Europe. Under one supply contract with Andusia Recovered Fuels we able to swop and change volumes between various outlets thereby guaranteeing off take tonnages from our 500,000 tonne plus treatment operations in W Yorkshire.
Steve Burton explains; we have seen a sharp increase in the number of enquiries from UK Waste Management Companies since the Environment Agency figures were published on 28th January 2014, and we continue to work hard finding new outlets throughout Northern Europe and Scandinavia so that we can offer the UK commercially viable export markets that can provide a mid to long term supply route for what is a relatively small but significant diversion from landfill in the UK.
