Lawrence chair sad as firm enters administration

Lawrence Recycling & Waste Management chairman Andrew Gibson has said the decision to make 24 members of staff redundant was not one he wanted to take, after Kidderminster-based Lawrence Skip Hire Ltd entered administration earlier this month.

Mark Orton and William Wright of KPMG were appointed administrators of the firm based at the Forge recycling site, Stourport Road, on September 4, after the company became insolvent following two large fires in December 2012 and June 2013 that devastated separate parts of the facility. The cause of both fires remains unknown (see letsrecycle.com story).

The June blaze, which affected baled paper, cardboard and plastics, burned for almost two months and saw a demolition and clean-up operation costing 250,000. Worcestershire county council and the Environment Agency were forced to step in to help pay the debt.

Duty

Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Mr Gibson voiced his regret that the move had resulted in redundancies at the facility.

He said: This is a direct result of the fire and the cost to get the centre back up and running again was going to be steep, it is a tough sector at the moment. It was a very difficult decision and not one we wanted to take.

However, our commercial waste collections are still operating as part of another company so we managed to save 18 jobs. Operations at Lawrence Recycling & Waste Management have not stopped. There is a duty to save all the jobs we can.

We will continue to make the commercial waste collections but we will not be opening any new recycling centres. I think it is quite sad in many ways.

Sale

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for KPMG confirmed that a further eight Lawrence employees were remaining on-site to assist the administrators in the short term. She said that while the sale is likely to be a straightforward process, there was no update on potential buyers at this time.

A statement issued by KPMG read: The recycling business is no longer trading and administrators have unfortunately had to make 24 employees redundant.

During the process of selling this asset and winding down the company the administrators are ensuring that appropriate measures are being taken in the aftermath of the fires and are liaising with the relevant local and national bodies in relation to any environmental risks.

History

Founded in 1984, Lawrence Recycling & Waste Management’s clients include local authorities from across Worcestershire and the West Midlands. Worcestershire county council has said it had no contract for waste disposal with the company.

The Kidderminster site, capable of sorting up to 500,000 tonnes of commercial and industrial and construction and demolition waste, was heralded as one of Europes largest materials recycling facilities (MRFs) when it opened in 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).

The facility, which had a client base including Thomas Vale, Bowmer & Kirkland and Spellar Metcalfe, was aided by 10 million in funding from a range of banks and investment firms. Then opposition leader David Cameron also visited the site during its construction, praising Lawrences plans as impressive.