Member Article

£200,000 investment in road sweeping technology

NEL Fund Managers have invested £200,000 in the largest road sweeping firm in the North, in a move which will help the firm to expand its recycling operations.

Admec manages a fleet of 23 vehicles and covers an operational area from the Scottish Borders to north Lincolnshire from its base in Birtley, County Durham. Specialising in waste management, road sweeping and ancillary services to a range of public and private sector organisations, including construction companies and utilities firms, and is the only road sweeping business in the UK to be licensed to operate its own waste treatment plant.

Thanks to the investment, the firm is now expanding and refining its pioneering facility, helping to improve the speed of separating recyclable road sweepings.

The road sweeping business processes materials for its own clients and on behalf of public sector organisations, as well as providing a ‘fill-in’ service for a growing number of local authorities when they need to reinforce their own fleets of roadsweeping vehicles.

John Halliwell of Admec says: “Over 95% of the materials that we sweep up are reusable, and we are increasingly focusing on the development of innovative new high value applications.

“The Growth Fund investment will greatly quicken the pace at which we’re able to process what we collect, which in turn will mean we can make it available for sale more quickly and keep up with the growing year-round market demand.

“We’ve continued to trade well and grow during the economic downturn, are well placed to take advantage of the recovery that we’re beginning to see in the markets in which we operate and feel confident that we can secure annual growth of more than ten per cent in the coming years on the back of this investment.

Jane Siddle, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, adds: “Admec has both a very strong industry track record, and the vision and capacity to make further enhancements to the services it offers as opportunities arise to do so.

“Their business plan presented us with a compelling investment case, and is opening up new revenue streams that will help to drive the company forward in the future.”

Aimed at regional businesses which are at a development and growth stage, the Growth Fund forms part of the wider Finance for Business North East Fund.

Managed by North East Finance, it will see £125m of investment capital injected into the region by the European Investment Bank, the European Regional Development Fund 2007-13 and the regional development agency over the next five years.

NEL is looking to make around 130 investments over the five-year life span of the Growth Fund, and is actively looking to speak to ambitious north east companies with robust business plans.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .