Sims Metal Management announces expansion into waste to energy

Rye, New York-based Sims Metal Management recently unveiled its multiyear strategic growth plan during its investor strategy day April 8.

Sims’ executive leadership team shared plans to drive growth through 2025, which include expanding within the company’s existing metals and e-recycling businesses and establishing new businesses that will reduce waste and produce renewable energy.

“Sims Metal Management is strongly positioned to become a global leader in the circular economy, acting as responsible stewards for the environment,” says Alistair Field, the group chief executive officer and managing director, in a news release. “Innovation and our long-standing focus on providing better solutions in recycling will fuel our success.”

Business goals

Field shared plans for each of its business units and highlighted key priorities.

Existing business goals include:

• Metals—continue to expand metal recycling by nearly doubling its nonferrous business and growing its ferrous business by 40 percent in the U.S. within the next six years;
• E-recycling—increase e-recycling services and become a leader of e-recycler of data storage centers (“the cloud”) and aim to recycle 10 percent of the cloud over the next six years and be the original equipment manufacturer supplier of choice for recycled plastic; and
• Municipal recycling—institute new systems for better solutions in municipal recycling and secure additional large city municipal recycling contracts by 2025.

New business goals that Field shared include:

• expanding into waste to energy by capturing the energy available in the nonmetallic residue produced from the shredding process (ASR) to generate electricity and installing and operating seven plants within 10 years with the aim of zero waste disposal and energy costs over the long term; and
• expanding its energy offerings by leveraging expertise and best practices from its Australia-based joint venture partner LMS Energy to expand that business model into other parts of the world and acquiring or building a minimum of 50 megawatts of sites within the next six years. 
  

During the event, Field also shared goals to continue advocating for change and new solutions in partnership with other recycling companies through participation in industry groups, such as the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD), among others. 

Accomplishments to date

During the investor strategy day, Field also reflected on the improvements Sims has made over the years. The company celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 2017.

In the news release, Sims says it advanced new and improved technology across its offerings around the world. Capital was spent on growth investments and key partnerships to fuel constant innovation.

Technology improvements were made across all of its existing sectors, including:

• Metals—The company continued to develop technology to provide cleaner and higher quality products to customers across all sectors, especially in metals recycling, the company’s core business. 
  
• E-recycling—Sims provided customized solutions to several of the world’s leading electronic manufacturers. As cloud-based companies are anticipated to grow, along with consumer electronics consumption habits, Sims shared an ongoing focus to advance service offerings in this sector.
  
• Municipal recycling—In 2019, Switzerland-based Nespresso, Sims Municipal Recycling and the New York City Department of Sanitation announced a collaboration to create new technology for coffee pod recycling to improve efficiency in non-magnetic metals recycling and lightweight aluminum products. 

Sims says it attributes its success to the commitment and drive of its more than 5,000 employees. Field says that celebrating current employees and attracting purpose-driven talent will be ongoing priorities.

The company has also instituted a number of initiatives to strengthen its culture, including an organizational capability review, the Respect and Inclusion educational series and the Women Working @ Sims employee resource group to cultivate top industry leadership. Sims says its goal is to become the employer of choice in the environmental sector.

A webcast of the investor presentation from Monday, April 8, can be accessed here.