Page 33 from: Recycling International September/October 2025

BUSINESS

33recyclinginternational.com | September/October | 2025

Fotobijschrift

RMB’s management team at the company’s headquarters in Polpenazze.

One of the company’s three mega shredders.

Inside RMB’s main facility. Commercial manager Lorenzo Soncina.

KADERKOP
??

Switzerland, Spain, Poland, Greece,
Croatia, Belgium, France, the Czech
Republic, the UK and the USA, while
its export markets are worldwide. ‘This
global reach is supported by a dynam-
ic commercial team,’ says commercial
manager Lorenzo Soncina. ‘They’re all
trained to adapt to shifting markets
and customer needs while maintaining
strong technical knowledge of materi-
als and processes.’

DOUBLE CHECK
A cornerstone of RMB’s operations is
its laboratory, designed for carrying
out chemical, physical and biological
tests on incoming and outgoing mate-
rials. Equipment such as plasma spec-
trophotometers, chromatographs and
X-ray fluorescence spectrometers help
the company to be compliant with
strict regulations.
RMB’s main facility in Polpenazze is
home to a workforce of around 400
people, while the group, including
subsidiary companies, employs nearly
800.
Among RMB’s contributions to Italy’s
circular economy is its leading role in
bottom ash recycling. ‘Today, we are
responsible for processing some 50%
of Italy’s bottom ash,’ says Goffi.
Its facilities are strategically located in
the north of the country, where much
of the nation’s industrial infrastructure
is concentrated. Looking ahead, RMB
has set its sights on expansion to cen-
tral Italy or further south. According to
Goffi, RMB is going to set up a new
bottom ash plant ‘from scratch’ in the
Rome area within the next two years.

SHREDDING FORCE
RMB has six shredders of which three
are large, each positioned in a key
industrial hub in north Italy. One is
near Verona, another at Bollate near
Milan, and a third at Gavardo, close to
Polpenazze and RMB’s main site.
Together, these plants handle con-
struction and industrial scrap as well as
end-of-life vehicles, sourced from
across Italy.

LABOUR ISSUES
Looking to the future, Goffi says the
structural shortage of skilled people

increasingly challenges RMB and the
recycling industry as a whole. ‘We
need to invest in the right people to

FROM RESOURCE RECOVERY TO
PLANT ENGINEERING
With more than four decades of hands-on recov-
ery, specialising in ferrous and non-ferrous metals,
RMB has built up a lot of know-how. That’s why
the company has decided to launch a new division
bringing turn-key plants to the market.
‘With RMB & AV Recycling we combine our opera-
tional expertise with dedicated engineering knowl-
edge,’ explains RMB/AV’s vice president Raffale
Calligaro. ‘Every solution is born on the floor of
our own facilities, where robust performance and
high-precision separation processes are field-test-
ed before ever reaching a customer site.’
To bring turn-key plants to market with unmatched
quality and control, RMB acquired Averoldi, an
assembly and machining specialist. The new com-
pany provides:
• in-house design, prototyping and detailed engi-

neering
• precision machining and assembly of complex

modules
• complete plant construction, commissioning and

transfer of know-how

do the job but it is very hard to find
them.’ He acknowledges that smart
technology such has robots and AI can

be part of the solution. ‘However, such
change won’t come overnight, we
have to be realistic.’

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