From Spanish battle to scrap metal empire

Natalia Altadill is a powerhouse of the Spanish recycling sector. She has run Gruppo Altadill for 11 years and has ambitious plans for the future of the family company. The ceo told Recycling International about her experiences at the sidelines of the recent IFAT expo in Munich.

What type of scrap do you target?

‘We focus on ferrous metals, handling anything from steel and iron to copper, aluminium and stainless steel. We also process electric motors, construction and demolition waste, and air-conditioning units. The last represents a big waste stream in Spain, which has good weather pretty much all year round. (Sales of new air conditioners topped EUR 1.2 billion in 2020).

Per year, I’d say we process a total of 100 000 tonnes of material. Most is industrial scrap, although we do get scrap from nearby supermarkets and citizens as well. People can go to our site and use one of the scrap ATMs to drop off their stuff.’

How wide is your reach?

‘We operate four sites in Gandesa, Catalonia and take care of scrap all around the country. One is an e-scrap venture launched by my husband. My company works with a lot of multinationals with big facilities across Spain. It’s important they have a trusted recycling partner that can help them whether they are in Barcelona, Valencia or Seville.

We do maybe ten deals with neighbouring countries like Italy or Portugal per year – if something interesting comes up. The Spanish market is big enough to keep us busy. We don’t have to look outside.’

I hear your company has an interesting origin story. Can you tell me more?

‘My grandparents are from a small town that was hugely impacted by the biggest battle in the Spanish civil war (lasting from July-November 1938), we call it Batalla de l’Ebre. It was a bloodbath which ultimately decided who won. In the aftermath, everyone was struggling to make ends meet. My grandmother had a grocery shop but no one had any money. So what now?

My grandfather knew we were surrounded by mountains full of scrap due to the bombs and crashed military aircraft. He told the townspeople to collect scrap and trade it for food and that’s exactly what they did. Soon after, he started doing business with other local scrap players who had emerged. My father followed his lead when he took over in 1985, the year I was born. I grew up around scrap, just like him.’

How is the Spanish scrap industry doing?

‘Metals recycling is traditionally a strong industry in Spain, well represented by family companies, like ours. For us, 2023 was a good year. This year is proving to be a little more difficult. There is less material to go around and prices are not so favourable. But you know, they always go up and down. I try not to stress about it. We can’t change the market. It’s better to put your energy towards things that are under your influence.’

What kind of recycling technology are you excited about?

‘We currently have two big Moros shears and some smaller scrap shears, of course. Altadill also manages a fleet of 15 scrap collection trucks. I believe innovating is important and so I keep an eye out for new machines to update the equipment we have.’

‘For example, I am looking to add a shredder to our main site. That’s the next step for my business so we can increase production. Having a shredder will enable us to be more independent rather than fighting the market. We’ll probably start with a medium-sized model and build up from there. I will say, it’s good to browse the best available technology at tradeshows. That’s why my team came to IFAT.’

‘We can see how artificial intelligence is already having an impact on the world of scrap. I heard the University of Barcelona is offering a smart sorting system you can rent, much like as we lease electric cars. I’m curious to see if a rental option will scale up smart sorting solutions in the next few years.’

Read the full interview in our upcoming issue >>