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COVER STORY

11recyclinginternational.com | May/June | 2020

KAderKop
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‘ We w i l l c o m e o u t o f t h i s s t ro n g e r ’

dutch battery recycler Johan van
peperzeel has been hit doubly hard
in the corona crisis with a big fire at
his facility.

‘Until the end of March we could still
supply recycling plants in Europe but
today recyclers in France and Belgium
are closed so we can no longer ship
material to them. We can still send
lead acid batteries to the various recy-
clers in Europe but lithium and li-ion
battery recyclers are causing head-
aches as many of them have stopped
accepting material. That is a big prob-
lem as we didn’t have sufficient recy-
cling capacity for such batteries in
Europe even before the pandemic
outbreak.
As a result, stocks are growing and we
have asked the authorities to allow us
to store more on a temporary basis.
On top of coronavirus-related head-
aches, we have been confronted with
a major fire in our facility.
The good news is that, within seven

working days of the fire, we were back
in full production with the help of
many people. Another plus is that
sorted lithium and li-ion fractions are
stored in compartments with fire
detection and fire suppressions sys-
tems using sprays. The competent
authorities and the fire department
had approved everything. We have
our office in a temporary cabin out-
side the facility.
Let’s face it, without recycling plants
being open there comes a point when
a battery collector might as well stop
collecting batteries. Up until now, the
authorities have promised us to help
with the required extra storage capac-
ity and we hope it will be enough.
Obviously, if all recyclers close there
will be more trouble and more job
losses. People in administration and
sales can work from home but this is
not the case for production and logis-
tics.
I believe that our business and indus-
try will recover. I don’t think it will

come back completely as before.
Some companies won’t survive and
people will stay unemployed for lon-
ger periods. It will take some time,
maybe years, but I am optimistic and
positive that as a company we will
come out of this stronger.
‘”Stay safe and healthy” was a phrase
we didn’t use before. But it’s so
important. For family and friends, of
course, but also for colleagues and
employees. Another thing is the
importance of choosing the right part-
ners in business, for better and worse.
In these challenging times, solid long-
term relationships really matter.’

‘ C u s t o m e r s w a n t u s t o k e e p t h i n g s m o v i n g ’

Julio Gonzalez is commercial direc-
tor at Spanish recycling equipment
manufacturer Moros. He is encour-
aged that most customers are opti-
mistic in these challenging times.

‘Our sector has been declared essen-
tial, so business is moving and
machines are still being delivered
when possible. Some customers are
closed and have asked us to put proj-
ects on hold but most are still work-
ing and want us to keep things mov-
ing. We are still providing remote ser-

vice to our customers around the
globe and making sure delivery of
spare parts continues to run on time.
I am proud to say Moros moved
quickly and effectively from the first
signs of the coronavirus. We had
already introduced personal protec-
tion equipment and promoted work-
ing from home even before the gov-
ernment told companies to take such
measures. I think this has been the
key to staying safe.
Moreover, from the very beginning
we were in direct contact with cus-
tomers to look for alternatives when
needed.
After Easter we have started to get
back to more or less normal as com-
panies in Spain are restarting activi-
ties. Obviously the coming months
are not going to be easy. This is a
worldwide crisis and I do not think
anybody knows how long or how

hard it is going to be. We know that
some companies are going to face
difficulties in the following months
so our priority now is to support and
help both customers and suppliers. I
am optimistic and it is encouraging
that most customers are trying to be
optimistic, too. So I hope that nor-
mal operations and new projects will
soon be day-to-day practice again.
We have seen how society is kind and
supportive in difficult times. We have
realised that we are stronger togeth-
er. As an example, here in Spain the
majority of the people have complied
with the government’s movement
restrictions and it has not been easy.
I have realised that we have all learnt
a lot about the latest economic cri-
sis. This has helped us to move in
many cases even more quickly and
better than governments to prevent
damage.’

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