Page 24 from: Recycling International November issue | 2021
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Montanwerke Brixlegg, based 40 km
east of Innsbruck.
a HeLpING HaNd
Ragg Recycling was founded in 1947
by Robert Ragg. What started small is
now claimed to be the biggest recy-
cling firm in the region, with the
founder’s grand-daughter Mussmann
being the third generation to lead the
business, now assisted by her husband
Christian Stolz. Whereas she was more
or less raised in scrap from early child-
hood, Stolz entered the firm only 20
years ago. ‘My parents ran a hotel in
the Stubai Valley and I had been work-
ing in the hospitality sector for a long
time before I decided to join my wife
in the scrap company,’ he tells
Recycling International during a tour
around the facility.
He may not have the scrap DNA from
birth but he has certainly brought
added value to the firm. ‘I have
learned from experience to pay atten-
tion to people. Hospitality is all about
attention, proper service and, above
all, friendliness – what applies to res-
taurant guests also applies to custom-
ers and employees. It’s important in
any business, including the scrap
trade.’
TIdY Yard, opeN MINd
Another aspect Christian introduced is
an awareness of the importance of a
clean and tidy yard. ‘Like a hotel
room, you have to make sure the yard
is tidy at all times. It makes work easi-
er and more efficient while boosting
the spirit of the entire company and
beyond,’ he argues.
Mussmann believes her husband’s
involvement has also taken Ragg to a
higher level in terms of communica-
tions. ‘He taught us to be proud and
open and show the outside world how
beautiful recycling is and what a great
job we’re doing here: helping to give
valuable materials a second life.’
Stolz has recently placed large signs
across the yard sharing details about
the various commodities that are pro-
cessed at Ragg, the volumes coming
in and the recycling technology/
equipment used, among other things.
‘It’s a nice tool which helps us to tell
The company processes some 5 000
end-of life vehicles (ELVs) in a year.
That may seem a lot but, according to
managing director Petra Mussmann,
Ragg and other recyclers in Austria
could do much more if ELV cars stayed
within Austrian borders. ‘We have
capacity to scrap up to 13 000 cars
but, unfortunately, too many continue
to be illegally shipped across Austrian
and EU borders,’ she explains.
WHaT’S More To proCeSS
Ragg Recycling also handles electric
motors and all kinds of industrial and
construction scrap. In addition,
Mussmann and her team are seeing an
emerging business from other com-
modities, including wood and felt
mats used on glaciers (see box).
As well as the facility in Hall, Ragg has
three other sites nearby, one of which
is in Innsbruck and its main activity is
copper cable recycling. The company
has a workforce of more than 100
and most employees, some educated
at the regional school of technical
engineering, have been local all their
lives.
No GLoBaL eXporTS
The business itself, too, has a strong
regional approach as scrap is predom-
inantly collected within the borders of
Tyrol. Processed materials mostly go
to regional customers including a
smelter right opposite Ragg’s main
yard. Materials are also sent to steel-
makers in northern Italy and Germany
‘but that’s about the furthest we go,’
Mussmann stresses. ‘Why send con-
tainers to Asia and other far away
places if you can easily sell close to
home?’
In recent times, Ragg’s ‘stay local’
business model has proved a blessing
and the ever-strict scrap import rules
in China has led to a material boost
for the company. ‘We’ve seen the
inflow of copper cables explode,
increasing by more than 50%,’ says
Mussmann. ‘Since cables as such can
no longer be exported from Austria,
not even across EU borders, we were
happy to strip, scrap and refine them
and sell the copper granulates to our
end users at home. Among them is
SCrappING GLaCIer proTeCTIoN feLT
Ragg Recycling’s main focus may be recycling ferrous scrap but the compa-
ny has been increasingly eager to explore other activities, including wood
recycling.
Another new and rather uncommon business comes from scrapping felt
mats used in the summer to protect glaciers high up in the Tyrol mountains
against the burning sun, thereby reducing melting and erosion.
‘After the end of the summer, in early autumn, these mats are removed and
incinerated, says Ragg’s Christian Stolz. ‘However, the mats come in huge
rolls that cannot be put in the incinerator in that state. So we offer a helping
hand and shred them into flakes to make incineration a lot easier.’
Scrapped cars waiting to be shredded. Pag
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