Page 61 from: Recycling International May/June issue 2023
BUSINESS LEADERS
61recyclinginternational.com | May/June | 2023
Recycling International is the not the only one celebrating a new milestone. Here, we give the floor to
a couple of industry leaders eager to share their exciting journey so far.
Fotobijschrift
Tapio Kuusakoski.
Alexandre
Henkens: reach-
ing milestones
doesn’t mean
getting com-
fortable.’
KADERKOP
??
KUUSAKOSKI TURNS 110
They’re not there yet but preparations for Kuusakoski
Recycling’s 110th anniversary in 2024 are already underway. ‘To
mark this milestone we’ll make a nice video in nine languages,
organise a huge party and, of course, eat a delicious cake,’ says
the company’s e-scrap director Tapio Kuusakoski.
There are reasons a-plenty for celebration. In September 2022
the Scandinavian recycling major launched an ambitious, multi-
million-Euro investment programme to strengthen its position
in the recycling industry as a pioneer of the green transition.
Kuusakoski puts its money where its mouth is. Over the past
months, the company has been making ‘scrap’ headlines with a
series of major innovation projects. Most recent: EUR 25 million
being pumped into a new steel recycling plant near Kemi on
the Bothnia Gulf in northern Finland. The company says the
facility will be a carbon-neutral operation. The investment is a
response to growing demand for recycled metals in both
Finland and Sweden and will increase Kuusakoski’s annual recy-
cling capacity by 150 000 tonnes or 25%.
Meanwhile, Kuusakoski is also spending more than EUR 4 mil-
lion on the construction of a new composite shredding and
treatment plant in southern Finland. And an integrated process-
ing plant for feedstock containing aluminium and copper is
being built in Heinola, north of Helsinki. Additionally, the com-
pany will increase the capacity for pre-treatment of metals and
its separation capability, for example with the help of a next-
generation facility specialising in small fractions. The goal is to
significantly increase the amount of clean-end products.
Kuusakoski has set a target of carbon-neutral operations by
2035.
Kuusakoski Group’s turnover in 2021 was EUR 717 million.
LEFORT: MORE THAN 75 CANDLES
With over 75 years’ experience under its belt, Lefort knows
practically everything there is to know about metal scrap balers,
shears and shredders. The tech provider has transformed into
an international group since its launch in 1947, employing more
than 200 people, although it’s still a family company through
and through.
‘We had a big party at our headquarters to celebrate our 75th
anniversary at the end of last year,’ says company ceo
Alexandre Henkens. ‘All our employees and their family mem-
bers were invited and we had a great time together’.
Having reached this stage doesn’t mean Lefort and Henkens
are getting comfortable. ‘Our team is very excited about new
recycling solutions and business opportunities. Our shared pas-
sion for the industry is the foundation of our company culture.’
Reviewing key milestones to date, the ceo cites expansion to
the US in 2013 and the launch of its patented self-propelled
Trax shear in 2016. The latter handles material in a far smarter
way. ‘Operators can now move the machine to the scrap, not
the other way around. This saves both time and money. This
popular product represents around half of our sales right now.’
Lefort has also recently invested almost EUR 3 million in
increasing the capacity at its production site in Belgium. ‘It will
help us meet a new target we’ve set for this year: to break the
record of the number of machines produced, which stands at 88
units,’ Henkens says. ‘Mind you, those were smaller units and
less complex than we have these days.’
When asked about Lefort’s recipe for success, the entrepreneur
replies: ‘You must have a relentless focus on innovation as well
as service and quality. It’s not just about selling machines, it’s
about genuinely helping clients and being there for them when
they need you. You have to see the bigger picture.’
For Lefort that means improving things across the whole value
chain by offering reliable and durable machines whilst providing
maintenance and rental options, retrofitting solutions, and trou-
bleshooting along the way.
Looking ahead, Henkens expects the recycling sector to experi-
ence exponential growth. ‘It’s becoming recognised as a critical
industry, leading to greater demand for recycling technology,
especially connected machines. As the new ceo, I’m eager to
navigate these big leaps forward and take Lefort to the next
level.’
A U T H O R S Kirstin Linnenkoper & Martijn Reintjes
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