NEWRY company Re-Gen Waste is planning a significant investment in a major new manufacturing facility, it has emerged.
The south Down waste firm has responded to its fast growth in recent years with a proposal for a large new operation on an eight-acre site close to the A1 on the north side of Newry.
Industry monitor Construction Information Services Ireland has estimated the investment will be in the region of £20 million.
It’s understood the project will involve the development of a new solid recovered fuel (SRF) and manufacturing facility.
Re-Gen’s core business was established to provide dry recycling and municipal solid waste collection and processing services for the public and private sector.
That operation is now capable of processing up to 300,000 tonnes of waste per year.
But the company has increasingly diversified its business portfolio into energy recovery and fuel production, specifically refuse derived fuel (RDF) and solid recovered fuel (SRF).
In 2019 Re-Gen Waste invested around £5m in advancing the development of a high specification replacement for traditional fossil fuels.
The company is currently targeting industrial users for its SRF, which it describes as its highest grade fuel.
Producing SRF involves a series of processes, using technology to remove contaminants which Re-Gen states leaves a low chlorine fuel with a high calorific values.
The site identified for the new facility is on the expanded Invest NI business park in Newry, close to Re-Gen Waste’s existing facility at Carnbane Industrial Estate.
Re-Gen has notified Newry, Mourne and Down District Council of its proposal, which will involve a community consultation process ahead of the formal submission of a full planning application later in 2021.
The Newry company has indicated the new manufacturing scheme will comprise 168,000 sq ft of floor space.
It’s expected to involve a four-storey office block, external storage bays, a vehicle maintenance shed and car parking.
It comes just weeks after the firm announced a pre-tax profit of £5.25m for 2019 after a 17.4 per cent growth in turnover. It followed growth of 10.6 per cent in 2018 and 15.8 per cent in 2017.
Re-Gen Waste said it has re-invested around £9m back into the operation in that period.
