Purified Metal Company (PMC) is to build a steel recycling plant in Delfzijl that will create about 68 direct jobs. The plant will process up to 150,000 tons of contaminated steel scrap into new raw material on an annual basis. The realization of the plant is made possible in part thanks to a grant totaling €7,500,000 from the Regional Investment Support Groningen 2017 (RIG). In addition, the Province of Groningen, NOM, Groningen Seaports and the GROEIfonds of the Economic Board Groningen are investing in the company.
PMC has developed a worldwide new and patented process that allows it to recycle contaminated steel into high-quality raw materials for the steel and foundry industries. This method is not only safer for people and the environment, but also ensures that contaminated steel is processed safely and given a new purpose. With the construction of the plant in Delfzijl, PMC is literally and figuratively putting this recycling process into action.
Jan Henk Wijma, Managing Director and co-founder of PMC: "It is fantastic to see that an idea we had a few years ago is now becoming a reality. With this plant, we offer a circular and safe solution for the collection, transport and processing of asbestos-contaminated steel into high-quality raw material for steel manufacturers."
The permits had already been arranged; now the funding is also in place thanks to a substantial contribution from the region. This secures the anchoring of the company in the region for a longer period of time. Also because the process cannot easily be moved to another location. For PMC this is one of the reasons for seeking intensive cooperation with regional knowledge institutions such as the University of Groningen and Hanze University of Applied Sciences for the training of operators and the provision of traineeships. The plant is expected to be operational in 2020.
Impulse employment
Patrick Brouns, deputy: "This development fits into the development of the national climate agreement, the outlines of which were presented to Minister Wiebes last Tuesday, and is a good and concrete example of what we mean by circular economy.
In addition, this investment provides a major boost to employment in the Delfzijl port area."
PMC is absolute asset
Marco Smit, director Economic Board Groningen adds: "PMC is an absolute asset for the region: a hypermodern and innovative recycling company that also creates 68 new jobs. All parties involved: Province of Groningen, Groningen Seaports, NOM and GROEIfonds, should be extremely proud of this."
Persuasion
"We were quickly convinced, now the rest," said Siem Jansen, NOM director. "The first talks with PMC date back several years. Initially focused on Delfzijl as a business location. PMC had several locations in mind but ultimately chose Delfzijl. A lot of time was then spent convincing other financiers. For us, risk funding is daily business. Fortunately, we were able to convince several parties to provide PMC with funding. We are extremely happy with this result. Anchoring in the region and new jobs!"