Recycling Business Assistance Center
http://www.p2pays.org/rbac/
By Matt Todd, Recycling Business Development Specialist
Published: Volume 12, Number 4 Fall 2006
GEEP Expands E-waste Operations
Global Electric Electronic Processing Inc. has big plans. With one eye on the local ewaste recycling business and the other on global markets, GEEP is taking the next step to prepare for the future of e-waste recycling. In summer 2006, GEEP invested $4 million in machinery and in September, the company started operation of its new chain-shredder and hammer-mill based processing line to recycle electronics. It also installed a separate processing line to handle the CRT glass from computer monitors and televisions.
The new equipment is housed at GEEP’s existing location in Durham. To accommodate the expansion, GEEP purchased the 108,000-square-foot warehouse it was currently leasing, and signed a new lease for a larger climate-controlled warehouse next door. The company now has a combined 370,000 square feet of space for its Durham operations.
GEEP, part of Barrie Metals Group based in Ontario, Canada, came to Durham in 2002. The company handles e-scrap and telecom gear for large corporations in and around Research Triangle Park. Before expansion it employed 20 workers that dismantled computers and other electronics by hand, usually processing about 3,500 lbs. per day. With the new machinery, GEEP has hired an additional 12 employees and can now process 6,000 lbs. per hour.
Although the equipment is state-of-the-art, many employees are needed to keep it running at peak performance. We anticipate at least doubling our payroll, said Dan Roe, GEEP’s general manager of U.S. operations. In fact, we would like to add a second and third shift if the volume warrants.
The increased capacity will allow GEEP to source escrap from a wider range of customers in the mid-Atlantic region, including large and small businesses, various government sectors as well as other e-waste recyclers.
Material exiting the chain shredder is sorted and sent to the hammer mill where it is automatically sized into chips about the size of fine gravel. It is then mechanically separated into ferrous, non-ferrous and plastic. The final step separates the non-ferrous bits into copper and aluminum.
The resulting commodities: steel, copper, aluminum and glass are resold as raw material feedstock to manufacturers. Mixed plastics are among the most difficult plastics to resell. Within a year, GEEP will begin installing a facility to convert recycled mixed plastic into diesel fuel. The company expects to grow to about 100 employees when it starts producing diesel fuel.
GEEP not only sees its expansion and upgrades as a solution to end-of-life electronics disposal, but also as a solution to a growing global problem. Data security is a concern of many of our customers, said Roe. They like having the unbroken chain of custody that we can provide along with the assurance that we are handling material in the most environmentally sound manner possible.
To find out more about GEEP and the services it provides, contact Dan Roe, general manager at (919) 544-1443, or visit http://www.geepinc.com.
