News

Derbyshire based metal and waste recycling specialist, Ward, has announced the sale of its compaction services to national waste management provider Biffa.

The sale relates solely to the multi-collection wheelie bin and rear end load (REL) commercial services part of the business and includes a number Ward drivers and vehicles. All related customer contracts will be managed by Biffa.

All other waste services, including metal recycling, textile reuse (WARDRobe), wood processing and recycling, general skip hire and RoRo operations for construction, demolition land remediation and hazardous waste, remain under part of Donald Ward Ltd, trading as Ward. Customers should continue to contact Ward directly for any of these services.

James Balfour, Finance Director at Ward said: “We were approached by Biffa regarding the acquisition of our compaction lorry business, including trucks, drivers and wheelie bins earlier in the year. The opportunity has come at the right time for us both as we look to focus on our core business of bulk metal and waste recycling and Biffa is now hoping to grow its compaction services in the East Midlands.”

“This sale provides the chance for our compaction drivers to join a growing national business, offering the chance for progression. Biffa has confirmed customers will receive the same level of service that they are used to and are unlikely to see much change at all once the changeover has taken place.”

The new arrangements will take effect immediately. Employees have been consulted on a one to one basis and customers have been contacted.

Jeff Anderson Chief Operating Officer for Biffa’s Collections division said: “We are delighted to announce that our Collections division has completed the acquisition of Ward’s commercial compaction services. The business had pre-CV-19 run rate revenues of around £4m servicing over 1,400 customers. This acquisition is fully aligned with our growth and acquisition strategy and will be highly complementary to our existing East Midlands operations. Active negotiations continue on several other acquisition targets and the pipeline is progressing well.”

As a multi-award winning, independent fourth generation family business, Ward continues to make significant investments across its business operations with a £2million upgrade to its energy efficient vehicle fleet on order and a recent £1.5million + upgrade to its Ilkeston site with the installation of a bulk metal pre-shredder. The business continues to strive to be at the forefront of the bulk metal recycling and waste industry.

For more information on Ward’s metal recycling and waste management capabilities visit www.ward.com.