Fawley high temperature incinerator set to change hands again

It's a familiar story: the Fawley incinerator, worked hard over the years but starved of investment, is being sold again.

This will be the fourth change in ownership in 5 years.

The current owners, Pyros Environmental, acquired the site as part of an MBO funded by private equity when Veolia Environmental Services were forced to divest it under European competition rules after acquiring the Cleanaway incinerator.

Due diligence is currently taking place, and a maintenance shut-down has been extended for a further two weeks whilst this is concluded.

Industry watchers expect the deal to be finalised by the end of July at the latest, if not before.

Speculation is rife about who the new owners will be, with the front runners being Augean plc and Tradebe Group, both of whom have interets in the UK hazardous waste market.

The Fawley incinerator is very conveniently positioned for dealing with waste arising in the pharmaceutical sector in particular given the proliferation of pharmacuetical manufacturing and packaging facilities around the M25, across the M4 corridor and around Portsmouth and Havant.  Anybody concerned about applying the proximity principle when deciding where to send their waste will want to see the facility continuing to operate. 

Unfortunately, over the years, it has been plagued by unplanned shut-downs and other operational problems making it a sometimes unreliable destination.

Given that it is one of only two High Temperature Incinerators (HTI) in the UK, it could be seen as a strategic asset.

It is hoped that, whoever acquires the site, significant investment is introduced to fix the problems of the past and make this a reliable and trusted site able to accept and process those wastes that are difficult to deal with in other ways.

In the meantime, inputs to the Fawley site have been halted.  Businesses with hazardous and other waste that had been destined for disposal there ,and that are now struggling with excess inventories on their sites, can contact Remsol for help in finding alternative outlets to aleviate these problems in the short to medium term.