FORTY jobs at a recycling business have been saved today after it was bought out of administration.
Enrst & Young announced this morning that it had been appointed administrator of Cheshire Recycling, a subsidiary of the troubled Bridgewater Paper Company.
But the Ellesmere Port business and assets were immediately sold to Palm Recycling for an undisclosed sum. It will operate as a going concern with all employees transferred to German-owned Palm.
Cheshire Recycling provides waste management services to local authorities throughout the UK. It will now be known as Palm Recycling.
Managing director Ron Humphreys said: “This is an important day for all of us in the business and I am thrilled that we are able to quash any uncertainty about our future so quickly.
“Cheshire Recycling had an illustrious history – from having introduced paper banks into the UK some 25 years ago, to helping to pioneer door-to-door recycling and expanding that to include multi-material collections.
“Now we are to be part of an equally innovative parent company, which runs the world’s largest newsprint machine here in the UK. We look forward to Palm Recycling making a significant contribution to its new parent.”
Dr Wolfgang Palm, chief executive at Palm’s German parent Papierfabrik, said: “We are delighted to have been able to conclude these arrangements, a measure of the like-minded approach by both parties.
“For Palm Paper it means a long-term, secure supply of fibre for our King’s Lynn mill, while Palm Recycling will work with the company’s business partners to provide continuity of service from the existing operations team.”
Joint administrator Tom Jack said: “I am delighted to conclude the successful sale of Cheshire Recycling, safeguarding all 40 jobs and securing a future for this highly-regarded business. I would like to thank everyone involved in the sale, and in particular the employees for their hard work and support.”
Bridgewater Paper went into administration last week. Production at the Ellesmere Port mill has now been stopped and 271 workers ‘temporarily laid off’ while Ernst & Young hunts for a buyer.
