During an investor strategy day, the company announced its plan to focus on driving growth of existing businesses and introducing new business sectors.

Waste360 Staff, Staff

April 10, 2019

3 Min Read
Sims Metal Management Discloses Strategic Growth Plan

Sims Metal Management, a global metals and electronics recycler and an emerging leader in municipal recycling and renewable energy, hosted an investor strategy day on April 8 to unveil its multiyear strategic growth plan.

Sims' executive leadership team shared plans to drive growth through 2025, as well as addressed how investing in the latest technology can deliver environmental objectives and make financial sense.

"Sims Metal Management is strongly positioned to become a global leader in the circular economy, acting as responsible stewards for the environment," said Alistair Field, group CEO and managing director, in a statement. "Innovation and our long-standing focus on providing better solutions in recycling will fuel our success."

Field addressed opportunities for growth within the company's existing metals and e-recycling businesses, as well as the plan to establish new businesses that will reduce waste and produce renewable energy to propel the company's next wave of growth.

Field shared that the company's purpose, "create a world without waste to preserve the planet," will serve as the focus for what Sims plans to achieve. To accomplish this, Sims shared plans for each of its business units and highlighted key priorities.

Existing Business Goals

  • Metals: Continue to lead metal recycling by nearly doubling the non-ferrous business and growing the ferrous business by 40 percent in the U.S. within the next six years.

  • E-recycling: Increase e-recycling services and become the leading e-recycler of data storage centers (the cloud). Aim to recycle 10 percent of the cloud over the next six years and be the original equipment manufacturer supplier of choice for recycled plastic.

  • Municipal recycling: Lead change in municipal recycling by instituting new systems for better solutions. Secure additional large city municipal recycling contracts by 2025.

New Business Goals

  • Waste-to-energy (WTE): Expand into WTE by capturing the energy available in the non-metallic residue produced from the shredding process (ASR) to generate electricity. Install and operate seven plants within 10 years with the aim of zero waste disposal and energy costs over the long term.

  • Energy: Leverage expertise and best practices from joint venture partner LMS Energy, a landfill energy company in Australia, to expand that business model into other parts of the world. Acquire or build a minimum of 50 megawatts of sites within the next six years.

In addition, Sims paid tribute to its 100-year history and expertise in recycling. Field shared goals to continue advocating for change and new solutions in partnership with other recycling companies through participation in industry groups, such as the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, among others.

Technology

Sims announced it advanced new technology across its offerings around the world. Capital was spent on growth investments and key partnerships to fuel constant innovation.

  • Metals: The company continued to develop superior technology to provide cleaner and higher-quality products to customers across all sectors, especially in metals recycling, which is the company's core business.

  • E-recycling: Sims provided customized solutions to several of the world's leading electronic manufacturers. As cloud-based companies are anticipated to grow, along with consumer electronics consumption habits, Sims shared an ongoing focus to advance service offerings in this sector.

  • Municipal recycling: The company also expects to lead industry innovations and solutions in this sector, noted Field. In 2019, Nespresso, Sims Municipal Recycling and the City of New York Department of Sanitation announced a collaboration to create new technology for coffee pod recycling to improve efficiency in non-magnetic metals recycling and lightweight aluminum products.

Talent

Sims contributed its ongoing success to the commitment and drive for the “outstanding work” of its more than 5,000 employees. Field explained that celebrating current employees and attracting purpose-driven talent will be ongoing priorities. The company instituted a number of initiatives to strengthen its culture, including an organizational capability review, the Respect and Inclusion educational series and the Women Working @ Sims employee resource group to cultivate top industry leadership. Sims said its goal is to become the employer of choice in the environmental sector.

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