Feature
Issue No. 7 - October/November 2002
Resourceco Crushes the Competition
When South Australian construction materials recycler Resourceco took out the Telstra Small Business Awards national prize in August, it was a milestone: recycling had come of age as a serious, heavy industry.
Clearly, recycling the material resources contained in degraded roads and structures is no longer a ‘feel-good’ exercise for the environmentally conscientious: for a number of reasons, natural resources are no longer ‘free’—and it pays to be thrifty.
The Telstra award has recognised Resourceco for its businesslike and innovative approach to its opportunity.
Resourceco was founded in 1992 by the present managing director, Simon Brown. Growth has been exponential. A major part of the establishment strategy has been to work closely with relevant government departments to keep Resourceco products and advances in front of the major potential users of recycled aggregates.
Experience shows that recycled products are as good as traditional, quarried products for many applications in the civil industry, and it can be superior. Transport SA and the EPA have worked with Resourceco to establish usage parameters for recycled products and in December 2000, Transport SA introduced the PM 2000 specifications for supply and delivery of pavement materials.
Resourceco has invested more than $10 million to create a state-of-the-art-facility to recycle concrete, asphalt, masonry, steel and timber in to a range of quality assured products. Unique ‘blower’ systems keep impurities out of the finished products and a recently installed pug mill now provides a consistent moisture content as well as the ability to cement-stabilise products. Adding a trummel and picking shed in 1998 enabled Resourceco to capture another 160,000 tonnes of materials that year. The company now employs more than 40 staff and supports more than 60 subcontractors and SMEs. A new weighbridge and computer billing system now lets Resour...
