£80m Teesside tire recycling plant seeks investment boost

p>ERJ staff report (BC)

Newcastle upon Tyne, UK – Bosses behind a major tire recycling plant on Teesside say “risk-averse” investors are making it difficult to secure vital funding, reports Kelley Price of Gazette Live.

PYReco chose Middlesbrough’s South Tees Eco Park to site its £80m (€94m) facility six years ago, receiving £1m (€1.2m) UK government grant to help with the start-up.

But two separate deals with global investors have fallen through in as many years, leaving the project struggling to get off the ground.

Noel Harasyn and Antony Carter Bosses are determined their “no-risk” project, which is entirely underwritten by Metso, a major supplier to the process industries, will be built.

They are reported as attracting new interest, particularly from the Middle East – but not from the UK.

According to PYReco, the pilot plant will create 90 permanent and 100 construction jobs and generate “tens of millions” for the North-east’s economy.

Around 60 000 tonnes of shredded rubber per annum – the equivalent of 7.5m tires – are expected to be diverted from landfill.

“Thousands of tonnes” of carbon black, steel and oil would be produced each year, and 500 000 tonnes of emissions saved.

Harasyn said: “The project is shovel-ready. … The venture capitalists are risk-averse – this isn’t a risk project; the risk is absolutely minimal to the investor.

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Full story from Gazette Live