The metal recycling and waste management specialist Ward has opened a new rail-connected metal processing site at DB Cargo UK’s site at Barking in East London. It will facilitate bulk material movement from the south of England to its other facilities across the country for processing and onward export.

Metals processing and recycling ticks all the right environmental and circular economy boxes. Put that together with the green credentials of rail freight logistics, and the lack of glamour is more than compensated by the planet-saving properties of a loaded train of metals for processing and export.

Sustainability plans

The site in Barking is a long-term partnership between DB Cargo UK and Ward. It marks the next stage in the expansion of Ward’s bulk metal processing and export capabilities. It follows the opening of a new deep-sea port facility at Redcar Bulk Terminal earlier this year and a deep-sea dock at Immingham in North Lincolnshire in 2018 with Associated British Ports.

Providing use for Ward to move bulk ferrous metal by rail, the site eventually aims to transport several trains each month, each carrying over 1,000 tonnes of material on each movement. It forms part of Ward’s broader sustainability plans to reduce road cargo and handle bulk material to rail wherever feasible to do so.

Sustainable and innovative rail logistics

“Following a pilot exercise in Pinns Wharf [also in Barking], where we were transporting scrap by barge up to Immingham, we established the potential for buying metals from other London-based merchants and cost-effectively transporting them via rail to our other sites, for recycling and export”, said Donald Ward, Operations Director at Ward. “We’ve worked with DB Cargo UK to upgrade the site, installing a new weighbridge, radiation detectors, site accommodation facilities, new walls, gates and on-site security. We’ve also invested in new equipment, including Liebherr material handlers and a CAT wheel loader. At the moment, it has created five new jobs, but we are expecting to grow the team further in the coming months.”

DB Cargo UK already has plenty of relevant bulk transport experience. “We’re really pleased to extend our ongoing partnership with Ward with the new facility at Barking”, said Roger Neary, Head of Sales at DB Cargo UK. “This is a great example of how we work with our customers to achieve safe, sustainable and innovative rail logistics solutions linking their supply chains to domestic and European markets through our network, service and people excellence.”

Multi-award winning Ward is an independently-owned fourth-generation family business founded in 1940. Investment in the new Barking site complements Ward’s existing metal processing and recycling facilities across the Midlands, Teeside and Lincolnshire, enabling the metals specialist to transport various grades of ferrous metal for onward recycling. Rail freight’s part in that expansion is alive and well and making the most of the recycling business.