Saudi Arabia produces about 53 million tonnes of waste every year. By 2035, this is expected to grow to 106 million tonnes, due to rapid industrialisation, population growth, and urbanisation. Under Vision 2030, the Kingdom has accorded top priority to waste management and is keen on building a circular economy for a sustainable future.
To realize this vision, Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), the largest industrial waste management company in the GCC, develops and finances various activities across all waste types to establish recycling capacities in the Kingdom.
Identifying that SIRC was seeking to secure advanced recycling systems to deal with C&D waste in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI), the regional economic development agency of Northern Ireland, reached out to SIRC to visit Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is home to one of the world’s most successful clusters of engineering companies that develop state-of-the-art equipment and machinery for export globally, with applications across different sectors including construction, mining, quarrying, demolition, ports, agriculture and recycling. Over the years, companies from Northern Ireland have emerged as leaders in manufacturing of waste recycling equipment, especially in the construction & demolition (C&D) waste sector. Through Invest NI’s offices in the Middle East – Dubai, Jeddah and Doha, the companies from Northern Ireland are being introduced to the likes of SIRC.
During the five-day visit, the SIRC senior management team comprising Khaled Al Rashed, COO, Sultan Saud Al Saif, Technical Director, Faisal Al Qahtani, Operations Manager, Mohammed Al Qurashi, Technical Lead, Saad Al Mahmoud, Projects Manager, Abdullah Al Zahrani, Project Manager and Hatim Al Zahrani, Project Manager, visited four innovative material handling companies, all of who have an active presence in the region. Hosted by Amit Jain, Sector Lead, Engineering, Middle East and Kate Gilmore, International Trade Adviser, Invest Northern Ireland, the delegation also spent time with senior management from Invest NI to discuss opportunities to collaborate and for knowledge sharing.
Faisal Al Qahtani, Operations Manager, SIRC, said, “SIRC is among the leading companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is focused on achieving a circular economy. We are constantly looking at the best technologies and solutions to secure the right infrastructure for the waste management sector.”
“We are looking for solutions that cover the three operational phases including - segregation, processing and recycling. We are also keen on enhancing the quality of the end products. Following the discussion, SIRC decided to visit Northern Ireland’s material handling companies that have diverse expertise and advanced technologies in the field of construction & demolition waste,” Qahtani added.
Talking about the visit, Amit Jain, said, “It was a pleasure to host the senior management of SIRC in Northern Ireland and to share our global expertise in the manufacture of dry and wet waste recycling technologies and equipment. Over the years, Northern Ireland has become the global manufacturing centre of choice for waste recycling equipment and now boasts the world’s number one brands in mobile, static/modular waste materials and wet processing.”
Led by KSA’s Vision 2030, SIRC aims to set the standard by developing and operating projects to increase landfill diversion rates and boost recycling both regionally and globally, he said, adding Northern Ireland has the expertise and knowledge to help them achieve this. “We are excited to identify ways of collaboration and find solutions to accomplish sustainability goals with SIRC and to drive a circular economy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Knowledge sharing
During their visit to Kiverco, which consults, designs, engineers and builds robust recycling plants for businesses in the waste processing industry, the SIRC team received a tour of the C&D waste plant and proposal for Dugam site. At EDGE Innovate, the SIRC team explored Edge’s advanced range of products used in shredding, stacking, screening and sorting of primary and secondary raw materials in production processes and recycling.
During the tour of the CDE Global Manufacturing and Assembly units, the visiting team learned about CDE’s recycling projects and Research & Development initiatives. CDE Global is a leading provider of wet processing solutions with applications across a wide range of materials within the natural processing and waste recycling sectors.
At Terex MP, the SIRC team was briefed about the offering of all three brands of Terex. The presentation focused on C&D recycling equipment such as mobile recycling equipment (Terex Ecotec), static/modular recycling equipment (Terex Recycling Systems) and crushing & screening equipment (Powerscreen).
Terex Ecotec is an industry leader in the design and manufacture of wood processing, biomass and recycling equipment. While Terex Recycling Systems specialises in the design and build of stationary and modular recycling systems, Powerscreen is a leading provider of mobile crushing and screening equipment.
The delegation also met with Sensoteq, which supplies wireless technology for the machine condition monitoring market, and CRS NI, which designs and manufactures Material Recycling Facilities.
Circularity: a common concern
Qahtani commented, “We got to witness the operational side of the technologies and the production pipeline. We were able to meet the vendors and receive their feedback about the technologies used. Overall, the SIRC team had an enriching experience in Northern Ireland.”
“Invest NI companies and SIRC share the same concerns with regard to maximizing the use of recycled material to close the loop. SIRC can apply Northern Ireland’s solutions to thrive in the C&D waste sector, while also achieving a circular economy,” Qahtani added. He noted that he was impressed by the strategies employed by Northern Ireland companies to achieve a circular economy. Through such outreach programmes, other countries can learn from the Northern Ireland experience, he added.