General News
25 October, 2024
Manhari has big plans to grow recycling in Ararat
MANHARI Metals plans to expand its Ararat operation ten fold over the next few years as it grows its recycling operations.
MANHARI Metals plans to expand its Ararat operation ten fold over the next few years as it grows its recycling operations.
Manhari purchased Marx Metal Recycling from Barry Marx over two years ago and have since invested heavily in improvements to the Elizabeth Street Site.
CEO Maddy Gupta took the Advocate on a tour of the facility recently, outlining plans to expand services and employment opportunities.
He said tyre recycling, e-waste, solar panels and improved safety for workers are all part of the plan.
“Health and safety is most important for us. We want to make sure our employees are safe and as you can see we’ve spent a lot of money, a lot of yellow lines to keep them safe. It is the most important part of our business.”
“This site is a very good opportunity for us, Ararat is a very good town and there are a lot of employment opportunities in the future. This is a very good location. We have 200 acres here.
Mr Gupta said Ararat’s proximity to other centres makes it an ideal place to do business.
“Melbourne is two hours, Portland is two hours, our aim is to be an employment hub for the people.
“We are putting in a lot of new machinery, different plants, so a hundred people is what we are looking at employing in the future.
Mr Gupta said the company also plans to introduce additional types of recycling at the Ararat site.
“We currently recycle metal and will start recycling tyres in coming weeks. We have permits in place for tyre recycling, concrete, e-waste, CND waste, glass, plasterboard, solar panels and batteries.
A multi million dollar tyre shredding machine has recently arrived on site which Mr Gupta believes will be well used.
“Tyres are going to be a big part of the business. Tyres are dumped everywhere but from the first of January all tyres have to be disposed of properly.
Manhari also has a solar farm project in the pipeline and has updated fire fighting capacity.
Mr Gupta said the company is keen to employ local residents but will also bring in new workers where required.
“I’m thinking we will need more than 100 people for this site. It will be a big industry for Ararat,” he said.
The company is looking to increase employees in Ararat from 11 to 50 within the first year and to 100 within two years.
“We’ve already spent around $15 million here and there is more to come.” he said.
Mr Gupta said rumours that the site will deal with asbestos and burn tyres are simply untrue.
“We don’t deal with asbestos full stop and tyres will be shredded and sent overseas for reuse. We meet all EPA guidelines,” he said.
Manhari Metals also runs recycling facilities in Horsham and Tottenham.