Sustainable Industrial Production: A Case of a Recycling Center Corp

The purpose of this case is to create awareness about a somewhat unfamiliar industry that accounts for over €3 billion in Scandinavia and £5,6 billion in the UK, the Metals recycling industry. The case features a Scandinavian Company and includes several perspectives from managerial disciplines such as general management and operations management in particular. Through a case narrative, discussions of management dilemmas can be made, as well as evaluations and attention towards problems can also been included. This commodity processing and trading company is facing several challenges as it seeks to turn its losses into profit. Important themes covered are process & capacity analytics (ex cycling time, OEE, capacity planning & control), incentives and their effects, organisational psychology and culture, business strategy, philanthropy initiatives, positioning and improving manufacturing competitiveness in a highly volatile commodity trading market. Data were collected through multiple interviews and the case company’s informants have provided all the information including financial figures; in return full anonymity have been granted.