Recycling plant machinery worth £1.3m stolen

Administrators estimate it would have taken a week to dismantle and remove the plant

The entire contents of a state-of-the-art recycling plant that recently went into administration have been stolen, insolvency practitioners have said.

Valuers arrived at QC Polymer in Wolverhampton on 6 November to prepare for a pre-auction viewing of its £1.3m equipment, only to find the building completely empty.

Administrators Hudson Weir described the theft as "an extraordinary turn of events".

West Midlands Police and the Serious Fraud Squad was investigating, the firm said.

The plant, which entered into administration on 29 October, recycled plastic bottles and had a "comprehensive production line", including the latest innovations in recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) technology, Hudson Weir said.

Garry Wisdom of G J Wisdom & Co arrived at the factory in Bilston last week on the eve of the public viewing and discovered the equipment, valued at £1.3m, had all been taken.

Hasib Howlader of Hudson Weir said: "To understand the sheer scale of this robbery, GJ Wisdom & Co estimated it would have taken seven days to dismantle this plant and a fleet of 10 articulated lorries and two cranes to cart it away."

'Be on the lookout'

The equipment was to be sold on Monday and there was "significant interest" in it, Mr Howlader said.

"This is a setback in our current plans as our duty as administrators is to realise as much for the business and its assets as we can, returning to the creditors' funds for distribution."

He asked those involved in the recycling industry to be aware of such specialist equipment being sold.

“The inventory of the equipment that was removed from the site was highly specialist PET recycling machinery with a limited market for its sale and disposal," he added.

"So, we are asking the industry to be on the lookout for this type of technology, being offered, second hand, at well below market value."

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police confirmed it was investigating the burglary.