MI2 Founding Member Wieland Recycling Shelbyville Hits Key Milestone

[Image: Wieland]

We are excited to celebrate a significant milestone achieved and announced by our founding member, Wieland, in the progression of their Shelbyville, Kentucky, plant. Wieland stands at the forefront of innovation, workforce development, and sustainability for the Kentucky metals industry as a founding company member of the Metals Innovation Initiative. The successful transition from construction to the initial phase of operations in Shelbyville exemplifies their commitment to excellence.

For those new to the recycling project in Shelbyville, Wieland’s journey began in June 2022, when they officially broke ground on this project, their first greenfield recycling and refining center in North America. The primary objective of this operation is closed-loop manufacturing of 100% recycled copper, providing a green alternative to traditional sourcing and significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the copper supply chain. The Shelbyville project presents a unique opportunity to source low-grade copper scrap streams and fire-refine them into a cathode substitute material.

Wieland has embarked on the commissioning phase of their shredding and sorting equipment. This pivotal moment marks a crucial step forward in their mission to enhance the capacity of the entire refining process, with a sharp focus on upgrading copper scrap. Wieland efficiently removes undesirable elements such as iron, nickel, and tin by leveraging state-of-the-art shredding and advanced sorting techniques. Their shredder’s activation is underway, accompanied by ongoing metal sorting trials.

This shred/sort commissioning and trial phase ran throughout the month of December and will extend into January, allowing Wieland to fine-tune equipment and optimize the overall process for maximum efficiency and effectiveness--pushing the boundaries of innovation within the metals industry.

As Wieland transitions into this operational phase, safety remains their utmost priority. They take great pride in the robust site-safety culture fostered by the dedicated on-site team at Shelbyville. Their overarching goal is to ensure the secure initiation of operations, delivering outstanding results that contribute to the entire Kentucky metals ecosystem.

Looking ahead, Wieland anticipates their fire-refining commissioning scheduled for spring 2024. This phase involves activating the furnace to eliminate undesirable elements further, coupled with the launch of the casting/packaging line, propelling the project into full-scale operations.

Wieland's investment in Shelbyville underscores its commitment to sustainable products and processes, recycling leadership, and the pursuit of a circular economy and carbon neutrality. The company extends its gratitude to everyone involved in making this project successful. Building on a greenfield site is no small feat, and they appreciate the hard work and commitment of all stakeholders involved in this process over the last couple of years.

Now, Wieland is focused on the talent pipeline for these operations. Current openings include positions in operations and maintenance. The Shelbyville project is expected to create approximately 70 quality jobs, with more planned for the future.