According to Cooper technology advances helped the company decide on an equipment update
“It will bring 25 to 30 jobs over the next few years,” officials within Cooper Recycling (CR) told the Upper Cumberland Business Journal.
What is it?
CR says it is making an $8 million investment to upgrade the company’s existing shredder facility at 104 Bethsaida Road in Monroe.
“11 million pounds coming from this machine comprises copper, aluminum and stainless steel, which have monetary value instead of us paying for it to go to the landfill,” according to CR. Despite weather putting a damper on the process, the new facility “should be up and running by May 2025. “
The company recently celebrated its 35th year in business in the Upper Cumberland. It began operations in 1989 if you are counting.
“Steve and I purchased it from my father due to health reasons,” said Cindy Cooper, Secretary Treasurer of Cooper Recycling, L. L. C.
In 1995, after hard work, the company purchased a larger piece of property across town for expansion.
“Over the next several years, we grew from 1 employee to 25. In 2008, we decided to invest in purchasing an auto shredder. Yes, it happened during the crash, but to our advantage, we were able to have our employees install the shredder that otherwise would have been laid off during the crash,” according to Cooper.
According to Cooper technology advances helped the company decide on an equipment update. Downstream recycling or down-recycling (which refers to when a non-recyclable product is repurposed into material for a new product of sometimes lesser quality) is where CR gets its copper, aluminum and stainless steel, according to Cooper.
Cooper says the old machine, which was put in place in 2009, was missing 11 million pounds of Ferrous material a year. On any given day, CR shreds 700 cars and appliances. The company then transports the finished, shredded material to steel mills in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama.
Upon return, the material is deposited at “feeder yards” where the raw material is fed into the shredder.
“This investment is for a much-needed upgrade that will prevent 11 million pounds from going to landfills,” said Cooper. “It was time to upgrade.”
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