Glass recycling business with more than $5 million turnover in administration

A glass recycling company which operates several plants and turns over more than $5 million a year has collapsed into administration.

This is the second recycling company to have been placed in administration in recent weeks, after the ASX-listed metals recycling group CMA collapsed earlier this month.

CMA had been under intense pressure during the past few years. With fewer consumers buying goods, there has been less waste and subsequently fewer metals to recycle.

However, it appears glass recycler Colmax wasn’t exposed to these same pressures.

A spokesperson for Ferrier Hodgson said the company had collapsed due to “operational issues resulting in losses being incurred at the company’s four operating plants”.

“These operational issues included limited trade and production at the West Australian plant due to a series of events between the commencement of production of that plant and the date of commission, and operational issues as a result of temporary closures to the plants in Queensland (due to flooding) and Victoria (due to a fire).”

Administrator Ryan Eagle said in a statement that while the company remains profitable, the turnaround hadn’t been completed quickly enough to cover its liabilities.

The business was hit with an application for a winding up order by JG Moloney & Co in May. The business was placed in administration in July, but then another application for a winding up order was initiated by PCL Lawyers last year.

“We are now exploring opportunities for a going-concern sale,” Eagle said. “I’m confident that the Colmax business can be a sustainable player in the growing glass recycling industry.”

Colmax Glass is one of the leading glass recycling companies in the country, and operates plants in several states. Most recently the company opened a new plant in Western Australia in 2010, with $1.95 million invested through the Western Australian government.

Colmax has become a prominent player in the glass recycling industry – it has won several government awards and grants from various states, and was a finalist in the 2011 Telstra business awards.