Singapore’s Scrap Situation

Special International Issue
Singapore’s Scrap Situation

There are many unknowns surrounding Singapore’s scrap recycling industry, but indications are that while the scrap supply is tight today, the future offers promise.

When the Bureau International de la Recuperation meets in Singapore this month, thousands of minds on the small island nation will be focused on scrap recycling. When the convention ends and its attendees leave town, however, Singapore's concern with metal and paper recycling likely will extend to few more than the 20 or so scrap entities in the country.

If that number sounds vague it's because it is. No exact nationwide information seems to be collected on the scrap industry, perhaps because there is no governmental entity regulating the industry. However, according to K. Ramanlal & Co. PTE Ltd., a Singaporean scrap trading firm, the island houses seven main nonferrous scrap processing plants, all of which are exporters, and several small nonferrous operations, most of which do not export their materials.

Export capabilities are vital to the nonferrous industry in Singapore, explains Alan Goldberg, president, Technalloy, Inc., San Jose, California, because there are so few consuming operations within the country. K. Ramanlal & Co.'s import/export figures seem to support this assertion. Last year the firm exported approximately 6,000 metric tons (mt) of copper scrap, 3,500 mt of brass scrap, 800 mt each of aluminum and lead scrap, and 1,000 mt of stainless steel scrap. Meanwhile, the only scrap imports the company handled during 1989 were 1,000 mt of copper and 500 mt of brass.

Much of the scrap processed in Singapore is generated by electronics manufacturing operations and other industrial manufacturing plants, many of which are owned by foreign enterprises. The reliance on scrap from foreign-owned operations has hurt local scrap processors and brokers in recent months, according to K. Ramanlal & Co.'s C. Pravinkumar, as a number of large Japanese manufacturers that generate a substantial quantity of nonferrous scrap in Singapore are now bypassing locals and shipping their scrap directly to Japan. This, Pravinkumar says, has resulted in "the supply of scrap getting tighter and tighter day by day."

There are reasons for optimism about scrap's future role in Singapore nevertheless. The inexpensive labor that enticed manufacturing operations to the island continues to encourage industrial activity; increased industrial activity could result in increased scrap availability.

Ferrous scrap recycling offers potential, as well. According to Gunn Phillips, sales director, Lindemann Recycling Equipment, Inc., New York City, a Singapore steel mill is in the process of installing a Kondirator--a shredder capable of processing up to 70 tons of heavy, mixed steel scrap per hour, according to Lindemann. If the machine is operated at 70-percent capacity, including downtime and planned maintenance, Phillips points out, the mill will process and reuse 100,000 tons of scrap each year on a single shift. Half of that throughput is expected to be imported.

Goldberg, who worked as a trader in Hong Kong in the 1970s, suggests another reason for optimism about Singapore's scrap recycling industry. The nation has seen major construction development in the last 10 years, he explains, which has generated a fair amount of nonferrous scrap. In fact, construction is probably the second largest source of scrap in the country. Singapore's status as an up-and-coming world city (Singapore the country, at a total of 225 square miles--less than one-fifth the area of Rhode Island--contains only one city, Singapore) indicates that development likely will continue to flourish.

Hong Kong's impending return to Chinese control in 1997 also holds significance for Singapore's scrap industry. Assuming that Hong Kong will sacrifice some of its industrial and political prominence when its government changes, developers will look to other Far Eastern cities to fill the gap, and Singapore stands a good chance to be one of them. This not only could increase construction and manufacturing development in Singapore, but also offers the possibility that more scrap consuming operations will be built in the nation.• 

--Elise R. Browne

Special International Issue
Singapore’s Scrap Situation

There are many unknowns surrounding Singapore’s scrap recycling industry, but indications are that while the scrap supply is tight today, the future offers promise.

When the Bureau International de la Recuperation meets in Singapore this month, thousands of minds on the small island nation will be focused on scrap recycling. When the convention ends and its attendees leave town, however, Singapore's concern with metal and paper recycling likely will extend to few more than the 20 or so scrap entities in the country.

If that number sounds vague it's because it is. No exact nationwide information seems to be collected on the scrap industry, perhaps because there is no governmental entity regulating the industry. However, according to K. Ramanlal & Co. PTE Ltd., a Singaporean scrap trading firm, the island houses seven main nonferrous scrap processing plants, all of which are exporters, and several small nonferrous operations, most of which do not export their materials.

Export capabilities are vital to the nonferrous industry in Singapore, explains Alan Goldberg, president, Technalloy, Inc., San Jose, California, because there are so few consuming operations within the country. K. Ramanlal & Co.'s import/export figures seem to support this assertion. Last year the firm exported approximately 6,000 metric tons (mt) of copper scrap, 3,500 mt of brass scrap, 800 mt each of aluminum and lead scrap, and 1,000 mt of stainless steel scrap. Meanwhile, the only scrap imports the company handled during 1989 were 1,000 mt of copper and 500 mt of brass.

Much of the scrap processed in Singapore is generated by electronics manufacturing operations and other industrial manufacturing plants, many of which are owned by foreign enterprises. The reliance on scrap from foreign-owned operations has hurt local scrap processors and brokers in recent months, according to K. Ramanlal & Co.'s C. Pravinkumar, as a number of large Japanese manufacturers that generate a substantial quantity of nonferrous scrap in Singapore are now bypassing locals and shipping their scrap directly to Japan. This, Pravinkumar says, has resulted in "the supply of scrap getting tighter and tighter day by day."

There are reasons for optimism about scrap's future role in Singapore nevertheless. The inexpensive labor that enticed manufacturing operations to the island continues to encourage industrial activity; increased industrial activity could result in increased scrap availability.

Ferrous scrap recycling offers potential, as well. According to Gunn Phillips, sales director, Lindemann Recycling Equipment, Inc., New York City, a Singapore steel mill is in the process of installing a Kondirator--a shredder capable of processing up to 70 tons of heavy, mixed steel scrap per hour, according to Lindemann. If the machine is operated at 70-percent capacity, including downtime and planned maintenance, Phillips points out, the mill will process and reuse 100,000 tons of scrap each year on a single shift. Half of that throughput is expected to be imported.

Goldberg, who worked as a trader in Hong Kong in the 1970s, suggests another reason for optimism about Singapore's scrap recycling industry. The nation has seen major construction development in the last 10 years, he explains, which has generated a fair amount of nonferrous scrap. In fact, construction is probably the second largest source of scrap in the country. Singapore's status as an up-and-coming world city (Singapore the country, at a total of 225 square miles--less than one-fifth the area of Rhode Island--contains only one city, Singapore) indicates that development likely will continue to flourish.

Hong Kong's impending return to Chinese control in 1997 also holds significance for Singapore's scrap industry. Assuming that Hong Kong will sacrifice some of its industrial and political prominence when its government changes, developers will look to other Far Eastern cities to fill the gap, and Singapore stands a good chance to be one of them. This not only could increase construction and manufacturing development in Singapore, but also offers the possibility that more scrap consuming operations will be built in the nation.• 

--Elise R. Browne