3S International considers second plant in southeastern Michigan

Electronics recycling firm 3S International, which opened its first electronics recycling facility in Tinley Park, Illinois, in early 2014, says it is exploring adding a second facility, this one possibly in southeastern Michigan.

Gina Yob, vice president of sales and marketing for the company, says 3S hopes to have a site selected by the summer of 2015. The company is looking for an existing facility roughly 60,000 square feet in size. As well, says Yob, 3S hopes to open a half dozen more facilities during the next five years.

3S International, headquartered in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, says the Illinois plant is capable of handling 14 million pounds of electronic scrap and 5 million pounds of fluorescent bulbs each year.

Among the equipment used by 3S is BluBox technology, a recycling system developed in Europe designed to shred and sort materials found in electronic scrap and fluorescent bulbs, including hazardous materials such as mercury. “We have the exclusive rights to the BluBox technology in North America,” says Yob.

3S International brings in material from throughout the country, though most of it comes from the surrounding states of Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, Yob says.