Hydrodec merges with Cleveland Industrial Recycling

Hydrodec was acquired by U.K.-based owning group Slicker Recycling in November of last year. The company collects and hydrotreats used transformer and naphthenic oils a

The expanded company, which now counts more than 50 employees, will be led by Gary Smith, who becomes CEO of the U.S. business, moving from the U.K. where he is currently Slicker Recycling’s operations director. Jim Szoka, former owner of Cleveland Industrial Recycling, will become the executive chairman of the amalgamated company.

Smith says, “We are growing at a rapid pace, and the U.S. market is a vital part of that strategy and somewhere we want to expand further in the years ahead.

“It is only a matter of months since we acquired Hydrodec, but we saw so many synergies with Jim and his team at Cleveland," he continues. "It makes sense for both companies to link their expertise, and I look forward to overseeing the close integration in the coming months."

Smith says the deal is "exciting" because of the benefits it will deliver, adding, "it will also allow us to work with more and more businesses, especially in the utilities sector, to help them play their part in doing right by the planet, achieve their green goals and prove that commitment through gaining carbon credits."

The team at Cleveland Industrial will decommission high-voltage scrap metal and transformers, working with the team at Hydrodec to ensure used oil is extracted, refined and recycled back into the market, Smith says.

Szoka adds, “This merger is the next logical step for Cleveland Industrial Recycling and will not only extend the value chain but give a complete, closed-loop process when it comes to us recycling various types of metals and ensuring oil is extracted."

Cleveland Industrial Recycling has 29 employees. In addition to its 74-acre Ashtabula facility that processes high-voltage scrap metal, the company also has sites in Mercer, Pennsylvania, and Akron, Ohio, that also process and drain transformers and high0voltage electrical equipment.

The merger sees Slicker Recycling, which is headquartered near Birmingham in the U.K., further increasing its global footprint and building its circular economy credentials after the 2020 opening of its $95 million base oil re-refinery in Denmark through a joint venture with its German partner, Avista AG.