Kuusakoski to exit US market

Kuusakoski Oy, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is closing its U.S. operations in the face of prolonged profitability challenges, with operations to cease in a controlled manner this year.

Kuusakoski Recycling operates two facilities in Illinois—one in Plainfield in suburban Chicago and the other in Peoria—that focus on information technology asset disposition (ITAD) and electronics recycling. The company stopped accepting material earlier this month, according to a local news report.

Globally, the company handles more than 1 million metric tons of recyclables and products annually, including metals, supplying its outputs as raw materials for the manufacturing industry.

In a statement on its website, Kuusakoski says it remains committed to supporting affected employees and will continue to focus on creating value in regions where it excels in recycling and sustainability.

The closure of its U.S. operations follows an evaluation of the company’s strategic objectives and consideration of potential alternatives. The company says it has experienced severe prolonged challenges concerning the profitability of its operations in the U.S. Despite its efforts to improve the financial performance of these operations, they have not met expectations and will be closed down.

"Our U.S. team has made significant contributions over the years, and we sincerely appreciate their dedication and hard work," Kuusakoski President and CEO Mikko Kuusilehto says. "As we move through this transition, we are committed to providing support to all affected employees in the U.S."

Kuusakoski entered the U.S. market in 2009 with the acquisition of a facility in Philadelphia to process electronic scrap. In 2015, Kuusakoski acquired Vintage Tech Recyclers, Romeoville, Illinois, relocating its electronics recycling operations to that state. In 2013 the company partnered with U.S.-based Peoria Disposal Co. to process leaded glass from CRTs, or cathode ray tubes, in Peoria. The processed glass was treated using a patent pending process to produce a material called KleanKover that was used as landfill alternative daily cover at Peoria Disposal Co.’s Tazwell Creek landfill.

Outside the U.S., Kuusakoski made investments in its Finnish operations in recent years that include building a ferrous and stainless steel scrap processing plant in Veitsiluoto, an industrial site in the Northern Gulf of Bothnia region and a wire and cable recycling plant for “aluminum- and copper-containing materials” in Heinola that was part of its multiyear investment program designed to increase capacity, enhance material yield and deliver cleaner recycled raw material products.

Is U.K. electronics recycling operations, SWEEEP Kuusakoski, added a Recycleye optical sorting unit early last year that also uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to help identify and separate batteries from the materials stream.