Oryx opens stainless steel recycling facility in Malaysia

Oryx Stainless Group, a Netherlands-based provider of recycled stainless steel raw materials, held an opening ceremony this month for its new facility in the state of Johor in southern Malaysia, a site that reinforces the region’s position as a strategic hub for sustainable industrial growth, according to Oryx.

The company hosted some 200 guests at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, including several government officials from the state of Johor and the national government, including from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA).

“Oryx Stainless Group's new Johor facility demonstrates how international expertise can transform our manufacturing landscape,” said Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid, CEO of MIDA.

“As a respected name in stainless steel recycling, Oryx Stainless strengthens both Johor’s industrial capabilities and Malaysia’s position in the global circular economy. MIDA actively supports investments that combine innovation with measurable environmental impact, particularly those creating high-skill employment opportunities for Malaysians.”

Oryx says the facility is opening at a "crucial" time for Malaysia’s environmental goals, supporting the national target of 45 percent carbon intensity reduction per GDP by 2030 and helping attract $70 billion in green investments.”

“Malaysia is key to our strategy of bringing high-quality, low carbon footprint stainless steel raw materials closer to the production centers of Asia," Oryx CEO Tobias Kämmer says. "Our investment in Johor is not only a business decision, it is a commitment to long-term collaboration, green growth and shared prosperity. We are proud to contribute to Malaysia’s vision of becoming a global leader in sustainable industrial transformation.”

According to the firm, with each metric ton of recycled material saving up to 8.5 metric tons of CO₂, the plant’s annual impact approaches 1 million metric tons in emissions reduction.

“Only in very few industries is the recycling rate as high as in stainless steel,” says Michael Pawlowski, co-founder and supervisory board chair of the of Oryx Stainless Group. “New stainless steel—with no loss in quality—can be produced from up to 90 percent of the materials processed on this site. The prerequisite is ‘smart recycling,’ as Oryx Stainless has practiced it since 1990.”

Oryx specializes in creating precise blends of recycled raw materials for the melt shop production of some 150 types of stainless steels and alloys.

In Malaysia, Oryx says its Malaysian employees have completed advanced training at the firm’s blending facility in Thailand, learning to operate specialized equipment, which includes Malaysia's first recycling industry-geared Sennebogen material handlers.

The Johor workforce has been drawn almost entirely from local communities, according to Oryx, which says the size of its payroll there is set to double by the middle of next year.

“Partnerships with Malaysian universities create pathways for engineering students into the growing green technology sector,” the company adds.

Oryx says during Phase 1 of the Johor facility’s operations, it will be able to process 150,000 metric tons of stainless steel annually.