Mystery as entire £1.3m Bilston recycling plant 'stolen' days before administration auction

An entire rPET recycling plant was reportedly stolen from a site in Wolverhampton. The discovery was made the day before an auction was due to take place following the administration of QC Polymer in Bilston.

An inspection of assets was meant to be carried out on Wednesday, November 6, but when the inspector arrived at the site there was nothing to be found. Hasib Howlader and Nimish Patel of Hudson Weir were appointed joint administrators when the company entered administration on Tuesday, October 29.

Hudson Weir had instructed G J Wisdom & Co to value the state-of-the-art plastic bottle recycling plant. It featured a comprehensive production line, including the latest innovations in recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) technology.

READ MORE:Man charged with religiously aggravated offence after unrest at Remembrance parade

READ MORE:Nightmare neighbour kicked off £258k new-build estate after branding residents 'paedos'

Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp

But when Garry Wisdom of G J Wisdom & Co arrived at the factory to prepare for the pre-auction public viewing on November 6, he found the building empty. The entire plant is thought to be worth around £1.3million and would have taken around seven days to dismantle.

Hasib Howlader said: "This is an extraordinary turn of events following the administration of QC polymer. To understand the sheer scale of this robbery GJ Wisdom & Co estimated it would have taken 7 days to dismantle this plant and a fleet of 10 articulated lorries and two cranes to cart it away.

"The theft was clearly premeditated pre-planned and the factory building showed no signs of forced entry. The West Midlands Police and the Serious Fraud Squad have been informed and are investigating.

“The inventory of the equipment that was removed from the site was highly specialist PET recycling machinery with a limited market for its sale and disposal. So, we are asking the industry to be on the lookout for this type of technology, being offered, second hand, at well below market value."

According to Hudson Weir, the inventory included:

• Bail Break, Trommel Separator, Cap & Label Separator, Tomra Autosort Bottle Sorter with EM3 Metal Sensor

• Ken Mills Aries Horizontal Bailer, Label Remover, Pre-Washer, Granulators, Floating Tanks, Centrifugal Dryers

• Steam Boiler, Hot Wash Tanks, Hot Air Drying System, Blow Down Vessel, Tomra Optical Flake Sorter, Eddy Current Separator

• Discharge Silo & Twin Bagging Stand, as well as various connecting conveyors

• Boge Direct Air UK Air Compressor with a 1000L Tank & Dryer

• Two Polymer Preparation Systems

• Dissolved Air Floatation System for water filtration

Mr Howlader added: "We had secured significant interest in this inventory of specialised recycling equipment, with several interested parties ready to make offers when the sale date arrived on the 11th of November. This is a setback in our current plans as our duty as administrators is to realise as much for the business and its assets as we can returning to the creditor's funds for distribution.

"We are asking the recycling industry to be extra vigilant and to keep an eye open for the type of equipment that has been stolen from QC Polymer. If any of the machinery is offered to you please contact me, Hasib Howlader on the following email and telephone numbers."

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police has been approached for comment.