Geminor and Cross Wrap continues its partnership in the UK

Landfilling has long been the go-to method of waste management in the United Kingdom, so energy recovery from waste is limited by the local infrastructure. Thus, it’s more efficient to export most of the energy recoverable material to other countries in Europe. Geminor, a big player in utilizing that material, partnered with bale wrapping specialist Cross Wrap for an important component of Geminor’s production line at its processing plant in Hull, England.

Geminor is a leading European company in the recycling and recovery of waste materials. The treatment and handling of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) is among the company’s main business activities.

Today, the United Kingdom is the biggest market for Geminor. In 2024, the company’s UK business will have handled over 700,000 tonnes of waste. Some of the RDF produced is sent for energy recovery by facilities within the UK, while about 75% is exported to energy-from-waste plants in other European countries.

To keep up with the substantial volume, a new RDF baling and wrapping production line was installed at the company’s processing plant in Hull, England. It includes a CW2200 Bale Wrapper by Cross Wrap to ensure the efficient and uncontaminated shipment of the end product. Before wrapping, the material is baled into cubic bales, which have logistical benefits over the round bales that Geminor was previously using.

– The biggest part of our business is export, hence the requirement for RDF that’s produced in the right way and is suitable for shipment, says Oliver Caunce, Country Manager at Geminor UK.

No compromise

At Cross Wrap, the main priority has always been ensuring customer satisfaction through effortless collaboration. As Cross Wrap’s CEO Vesa Jauhiainen will readily admit, there are cheaper options on the market. The strength of Cross Wrap is in its expertise, the quality of its products and the high level of service it provides to customers.

– We started in the wrapping business about 30 years ago. It’s still among our core businesses, so we are really focused on it. We are continuously talking to our customers about their needs around the products to inform our R&D process. Developing our solutions is a passion for us, Jauhiainen explains.

– We have found the best solutions for wrapping bales through our years of product development. The total cost over a Cross Wrap machine’s life cycle is also very low and the return on the initial investment is high. Our bale wrappers are very durable, and don’t need big overhauls over time. We have had our machines continue to operate after more than twenty years without any issues.

It was all these benefits, and Cross Wrap’s customer-centric approach, that attracted Geminor to the company’s wrapper for its Hull facility.

– In our view, Cross Wrap is the market leader in wrapping refuse-derived fuel. We have a lot of experience with different types of bales and different wrappers. For our UK facility, it was really important that we got the right equipment and the right provider, and the Cross Wrap solution was the best solution for us. That was the motive behind working with Cross Wrap, Caunce says.

Keeping close to the customer

Although based in Finland, Cross Wrap is an international company with a strong presence in the UK market. Global customers, including those in the UK, enjoy a well-established network of trusted partners who handle local service and maintenance according to the high standards set by Cross Wrap.

– The UK has been one of our core markets for a long time. We have a long-term service partner who can do all the work locally, so there’s no need for service professionals from Finland to work on Cross Wrap machines here. They are self-sufficient and give good customer service, Jauhiainen assures.

That does not mean Cross Wrap likes to stay out of the picture, though. The company greatly values its customers’ perspective and commits to building strong customer relationships.

– We want to be close to our customers. We want to understand how to benefit the customer and add value for them, Jauhiainen declares.

A collaboration that’s set to endure

Speaking from Geminor’s perspective, Caunce points to the pressures of settling for no less than being the best at what you do. In his view, Cross Wrap is a perfect match for Geminor’s ambition.

– As our business is export, we need to be the best in class in how we export our own material. As we’ve grown and sought to add value for our customers, we’ve invested more and more in the supply chain. The culmination of that investment is in building the whole facility in Hull, as well as installing the baler and the Cross Wrap Bale Wrapper.

At the end of the day, the most important thing for Geminor was to have a reliable machine that wraps bales really well, and does so consistently. That means tight and clean wrapping with no leaks or other flaws, coupled with a good rate of operation.

Between the quality of the machine and the long-term value it provides, Caunce says Cross Wrap has delivered on all fronts.

– The experience with Cross Wrap has been really good. The installation is proving to be really successful in producing RDF that is fully sealed and suitable for export. It’s been a very valuable partnership, and hopefully is the beginning of a long partnership in the future.