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Samill - Company Background
Electric and electronic waste is piling up at an accelerating
pace, causing environmental problems for governments and companies all
over the globe. Mr. Rauno Holappa, a distinguished Finnish
environmental technology veteran and president of Samill Ltd,
predicted this development already in the late 1990s.
Holappa explored the market. He recognized a business opportunity and
set out to find technological solutions to the challenges ahead. His
research resulted in several patented environmental products during
the late 1990s, but he was too much ahead of his time. The market was
not open yet.
Now the demand for environmental technology is growing so fast that
it’s claimed to be the world’s fastest growing industry, and Samill is
ready.
“Now, after years of relentless research and development, we have
arrived. Our timing is right and our technology is cutting edge. We
can offer e-waste recycling in a environmentally sustainable and
financially profitable manner,” says Holappa.
Samill & China
Samill Ltd. is one of the first major e-waste recyclers in the
Shanghai area, due to the fact that the company has worked in close
cooperation with a local research and design unit, supervised by the
Chinese IT ministry, since 2003.
“Our Chinese colleagues had benchmarked several international
environmental technology companies before they contacted us in 2003.
They were searching for a technology that could live up to their
upcoming new environmental laws and standards, a technology that could
ensure environmentally sustainable development for years to come.
Fortunately, we could offer them that,” says President Holappa.
A Unique Technology
Samill is the first company in the world to develop a dry process
which makes it possible to recycle all electric and electronic
components without causing any damage to the environment. The
technology also enables handling and recycling of all by-flow
materials, such as toxic liquids, created in the manufacturing
processes.
“The processes used by the electronics industry result in many
different toxic liquids. Our technology makes it possible to cleanse
all the liquids and put them all back into circulation. We have great
expectations regarding our technology, since there is nothing like it
on the market,” says President Holappa.
Marketleader by 2008
Samill is establishing an e-recycling plant in Shanghai, China,
and pressing to strengthen its marketing and sales in the Chinese
market. The opening of Samill’s new Shanghai office is an essential
step in that direction.
“Our technology and timing give us a head start in the Chinese market.
We need to capitalize on that in order to achieve our goal of being
one of the leading e-recyclers in the Chinese market by 2008",
President Holappa continues.
Market & Legislation
The environmental technology and e-waste recycling market is
claimed to be the world’s fastest growing industry. The demand for
stricter environmental legislation and supervision can be heard all
over the globe.
The European Union implemented its WEEE directive concerning waste
electrical and electronic equipment in August 2005. Now all
manufacturers are required to recycle their own e-waste, which has
boosted the demand for sufficient technologies.
The Chinese government is also taking steps toward a more sustainable
environmental policy. The People’s Republic of China’s State
Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) recently issued
environmental protection technical guidelines for concentrated
processing areas involved in the disposal and recycling of waste
electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), including waste electrical
appliances, wires and cables, and electric motors.
These technical guidelines, which were formulated to provide
implementation details on the Law on the Prevention and Treatment of
Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste, will take effect on
September 1.
And just as in Europe, manufacturers will be required to gather,
handle and recycle all e-waste produced. The prospect of the new law
has already increased the demand for environmental and e-recycling
technologies in China.
The Chinese recycling market alone is expected to grow into a
multibillion dollar business within the next ten years. Currently,
China’s 1.285 billion inhabitants are estimated to produce 2 kilograms
of e-waste per person annually. Which means there are 2.5 million tons
of e-waste to recycle per year, and production is still growing
rapidly. Europeans, for example, already produce more than 4 kilograms
of e-waste per person annually.
The Chinese figure does not include so-called historical e-waste; old
computers, TV sets, radios and so forth, which have grown
substantially during the last decade.
E-waste accumulation in China
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