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Tyco Plants in U.K. Partner to Turn Recycled Metal into Sprinkler Frames


 


 

Swarf metal at the Tyco facility in Stockport, United Kingdom nears the end of the recycling process. The recycled metal is shipped to another Tyco facility in Frome, United Kingdom where it’s melted and turned into sprinkler frames.

The Tyco Fire Protection Products manufacturing plants in Stockport and Frome, United Kingdom have implemented a program that enables them to manufacture sprinkler frames with 98% recycled metal. 

 

The metal, called swarf, comprises shavings and chippings resulting from metalworking operations when manufacturing sprinkler deflectors and frames. Through the recycling program, swarf in Stockport is now collected and processed on-site and then sent nearly 250 kilometers to Frome where it’s melted and turned into sprinkler frames. During the last 27 months, the Stockport site has sent more than 325 tons of recycled metal to Frome. 

 

The Stockport facility machines and assembles fire sprinklers for sale in Tyco’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Asia Pacific regions. The Frome facility is a die cast foundry that manufactures 95% of Tyco’s global output of sprinkler frames. 

 

Implementation of the project required process changes at both plants. At Frome, a furnace was purchased to melt the swarf from Stockport. At Stockport, equipment was purchased to separate swarf from materials – such as coolants – that it comes into contact with during metalworking operations. Coolant recovered when the swarf is processed is recycled. 

 

The success of the metal recycling project adds to an already impressive list of environmental achievements for Stockport and Frome. 

 

The two sites are certified to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 environmental management standard and have achieved the Carbon Trust Standard for reducing carbon emissions by more than 30%.