WiseTek Solutions Limited is the third European company and the first Irish company to be certified to R2. Founded in 2007, the company provides manufacturing services, reverse logistics and asset value recovery services to the electronics industry in Europe. Having passed audits with Perry Johnson Registrars, the company now holds R2 certification for two of its Cork facilities and plans to seek certification in Thailand later this year.
Recycling awareness and responsibility in Ireland begins at an early age, 88% of all the early and middle schools subscribe to a voluntary "Green Schools in Ireland" project which has been in operation for over 16 years now. This project highlights awareness, prevention and reduction of waste in the schools and sometimes in the local community as well.
Probably, as a result of this program Ireland, the country, manages to collect in excess of 8Kg (17.6 lbs.) per capita of WEEE per annum. The European target is 4Kg (8.8 lbs.) at the moment. The upside of this programming from an early age is that when WiseTek talks to companies in Ireland, we do not have to convince these companies of the need to recycle or re-use, this philosophy is already ingrained in their mindset - we get to talk about how we are going to recycle or the markets that we have created for product re-use across the world or the efficiency of the refining process that we utilize. About 33% of what we test for re-use ends up in the USA marketplace, about 50% stays in Europe and the balance goes to Asia. The first thing that we look for when we receive product is re-use capability.
The big value that WiseTek derives from R2 certification is that our responsible recycling credentials are independently verified. As a result companies do not have to carry out expensive independent audits and site visits to be guaranteed that their product is being managed in a sustainable and responsible manner. The WiseTek Solution offers companies a single outsource option to perform configuration of product going to market, reverse processing to maximize the potential for customer recovery and asset disposal through its global re-sale network or final disposition through environmentally responsible refiners.
As a direct and tangible result of this certification, WiseTek has recently signed a global Asset Value Recovery agreement with McAfee, a world leader in IT security systems. As we manage to get the word out that we have two accredited facilities in Ireland and are being audited at our Thailand facility in June of this year, we expect to sign many more contracts with similar companies. One of our biggest customers, EMC Corporation has recently made certification a condition of doing business with them; this pre-requisite is becoming more and more popular with the biggest OEM's worldwide as they come under greater scrutiny by their customers and shareholders.
The WiseTek Solution enables our customers to realize the positive impact that seemingly redundant electronics can have on their supply chain cost and the environment, and R2 certification will assist us in ensuring our continued strict adherence to best practice is a positive differentiator for WiseTek.
Jim Sheehan is Director of Business Development - WiseTek Solutions Limited