Finland’s Kuusakoski Oy announced that it is setting up a $7 million wire and cable recycling plant for “aluminum- and copper-containing materials” that will be completed next year in Heinola, Finland.

A press release said that the facility is part of Kuusakoski Oy’s multiyear investment program designed to increase capacity, enhance material yield and deliver cleaner recycled raw material products. “Our new copper center is unique in Finland,” said company President and CEO Mikko Kuusilehto. “With this investment, we are able to serve our customers more locally, which is not only more sustainable for the environment but also financially profitable—both for us and for our customers.”

Kuusakoski said that equipment at the new plant will be able to process copper- and aluminum-containing cables and separate the metals. The copper fraction will then be refined by Kuusakoski in Heinola and the aluminum fraction proceeds to a separate smelter. Until now, the company has only had a similar operation in neighboring Sweden.

The facility will have a precrushing line and a separation line. In the precrushing line, the material is crushed and separated using magnetic separators and a windscreen. In the separation line, the remaining material is granulated into small particles to enable separation. With a production capacity of about 2.5 tons per hour, about 40 tons of copper can be produced per week at the plant, the company estimates.

Kuusakoski said the chopping line will help improve the competitiveness of its Heinola plant, which it calls the largest integrated recycling plant in Northern Europe.