Member Article

Boroughbridge-based Riverside celebrates 20-year milestone

The past twenty years have been quite a whirlwind for the waste and recycling industry, with recessions, regulations, landfill tax hikes and technological innovations just some of the notable talking points.

But the last two decades have also seen the growth of baler specialist Riverside Waste Machinery.

The company – originally founded by Chris Oldfield in 1997 – is now run by his son Jonathan Oldfield. And the managing director has some upcoming plans equally as exciting as the team’s previous achievements.

“We’ve installed more than 2,000 balers throughout the UK,” Jonathan commented. “But we’re not going to stop there. We’ve worked with clients from Hastings through to the Outer Hebrides, and our forward order book is strong.

“Our balers have proven they’re built to last too, which means that whilst we sometimes replace clients’ machines with newer models that offer greater capacity, we’re usually able to refurbish and re-sell the older kit. In fact, our engineers are so talented, the balers often look – and run – like new!”

Yet despite their growth, it’s fair to say the 20 year journey has not always been straightforward for the Riverside team.

“We’ve seen price-driven markets erode margins, we’ve struggled in the face of skills shortages and we’ve watched, at times, as the recycling industry has battled to have its voice heard at Government level,” Jonathan reflected.

“Sometimes this has meant turbulent times for organisations like ours. But we’ve concentrated on maintaining our accreditations, delivering services as well as machinery, and price matching baler consumables so clients know they don’t ever need to look elsewhere.

“Twenty years is certainly an achievement to be proud of, but now it’s a case of what’s next!”

To mark the landmark achievement, Riverside has produced an infographic of their journey since 1997, which features notable moments in time including the evolution of packaging waste regulations, key staffing changes and the memorable award win from TV ‘Dragon’ Theo Paphitis.

Riverside has more than 20 waste baler models within its range, 10 types of baler consumables, a suite of service and maintenance options, a used baler marketplace and a certified operator training scheme.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katie Mallinson .