Waste plastics venture will create 20 jobs

Kevin Parkin is probably best known for his role in turning round the fortunes of the Sheffield engineering firm DavyMarkham.

He carried out a management buyout with the company’s finance director Duncan Hay in 2007, which secured backing from Leeds-based Endless. The business was sold to Hindustan Dorr-Oliver, a subsidiary of IVRCL, in 2010.

In February, Mr Parkin left DavyMarkham to set up his own professional management and business turnaround company.

He’s also established Sheffield-based R3 Products, which will take mixed and unsorted plastic waste and sell it back as building products.

“We will employ 20 people in the first year of operation,’’ Mr Parkin told the Yorkshire Post.

“The price of plastics has increased phenomenally over the last 12 to 18 months. We need to be in a position where we can compete with Chinese manufacturers and give value for money to building companies. We’ve got to be in a position where we’re taking waste plastic and selling it back as recycled product.”

In an exclusive interview with the Yorkshire Post, Mr Parkin also said he was concerned about the lack of investment in Britain’s nuclear industry, which is lagging behind the UK’s overseas competitors.