Wendt Corp. sells shredder to Invema in Central America

Wendt Corp., Buffalo, New York, has announced the sale of a Wendt M6090 shredding plant to Honduras-based Invema. The company says this is the first shredder in Central America and provides Invema with a competitive advantage by creating a new premium product, increasing volumes and opening new markets. 

Invema CEO George Gatlin started the company with his father in 1994 after recognizing the environmental and economic benefits recycling could bring to Honduras. It began with three employees recycling aluminum cans and has grown to 487 employees. Invema says it is now a recycling center for all nonorganic waste and the largest plastic recycler in the region, supplying Coca-Cola in Honduras and El Salvador with 50 percent recycled content for its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles.   

“I’ve always wanted to be a step ahead,” Gatlin says. “I am a very competitive person, and I believe competition makes you try to be better.”   

Gatlin says he recognized the opportunity for a shredder in the Honduras region for his company and the various people that supply Invema with material daily.  

Invema’s Wendt M6090 shredding plant features an infeed conveyor, Bowe Disc Rotor, Wendt AutoDriver controls, a downstream system with a single mag stand and a 1,500 horsepower AC motor with a variable frequency drive (VFD). Representing the first Wendt shredder with a VFD, the technology allows Invema to maximize the shredder’s production while minimizing its operating cost by taking advantage of the drive's ability to control the motor's power consumption and peaks. Wendt Corp. says this is especially important due to the high cost and limited availability of power in the region.   

Invema’s auto shredder operation will be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2022 and be located outside of San Pedro in Honduras. Invema plans to process 5,000 tons per month with its new M6090 shredder and has plans for further expansion with additional processing equipment soon.  

Gatlin says many factors went into choosing the shredder that would best fit the company's needs, including customer service and reputation.   

“Wendt continues our strategic growth initiative as we expand into new markets and regions with the first shredder to be installed in Central America,” Wendt Corp. President Tom Wendt says. “We look forward to the opportunities the shredder will provide to Invema as well as continuing to grow our relationship with the Gatlin family.”