Industrial disassembly: process, costs and value accounting

A production line runs out, a hall is drawn empty, insolvency proceedings require the recovery of fixed assets: in all these cases, a Industrial dismantling and with it the question of what the dismantling costs and what the material is worth in the end. The answer surprises many companies: If dismantling is carried out by the metal trade itself, the material value often covers all or part of the costs – in favorable cases a payout remains.

This guide explains how industrial disassembly takes place, which factors determine the cost, how the value calculation works and what evidence you should receive for your documents.

What is part of industrial disassembly?

Industrial disassembly includes the orderly dismantling of technical equipment – from the individual machine to the complete plant:

• Production plants and production lines: Presses, machine tools, conveyors, robot cells
• Boiler, tank and pipeline installations, also made of stainless steel (V2A 1.4301, V4A 1.4571) and special materials
• Hall equipment: crane systems, shelving systems, ventilation and extraction systems, transformer stations
• Steel structures: structures, stages, silos, facades
• Electrical and drive technology: motors, switchgears, cable paths

Important for the demarcation: Disassembly is not a demolition of the building. The building structure remains standing; the technical equipment will be dismantled – including the decomposition before a conversion if necessary.

What a Disassembly Cost — An Example Calculator

To make these factors a number, here are two calculated cases. Both are example invoices and no commitment. The plants are designed to make the bill readable – they are not billed projects. We will determine the costs of your installation on site, and only the written offer will be binding after the inspection.

Two approaches have been established beforehand. The material values follow the daily buying-in prices of the 60 grades in eight groups, which also in the Purchase of metal We rate iron and steel scrap on request, here it is set at 0.15 euros per kilogram. And the departure follows the same season as the collection from 500 kilograms: up to 30 km 40 euros, up to 60 km 120 euros, up to 100 km 180 euros, up to 150 km 250 euros, over 350 euros – measured from our factory in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. In case of disassembly, this step is per container journey, not even for the whole project. The rates on the cost side are experience values for an order of magnitude and move with time windows, technology requirements and market situation.

Case 1: production line, 50 tonnes, copper-containing

An expired production line on the ground floor of a hall: presses, conveyor lines, switch cabinets, a transformer station, as well as stainless steel containers and pipelines. Free accessibility, indoor gate at farm level, no running operation, location 85 kilometers away. Total weight about 50 tons.

34,400 Euro material value against 28,220 Euro expense: the bottom line in this example remains a Payment of EUR 6,180, around 124 euros per tonne. Weighing is done on calibrated scales, the scales belong to you, and will be paid within 24 hours of weighing.

The result hangs on a single line. The 3,500 kilograms of copper are seven percent of the mass and, at 19,250 euros, bring together more than the remaining 46.5 tons (15,150 euros). If this copper falls into the container as mixed scrap instead of being separated in a grade pure, the same plant will tip from the payout into the additional payment.

Case 2: boiler house with extraction system, 12 tons, third floor

The same bill also goes out differently, and clearly. A boiler house with extraction system, 12 tons, on the third floor without crane lift: each part goes via stairwell and material elevator. The pipes are insulated with artificial mineral fiber, the material is almost pure steel, copper is only contained in control lines and two pump motors. The location is 22 kilometers away, in the middle of the Rhine-Neckar area.

3.585 Euro material value against 11.560 Euro effort: Here remains a Supplement of 7,975 Euro, around 665 euros per tonne. Not because the plant would be bad, but because three things come together: almost no copper, every kilogram over a stairwell, and an insulation that needs its own documented disposal route. The short way, on the other hand, hardly helps – 80 Euro transport on 11,560 Euro effort is not the lever.

Between the two cases, there are around EUR 790 per tonne. This is the whole answer to the question, why a price without viewing is not a number, but a range: The same tonnage can mean a payout or a surcharge. Therefore, our offer separates the three lines – dismantling, transport and calculated material value – instead of naming a final amount, whose condition no one can verify.

What the balance is shifting

These six sizes move the result the most. Here they are in the order of their effect, calculated at the two examples above:

• Copper content: the strongest single size. One percentage point more copper in case 1, i.e. 500 kilograms instead of steel, raises the balance by around 2,675 euros. The same goes down.
• Accessibility: free installation at farm level against chained installation without crane runway. Three working days difference for the three-member column from case 2 is 4,680 euros.
• Height: everything that is not at the farm level needs lifting work platform, material elevator or car crane – and above all more manual work when removing.
• Contamination: oils, cooling lubricants, artificial mineral fibres, suspected asbestos. Each separate disposal route is its own position with its own proof; in case 2, 2.4 tons of insulation cost 840 euros and thus consume almost the total copper proceeds of 930 euros.
• Date pressure: Nights, weekends, company holidays and work in the current operation are going through the daily rate of the column – and the column is the largest position in both cases.
• Distance==References==<br> Between 40 and 350 euros per journey; even the six trips over 85 kilometres in case 1 are almost four percent of the effort at 1,080 euros.

Value accounting: why the metal trade is in advantage

If you hire a pure dismantling or assembly company, this will continue to sell the resulting metal itself – the margin remains with the service provider. If the metal trade performs the dismantling, this intermediate step is not taken: The material is evaluated directly at dealer conditions and this evaluation is included in your offer.

Case 1 above shows how much this makes up: the copper carries 19,250 out of 34,400 euros of material value – seven percent of the mass, more than half of the value. Separated from grades, it is worth a multiple of the mixed scrap price, and that's exactly why we separate during dismantling and not only on the farm. The daily prices per grade can be found in our Purchase of metal and on the side Current metal prices.

Safety and Evidence

In the end, two things count for you as your client: that nothing happens and that everything is documented. The standard includes:

• Risk assessment and coordinated safety plan before start
• Evidenced activation of electricity, gas, compressed air and hydraulics
• Disposal of hazardous substances through approved specialist companies, fully documented
• Weighing machine weights for each material removal
• A final statement that compares effort and material value transparently

You will need these documents for accounting, insolvency proceedings for the administrator and conversions often for authorities and insurers.

Special case Dissolution and insolvency

In the case of operational resolutions and insolvencys, the dismantling process is used: What can be sold as a machine, what goes into the material cycle, what has to be disposed of? Here we work with inventory lists, evaluate position for position and take over the complete Project management – a contact person from the first inspection to the clean transfer of the area.

You're planning a dismantling? You can contact us directly via the form below – or you can call: +49 176 6577 0862.