Northern Irish autonomous recycling startup REP-TEC has been granted a £300,000 loan to add 15 people to its current headcount of 23.
Based in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, the startup’s products include a robotic system that uses computer vision to separate materials such as glass and metal from waste. It also makes automatic balers and conveyor systems.
“As REP-TEC continues to grow, we are keen to expand our business further into global markets. Recently, we have targeted sales of our products into Europe and North America, and we are developing an export strategy to grow further in these areas and beyond,” said Colm Grimes, founder and CEO of REP-TEC.
Founded in 2020, REP-TEC will use the funding to develop a new line of automatic balers and create an export strategy.
Jenna Mairs, senior investment manager, Whiterock Finance, said: “REP-TEC is at the forefront of the recycling and waste management industry in Northern Ireland and we’re excited to see how the company progresses.”
Whiterock Finance supplied REP-TEC’s loan via its £30m Growth Loan Fund II, with capital coming from Invest NI.
Another company eyeing artificial intelligence and robots to sift through rubbish is London’s Recycleye, which picked up £14m in funding last month.