The sun was shining in Doncaster, UK last week to welcome more than 1,100 visitors from 16 countries in the metal reprocessing, end-of-life vehicle (ELV) and related industries to the CARS trade show on 5-6 June.

CARS – Europe’s largest trade show for the ELV recycling industry – was this year held on the 25 acre working site of Motorhog. The event saw a warm welcome from the Deputy Mayor of Doncaster David Nevett who spoke of the need for good environmental practice and highlighted the work of Motorhog.

The BVSF was one of 70 exhibitors attending the show, showcasing the numerous benefits of membership. Roger West  Secretary General of the BVSF, said: thank you for the opportunity of attending this show, it proved very successful for the Federation and my congratulations go to the organising team for all of their hard work in making the show the success it clearly was.

Evening entertainment was compered by motivational speaker D.J Harrington, from Atlanta, USA. International guests got a taste of traditional British cuisine with a pie and mash gala dinner, and the British Vehicle Salvage Federation (BVSF) presented the Alan Greenouff Award to Geoff Bridges from GW & G Bridges; and the Motor Vehicle Dismantlers’ Association (MVDA) awarded the Bird Trophy to Duncan Wemyss, Hon. Chairman of MVDA, for their outstanding contribution to the UK vehicle dismantling and recycling industry. Plus, this year’s charity auction saw more than £5,500 raised for local charity Firefly Cancer Awareness and Support and Rett UK.

Visitors were treated to the impressive sight of a variety of machinery being showcased in the Big Machine Demo Area, as well as the JMC vehicle dismantlers’ work line showing the complete de-pollution and dismantling of ELVs and downstream processing of valuable materials.

Plus, those who attended the Duesmann and Hensel Conference Theatre heard what the future might bring for the ELV and metals recycling sector, with sessions featuring lively debate from a panel of expert speakers including Brian Such, British Standards Institution and Bernadette Prosser, BMW. Ms Prosser equated the vehicle recycling process today as “urban mining” commenting: “In the next 20 years if I was a betting person, I would see a time when we are actively mining landfills to find resources that have been lost to the manufacturing process.” Conference sessions included: Meeting 2015 ELV targets; and, Future vehicles and the impact on auto recyclers.

For those wanting to brush up on their skills there was practical training in the AutoDrain Skills Lab, with topics including: Safe deployment of airbags; Refrigerant gas recovery: stay safe and legal. Jason Bishop, Operations Director at FAB Recycling who ran the Grading spare parts: is there a standard? session, commented: “it was a great show with plenty of networking opportunities. My skills lab worked well as an introduction to an ‘industry leading standards system’, and people seemed enthusiastic about utilising the concept within their own workplace.”