Starlinger & Co Gesellschaft m.b.H., Austria
by Paul Niedl, Commercial Head of Starlinger recycling technology
1) Are you exhibiting at the Chinaplas fair? What innovations will your company be presenting?
One of the main topics Starlinger will focus on at this year‘s Chinaplas fair is polyester fibre recycling. We will present various options for IV increase and melt filtration to achieve high-quality recyclate that will enable fibre producers to make their products more sustainable. Other topics will be PET bottle-to-bottle recycling for direct food contact applications, and PE and PP post-consumer recycling solutions featuring Starlinger’s highly efficient odour reduction technology.
2) How important is the Chinese market for you? Are you planning to invest or establish yourself there?
China is one of the most important markets for Starlinger. Recognising the high potential of this country and in order to best serve this market, Starlinger founded a subsidiary with production facilities already in 2006. By now the Starlinger team in China has grown to more than 70 people, and our sales and service department provides quick support to our customers.
3) How do you see the PET industry developing this year?
In China, the use of recycled PET for direct food contact is still not legally permitted. Only two companies with a special permission are allowed to recycle PET bottles for food contact applications – one of them uses Starlinger PET iV+ technology. We hope there will be changes in the legal framework soon because China has huge potential in the area of B2B recycling.
