PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2018

MATERIALS / RECYCLING PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 07+08/18 www.petpla.net 11 production technologies in this test lab and develop business models parallel to them. Exchanging experience today leads to the solutions of tomorrow The discussion between raw mate- rial producers confirmed once again that sustainability is playing an increas- ing role in company visions. The title of this particular discussion was “Circular economy and raw material producers – parallel worlds or a complementary concept?” which enabled participants to outline their own respective strategies for the future. The result: recycling is not a contradiction in terms, it is an asset in raw material production. Sustainable end products call for the know-how of raw material producers in combination with the experience of recycling special- ists. The remarks of Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) focused on European initiatives such as EuCertPlast and RecyClass which aim to drive uniform quality standards in the use of plas- tic materials and design for recycling. The European recycling industry can already turn to a wealth of experience in the field of innovative circular economy and has a significant lead as a result, according to Manfred Hackl “The circu- lar economy is not only an ecological must, it also gives Europe the chance to position itself as a pioneer of the green economy.” Attendees received an insight into the activities of plastics companies among the value chain in parallel event and company visits to Engel and Greiner Packaging. Borealis also invited Discovery Day participants to their Innovation Headquarters in Linz on day two. In a Science Walk through the company’s application hall the focus was on the processing of recy- clable polyolefins and recycled pellets. The third day was dedicated to trends in the reprocessing of pro- duction waste. Speakers from SML and Brückner confirmed that more and more packaging manufacturers already count on a combined pro- duction and recycling solution when investing in new equipment. “Erema began manufacturing recycling sys- tems for production waste 35 years ago. This division now accounts for over 50% of our turnover and we are proud that more and more interna- tional packaging producers place their trust in our quality,” said Manfred Hackl. Comprehensive recycling concepts through recycling technology Erema was already committed to quality and process transparency at an early stage. The ReFresher in combi- nation with the Intarema, for example, ensures the thermal-physical odour minimisation of recyclates. This con- siderably broadens the field of applica- tion for recyclates from post-consumer material. In the smart factory area, Erema offers online quality monitor- ing of colour and MVR value already while processing. The Manufacturing Execution System re360 gives a digital overview of production data. This is not only for Erema machines, it can also be used for a company’s entire range of machinery – ideally from plastic bales to recyclate. To meet the demand for compre- hensive recycling concepts Erema, using its knowhow, added the busi- ness unit KeyCycle to its portfolio only recently. This means that the Erema Group can now also offer complete engineering and integration services for plastics recycling systems. Further- more, customers are already sup- ported in the early planning stage with specific consulting and, if required, fea- sibility studies to integrate the appropri- ate recycling solution for their use. Besides the technical and strate- gic answers presented by Erema with regard to plastics recycling, there was an extensive array of perspectives on the topic of the plastics industry – the circular economy. The conclusion of the conference: only more intensive collaboration within the industry can collectively develop the required tech- nologies which will meet the recycling targets and thus see more recycled pellets used in end products. www.erema.com Thorsten Leopold, Head of International Packaging Development Home Care at Henkel Manfred Hackl, Erema Group CEO, summed up the challenges facing by the industry. Peter Hartel, Head of Sales PET Recycling at Krones, presented bottles with a dif- frent amount of rPET at the Erema Discovery Day 2018.