PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2019

TRADE SHOW REVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 06/19 www.petpla.net 66 Plastics Recycling Show Europe 2019 by Heike Fischer The third Plastics Recycling Show Europe (PRSE) exhibition and conference held recently in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, attracted many visitors and exhibitors from across Europe and beyond. The annual event had a total attendance of more than 3,250 over two days, an increase of 34.5% compared to last year. It also attracted over 120 exhibiting companies, a 20% increase. Unique in Europe, PRSE brings together exhibitors, visitors and Plastics Recycling Awards Europe finalists representing the whole value chain of the plastics industry includ- ing recyclers, machine producers, raw material producers, converters, waste management companies and, increas- ingly, brand owners. In this way PRSE facilitates collaborative progress towards the circular use of plastics by showcasing innovation, sharing best practice and bringing partners together to network and do business. Opened by Kęstutis Sadauskas, Director Circular Economy and Green Growth DG Environment at the Euro- pean Commission, the two-day PRSE conference showcased the latest developments in plastics recycling technology and applications, as well as exploring future industry chal- lenges and the legislative landscape within the EU. “PRSE has grown so quickly to become the showcase for innovation in plastics recycling technology. We are seeing dramatic improvements in the capacity and quality of products and processes to meet the demands of consumers and brand owners today,” said Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe. “If you want to know what is happening in the plastics recycling industry in Europe, what we have already achieved in making plastics use circular and what will soon be possible in the future, you have to come here. PRSE 2020 is now building on the success of our first three years, reinforcing its posi- tion as the annual focal point for plas- tics recycling in Europe,” he added. “We increased the floorplan area by 17 per cent for 2019 and have added an additional 16 per cent for 2020, but it is already looking like we will need to add more. Existing exhibitors are requesting larger stands and we are attracting growing interest from new companies.” Lucrèce Foufopoulos-de Ridder, Executive Vice President Polyolefins and Innovation & Technology, Borea- lis, said at the show: “This is the place where we meet brand owners, waste management companies, recyclers, and can mobilise across the whole value system a group of people towards a more circular economy.” With Sipa we talked about their Xtreme Renew system adopted by Kyoei Industry for beverage giant Suntory. It provides a “green” twist that allows a cut of 25% in CO 2 emis- sions and 30% in electricity consump- tion in soft drink bottle production, in a perfect circular economy system. The FtoP Xtreme Renew system, designed and built by Sipa and Erema, pro- duces preforms with 100% recycled PET starting from flakes, using a single heating phase. This solution fits perfectly with the new circular econ- omy, taking post-consumer waste and reusing it in the same production pro- cess, making it sustainable, economi- cal and, at the same time, of the high- est quality. The preforms produced by Kyoei Industry will be used by Suntory who fills more than 2.5 billion bottles every year. Suntory is a leader in the production and distribution of bever- ages that include Schweppes and Orangina for European markets and PepsiCo for America. The system, which will be able to produce over 300 million containers annually, uses technology to convert conventional washed bottle flakes into decontaminated, IV-increased and melt-filtered PET food-grade melt, which then is directly fed to a Sipa Xtreme injection-compression preform moulding plant (unlike other moulding systems on the market that have to start from pelletised material called rPET). Emissions of CO 2 during production of PET bottles from recy- cled material using traditional rPET processes are already 60% lower than when using virgin PET. Together with Manfred Hackl CEO (right), Horst Wolfsgruber CFO is now responsible for the strategic planning and ongoing development of the entire Erema group of companies. Erema’s order intake in the post- consumer segment increased again significantly, doubling within the last three years. “Here we are pioneers and trendsetters in solutions for a growing recycling industry that focuses on quality and is becoming increas- ingly industrialised,” says Manfred Hackl, CEO of the Erema Group. He is also pleased at the way sales are PRSE welcome area