Extrusion International 6-2023

43 Extrusion International 6/2023 New Era in Plastics Recycling An Interview with Manfred Hackl, CEO Erema Group How does the EREMA Group see the future? Manfred Hackl: In the past busi- ness year 2022/23 alone, the ex- truders supplied by the companies within the EREMA Group deliver an additional 1.6 million tonnes of re- cycling capacity. Our vision is that by 2030 the circular economy in plastics is a reality. That is why the recycling industry needs to continue develop- ing and evolving. This will require new technologies and innovations to set positive signs for the future, even in the current challenging times for our customers. The whole industry is working on solutions, including a reduction in the use of raw materials, plastic packaging that is designed for re- cycling, traceability standards for packaging, more efficient collection and sorting processes, and innova- tive technical solutions for higher recyclate quality. As a result, people in the value chain are gaining an ever better overall understanding of the market. This is accelerating the developments towards more recycling and a better circular econ- omy. With our group of companies, we would like to play a central role in this, actively shaping the future as a real driver in the new era of plas- tics recycling. What do you mean specifically when you talk about driving a new era of plastics recycling? Hackl: Circular economy and plas- tics recycling are key topics in poli- tics, day-to-day life and business. Only once the circular economy has been properly implemented will it be possible to fully utilise all the positive properties of plastics. And that is what the EREMA Group has been striving for since it was found- ed 40 years ago. In recent years, we have become a pioneer in recycling technologies, and we have worked very hard to bring together stakeholders in the plastics industry for discussion and interaction. At the EREMA Group we have also broadened our prod- uct portfolio for our customers. We are well integrated into networks and can rely on long-term partner- ships and research cooperations. This means that we are able to un- derstand even better what it is that our customers need. At the same time, however, it is essential that we take the entire value chain into con- sideration. We need to include the whole picture to create better recy- cling technologies and optimum so- lutions for our customers. What does that involve? Hackl: We will continue to expand our group of companies. Our next goal is to further increase the extent of added value with a clear focus on the polyolefin sector and to set further industry benchmarks. To get from waste material to recycled pel- lets, potential new raw materials need to go through several differ- ent recycling processes. The process- es range from sorting, shredding, washing and drying to extrusion including filtration and compound - ing as well as odour optimisation. The challenge lies precisely in the optimum fine-tuning of all the in - dividual recycling steps – especially when high quality recyclate and consistent stability as well as energy efficiency are to be achieved. With our company KEYCYCLE GmbH, we already offer turnkey solutions for the entire recycling process includ- ing sorting, washing and extrusion. We see the next step as an impor- tant stepping stone in perfectly matching the washing process and the recycling extruder. This will en- able us to offer all-in-one packages that are custom-built to meet the requirements of the market and the needs of our customers. Thank you for this interview. EREMA Group Unterfeldstraße 3, 4052 Ansfelden, Austria www.erema.com RECYCLING – INTERVIEW Manfred Hackl, CEO EREMA Group GmbH (Photo credit: EREMA/Wakolbinger)