Balance Sheet 2021/22: New Growth In Revenues With State-Of-The-Art Recycling Technologies
May 19, 2022“This past
financial year, we again set several milestones with growth powered by our
technology. We are very proud of this, because the prevailing market conditions
were once again very challenging due to corona, cost increases for energy and
logistics, and interruptions to the supply chain,” is how Manfred Hackl,
CEO of EREMA Group GmbH, sums up the year.
A total of 220 extruders manufactured in Ansfelden were supplied to customers
all over the world. If you include individual components and modules such as filter
systems and ReFresher anti-odour technology in that figure, the total was
around 320. Then there are another 53 extruders from PLASMAC, the Italian
subsidiary. The recycled pellet production capacity of all extrusion systems
delivered in financial year 2021/22 adds up to around 1.34 million tonnes per
year.
Trend towards large-scale plants
A closer look at the post consumer segment clearly shows a trend towards larger
plants, both for PET recycling and for processing polyolefins. For example, the
first VACUREMA® Basic 2628 T machine with an annual capacity of up to 40,000
tonnes was recently commissioned at a customer’s site in Brazil. This plant
features a ten-meter-long special geometry screw with a diameter of 280
millimetres and a weight of 3.5 tonnes. The screw was developed and
manufactured by 3S, a subsidiary of EREMA GmbH. “The move up to this scale
of recycling machines is also clear proof of how much innovative power and
know-how there is in our group of companies and the synergy effects this
creates,” says Hackl.
Demand for previously-owned machines at UMAC also remained high during the past
financial year. In addition to the general trend towards plastics recycling,
the decisive factor here is that customers are more frequently opting for
previously-owned systems available at short notice due to the tense situation
on the procurement markets. At the same time, businesses that have so far had
little contact with recycling are also becoming increasingly interested in this
topic. Their need for feasibility studies, consulting and engineering services,
project management and turnkey projects are now also very successfully catered
for by KEYCYCLE, an EREMA Group company. KEYCYCLE has also acquired from Cadel
Deinking the patent, technology and distribution rights for an innovative ink
removal technology, which is now being further developed using the know-how of
the EREMA Group and shaped into a product that meets industrial standards.
The initiative launched four years ago to modernise and expand existing EREMA
Group sites was continued during the past financial year with the expansion and
construction of a dedicated machine demonstration centre for PLASMAC in Milan.
Equipped with additional production floor space and new and enlarged customer
centres, all companies within the group are now well prepared to meet rising
demand, and with the new research and development centre under construction in
Ansfelden, the framework for further outstanding plastics recycling milestones
from EREMA is currently being optimised.
From niche to must-have
The fact that plastics recycling is evolving so quickly from a niche to a
must-have for the whole industry is a major challenge for the plastics
industry. At the same time, however, it is a huge opportunity to play an active
role in shaping the transformation to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient and
competitive economy. This attitude has become increasingly prevalent in recent
years, both in the plastics industry and among brand manufacturers and
retailers, and has never been more noticeable or visible than is currently the
case. “This is more than just collective good intentions: there are more
and more extremely specific initiatives, such as the Circular Plastics
Alliance. That is why the circular economy is also the top issue at K 2022,
which we are very much looking forward to,” says Hackl.
K 2022 – All EREMA Group companies on one trade fair stand
In Düsseldorf, the EREMA Group companies will be presenting their technological
innovations and professional services at a shared stand for the first time this
year in Hall 9, Stand C09. Outstanding lighthouse projects that show which
solutions have already been implemented together with partners and customers
for which plastic waste fractions, and which are are currently under
development, will be given plenty of space in the outdoor Circonomic Center.
There, visitors will also have the opportunity to see recycling processes and
the quality of the recycled pellets for themselves during live recycling
demonstrations. “Visitors will see how we are turning our mission –
Another Life for Plastic. Because we care. – into reality together with our
customers and partners,” says the CEO of the EREMA Group.