Erema to Build New R&D Center for Innovative Recycling Technologies

A ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a new R&D center for innovative recycling technologies was recently held by Erema at its Ansfelden site. Two halls with a total area of 16,684 sq.ft.  and a new office building with 50 workplaces will be built. The R&D center will offer cross-departmental and cross-company test machines and laboratory for research and development of plastics recycling technologies to further advance the circular economy. Completion is scheduled for February 2023.

Said Markus Huber-Lindinger, managing director Erema Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen GesmbH, "It makes a difference whether clean production waste is recycled and returned to the production process or whether printed and contaminated packaging materials collected in yellow bags are recycled and used to make food packaging again." While some plastics processing loops, such as for PET bottles, have already been closed, many other plastic waste streams still require a great deal of R&D in cooperation with everyone involved in the value chain to produce recycled pellets that meet the very highest standards for the production of new products. More space will be available for this in the new center.

R&D is decentralised at Erema. In recent years, approximately 5% of turnover was reinvested annually in research and development. Employees from different departments handle process engineering challenges, innovations in mechanical engineering and automation technology, and special technologies with a view to further improving the quality of recycled pellets. They also focus on new recycling technologies for waste plastic materials for which there is currently no satisfactory circular economy solution. The decisive factor here is also to exploit the potential of digitalization. By collecting and analyzing machine data, not only can recycling processes and product quality be further improved, but we can also develop our digital service offering for our customers. Such offerings include customer-specific information tools that feature plant and process data, predictive maintenance and online support as well as commissioning via remote access.

For material tests, an expanded machine park will be available following completion of the new R&D center. Here, the recycling process can be evaluated end-to-end, including upstream and downstream processes such as shredding and further processing of the recycled pellets. The material tests are supported by detailed analysis in the professionally equipped laboratory, which will be relocated to the new premises and upgraded where necessary with the very latest lab equipment.