The Erema Group, which comprises Erema Group GmbH and its subsidiaries Erema, Pure Loop, Umac, 3S, Keycycle and Plasmac, closed the 2021/22 financial year with a 17 percent increase in revenue. Consolidated Group revenue amounted to EUR 295 million, and the number of employees increased to over 840. The Erema Group remains on course for continued growth.
"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.
