Swiss trading group Meraxis and MOL Group, the leading integrated Central and Eastern European oil, gas and petrochemical company have signed a joint letter of intent to enter into a strategic partnership targeting the development and production of a new recycled product portfolio.
Using the combined compounding knowledge of both partners, the aim is to develop and produce high-quality recycle-based compounds and then distribute them worldwide.
Meraxis is the name given to the company resulting from the merger just over a year ago between the two global Swiss companies MB Barter & Trading and REHAU GmbH. The company has been expanding its portfolio of prime and recycled materials on an ongoing basis ever since and will now supply MOL Group with high-quality, post-consumer recycled materials that will be blended with virgin polyolefin resins produced by MOL.
“MOL Group is a key strategic partner for us. As one of the leading polymer manufacturers in Europe, MOL Group has been committed to a closed-loop circular economy for years now,” said Dr. Stefan Girschik, CEO of the Meraxis Group.
“We aim to use the combined expertise of the two companies to meet the increasing demand for high-quality plastic recyclates in the automotive, construction and packaging industries.”
The new products will be produced at Aurora Kunststoffe GmbH, a German compounding company acquired by MOL Group in November 2019. Distribution will be the responsibility of both partners in the future.
For MOL Group, the partnership represents another step in its journey within the scope of its “Enter Tomorrow 2030” strategy away from its traditional fuel-based business model and towards becoming the leading chemical player in Central and Eastern Europe.
The company is aiming to establish itself as the market leader for recycling and compounding in the area.
“As regulations and customer preferences are continuously changing, MOLGroup has identified the importance of using recycled material, no matter the industry. The partnership will allow us to quickly develop recyclate re-compounds that meet the customer’s requirements and complement our virgin compounding development,” said Gabriel Szabó, MOL Group’s Executive Vice President of Downstream.
The company will use its international distribution networks to supply recycled materials in the desired quantity and quality, he added.