Wipag, a specialist in the production of compounds and the implementation of individual recycling management concepts, has announced the opening of a new technical centre at its site in Gardelegen, Germany. With this investment, the recycling specialist is further expanding its technical capacities for the development and testing of products and processes on behalf of customers.
Intended as a link between test laboratory and large-scale production, the new centre is part of Wipag’s ‘Recycling as a service' offering, in which the company develops individual recycling waste management concepts for customers, tailored to their needs. These range from setting up closed-loop processes, in which the customer remains the owner of their production waste, to consultancy and logistics support.
The new centre will, among others, focus on developing recycling solutions in our technical centre for materials that previously had to be disposed of by our customers, said Frank Kriebisch, Managing Director of Wipag.
At the centre, new technologies can be developed, tested and adapted for individual customers, such as energy-efficient digestion processes are then used to recycle thermoplastic waste into high-quality compounds suitable for use in a wide range of applications, for example, vehicles and sports equipment. In a closed-loop process, the customer retains ownership of its production waste throughout the entire process.
"When processing industrial waste, the aim is to reconcile quality, sustainability and cost-effectiveness in order to establish recyclates as an alternative for virgin materials. the technical centre enables us to implement new approaches to solutions and to respond to individual customer requirements," explained Thomas Marquardt, managing director at Wipag. "Our processes and analyses make it possible to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption in the production of compounds.
Wipag processes plastic waste streams into products with high purity and virgin material quality, Marquardt added. The company has developed a portfolio of sustainable products that includes, for example, a high-tech, lightweight construction compound dubbed WIC, made from secondary carbon fibre.
Wipag was established in 1991 and now has more than 80 employees at two locations in Germany. Since 2018, it has been part of the family-owned and globally active Otto Krahn Group.