Head office location: Willich, Germany Date founded: 2003 CEO: Dr. Edmund Dolfen (pictured right)
Ownership: Privately owned
No. of employees: 35 Sales 2011: €12.5 million
Plant locations: Willich, Germany
Profile: The roots of FKuR Kunststoff go back to 1992 with the formation of the Forschungsinstitut Kunststoff und Recycling (FKuR) research institute. In 1998 FKuR joined forces with the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT of Oberhausen, Germany, to develop sustainable plastic materials. FKuR Kunststoff was spun off as a private company in 2003. It continues to collaborate with Fraunhofer.
Product line: FKuR’s products include: Bio-Flex biopolymer blends for flexible products; Biograde cellulose acetate based compounds for injection moulding and thermoforming; Fibrolon wood plastic compounds; and Terralene custom-made compounds based on Braskem’s Green PE. FKuR’s compounds can be used in a wide range of flexible and durable applications, including packaging, hygiene films, agriculture, disposables, electronic housings etc.
Product strengths: FKuR’s resins can be used as a drop-in replacement for several standard polymers, processing on standard production equipment without time consuming adjustments. All of the grades are bio-based and/or biodegradable as well as compostable according to the standards EN 13432 and ASTM D 6400.
Forthcoming features
The next issues of Compounding World magazine will have special reports on the following subjects: July
Nanotubes Cross-linking additives and machinery Understanding and monitoring colour
August PVC plasticizers Reactive extrusion Carrier materials