NEWS
GCR opens large-scale recycling plant in Spain
GCR Group has opened a new state-of-the-art poly- olefins recycling plant in Castellet i la Gornal, Spain, with an annual capacity of over 100,000 tonnes of post-consumer recycled granules and 30,000 tonnes of pre-consumer recycled granules. The high-quality rPP, rHDPE, rLDPE and rLLDPE materials are sold under the Ciclic brand name to customers in the flexible and rigid packaging, personal care, automotive and building and construc- tion sectors. Production is currently
being ramped up and the plant is expected to be at full production in the third quarter of this year, said Sandra Fernandez Freixa, Marketing & Sustainability Director at GCR. The 130,000 tpa capacity
of the plant in Castellet i la Gornal is likely to be ex-
Lanxess additives sales fall
The facility has 130,000 tpa capacity of recycled polyolefins
panded in a second phase. The new plant is
equipped with technolo- gies, including Erema processing lines, Tomra optical sorting units, and one of the largest hot washing capacities (over 75,000 tpa) in Europe. Other features include PCR deodorising and closed loop water purification. GCR was formed as a
recycling company in 2001 and branched out from
recycling to masterbatch production in 2008. The group’s Granic masterbatch- es combine ultrafine minerals like calcium carbonate, talc, or silica, with PE and PP carrier resins, and can account for up to 70% of the final plastic content. GCR’s total production capacity is over 500,000 tpa, including its headquarters facility in La Bisbal del Penedés. �
https://gcrplasticsolutions.com
In fiscal year 2024, Lanxess says it significantly boost- ed its earnings despite the difficult global economic situation, its EBITDA increasing by 19.9% to €614m from €512m in 2023. Although nearly all business units were able to increase their sales volumes, group sales decreased by 5.2% to €6.37bn. The sales decline was mainly due to lower sales prices stemming from reduced raw material and rising energy costs. Sales in the Specialty Additives segment decreased 5% from €2.3bn in 2023 to €2.2bn. Lanxess said it remains confident of achieving growth in 2025, even if a broad-based recovery in global demand is not in sight. �
https://lanxess.com
NatureWorks improves Ingeo composting
Biomaterials manufacturer NatureWorks has expanded its Ingeo product line with the Ingeo Extend platform, designed to enable faster rates of biodegradation and disintegration and achieve new levels of productivity. The new grades are
designed for compostability up to eight times faster than existing PLA grades and can also be blended with other Ingeo PLA grades to enhance their properties. The company says by
4 IMAGE: FLO GROUP
packaging and Ingeo Extend 4950D biaxial films are ideal to replace small- format food packaging made from persistent polymers such as polypro- pylene,” said Roger Tambay, Chief Growth Officer for NatureWorks. Small-format packaging
replacing a fossil-based plastic, Ingeo reduces the carbon footprint of packag- ing by an average of 73%.
COMPOUNDING WORLD | April 2025 “Brand owners and film
producers are increasingly asking for lower cost biaxial films for compostable food
films are more suited to composting than recycling, he said, and the Ingeo Extend 4950D grade can meet this demand. �
www.natureworksllc.com
www.compoundingworld.com
IMAGE: GCR
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