NEWS Sirmax invests in bioplastics
Sirmax is expanding its activities in sustainable compounds with the acquisition of a 70% stake in bioplastic compound manufacturer Microtec, which is based at Mellaredo di Pangia in Italy. The company has a capacity of around 8,000 tonnes/yr and generated sales of around €19m last year. According to Sirmax, it is investing around €20m to acquire the majority share in the company and to further expand production. Plans will see the construction of a new building and the addition of two new Coperion compounding lines to the current four. Capacity will be doubled to 16,000 tonnes/yr in the first
Above: Microtec founder Diego Lombardo (left) and Sirmax CEO Massimo Pavin seal the €20m bioplastics deal
phase of the investment but Sirmax says the new building is sized for 10 lines and a potential capacity of 40,000 tonnes. Microtec was originally established in 2012 by Diego Lombardo (who remains with the business
and retains the outstanding 30% share) to produce bio-based and compostable plastics for packaging applications.
Sirmax CEO Massimo
Pavin said the company has acquired the firm as part of its response to demands for
circular economy solutions from its customers. “The synergy between Sirmax and Microtec will allow us to develop bio-based materi- als for traditional application areas, such as the automo- tiveand household appli- ance sectors,” he said. The investment is part of an €80m three-year plan by Sirmax that will also see it more than double capacity to 40,000 tonnes/yr at the recently acquired SER plastics recycling operation at Salsomaggie Terme in Italy and set up a 14,000 tonnes/ yr PP recycling facility at a newly established SER North America site alongside its compounding operation at Anderson in the US. �
www.sirmax.com
Rebrand for Maag
Collids is targeting EV connectors with new signal orange T-Tec masterbatches Orange is the new black
Colloids has expanded its range of speciality T-TEC high performance polymer masterbatches in signal warning orange. The product line now includes master- batches for PEEK, PPSU, PSU, PEI, PA 10T, PA 12, PBT, PA 6T and PA66, with PA46 and PA610 in the final stages of development.
www.compoundingworld.com
Signal warning orange is now the colour specified by automotive OEMs for high voltage cable and connec- tor applications in battery- electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, notably under-the-bonnet electrical components, conduits and charging plug units.
The company said the development work was carried out by its R&D team at Colloids Plastic (Suzhou) in China in response to local market demand. The T-TEC range is available in Colloids’ propri- etary universal carrier or in a polymer-specific carrier. �
www.colloids.com
Switzerland’s Maag Pump Systems has announced that its Automatik, Et- tlinger, Gala, Maag, Reduction and Scheer brands are to be bundled together under the Maag Group umbrella brand. The move follows significant growth of the group through acquisition in recent years and will be presented externally for the first time at K2019. It sees the creation of four centres of excellence: Pump & Filtration Systems, Pelletising Systems, Pulverising Systems, and Recycling Systems. �
www.maag.com
October 2019 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 5
PHOTO: COLLOIDS
PHOTO: SIRMAX
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