NEWS
German converters raise sales by 13%
GKV, the trade organisation that represents German plastics proces- sors, reported a rise of nearly 13% in turnover last year. However, the organisation said that the sector was under pressure from rising energy prices and falling earnings – as many companies find it difficult to pass on increased costs to their customers. “The future of plastics processing companies in Germany stands and falls with the possibility of passing costs on to customers,” said Helen Fürst, president of GKV. “With the dramatic price increases for electricity and gas, there are clear doubts as to whether this will be possible this year.” GKV said that sales rose to €78.9 billion (US$83.7bn) in 2022, an increase of almost 13% compared to 2021. More than 41% of sales (€32.7 billion, or US$34.7bn) were from exports – an increase in value of nearly 20%. At the same time, domestic sales rose by nearly 8%, to account for more than €46 billion (US$49bn). Despite the increase in turnover, processing volumes fell by around 3%
to 13.6 million tonnes of plastic. Of this, 2.4m tonnes was recyclate – a rise of 9%. In the same period, the industry’s workforce rose by around 1% to exceed 326,000 people. In addition, the number of processing plants rose by a similar amount to just over 3,000 facilities. Figures are not broken down into specific processes (such as extrusion). The packaging sector – which is most relevant to film and sheet extrusion – saw a near-5% decline in the amount of material processed (4.2m tonnes). However, turnover in the sector rose by more than 13% to nearly €18.6bn (US$19.7bn), said GKV. The GKV is demanding relief from
the federal government for energy costs. In its opinion, price concessions for electricity and gas adopted in December 2022 do not help many medium-sized companies. “If the cost situation does not
improve in 2023, the consequences are inevitable,” said Fürst – citing job cuts, short-time work or relocating production abroad. �
www.gkv.de
German plastics converting, 2022
Domestic Export Total
Source: GKV
Carbios to supply enzyme that allows PET recycling
Carbios and Novozymes have signed a long-term partnership in the area of PET recycling. Under the agreement, Carbios will supply its PET-degrading enzymes at industrial scale for Novo- zymes’ PET-recycling plant – which is
www.filmandsheet.com
www.brueckner.com
due to start production in 2025 in France. Construction of the plant will begin later this year. Processing capacity will be 50,000 tonnes/year. �
www.carbios.com �
www.novozymes.com
Sales 2021 (bn€) 46.2 32.7 78.9
% Change +7.6
+19.7 +12.6
BOPE packaging for our future sustainability
Multi-layer mono-structures
Superior film properties Dedicated line concept
Perfect match with the circular economy
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50
