NEWS


Radici sells its polymer business


Investment group Lone Star has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the speciality chemicals and high performance polymers business areas of Italian engineering plastics compounder Radici Group. The transaction is


expected to close in the second half of 2025. The Radici family will retain control of the advanced textiles solutions business. “The agreement with


Lone Star Funds marks the beginning of a new chapter in the global expansion of Radici’s speciality chemicals and high performance poly- mers businesses, which boast a strong mutual integration,” said Angelo Radici and Maurizio Radici, president and vice president of Radici. Radici serves customers


in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. It is mainly known for its polyamide products but it also produces compounds based on PPS, POM and other engineering plastics. �www.radicigroup.com


German converters report 4% sales fall


GKV, the trade organisation that represents German plastics processors, reported another fall in turnover last year.


It said this was down to


“domestic reasons” such as lower consumer spending, rising interest rates and high energy prices. GKV said that sales fell to just over €69 billion in 2024, a decline of 4% compared to 2023. Nearly 43% of sales (almost €30bn) were from exports – around 2% lower in value than the preceding year. At the same time, domestic sales fell by more than 6%, to account for nearly €40bn.


“Our industry has the potential for growth,” said Helen Fuerst, president of


German plastics converting, 2024 Sales 2024 (bn€) 39.7 29.7 69.4


Domestic Export Total


Source: GKV


GKV. “The proverbial silver lining on the horizon is gradually becoming visible after two challenging years.” The number of employ- ees in the industry fell by about 2%, to around 313,000, while processing volumes dipped by 5% to 12 million tonnes. Of this, 2.5m tonnes was recyclate – a 4% increase on 2024. The number of processing plants remained stable at just under 3,000 facilities. Figures are not broken down into specific process-


es (such as injection moulding). However, the technical parts sector – which is most relevant to moulders – saw a 9% fall in the amount of material processed (2.7m tonnes). This equated to turnover in the sector of around €20bn – a fall of 3%, said GKV. For companies in the


sector, the prerequisites for an upturn are relief from high energy costs and a consistent reduction in bureaucracy, she said. �www.gkv.de


Sapa expands with acquisition


Sapa, the Italian company that patented the One-Shot method, has acquired Megatech Industries, which is active in the plastic injection moulding business for the mobility industry. The acquisition creates the opportunity to combine


the companies’ strengths and scale the One-Shot technology to a broader footprint and reach, said Sapa. One-Shot allows the production of plastic components in a single step. Sapa’s turnover was close to €360 million in 2024 and


it employs over 2,000 people across seven countries. The expanded company will have sales of nearly €700m. Sapa says it will further consolidate long- standing relationships with OEMs such as Volkswagen. https://sapagroup.net


Japan to drive use of recyclate in automotive


A consortium of industry, government and academia has set a target of using over 15% recycled plastic in the production of cars in Japan by 2031 – and over 20% from 2036 – according to a report in The Japan News. The goal is partly in response to new regulations to be introduced by


6 INJECTION WORLD | March/April 2025


the European Union in 2031 – that would require at least 20% of the plastic used in the production of cars to be recycled plastic. The consortium includes the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Associa- tion, Japan ELV Recycler’s Association the Japan Plastics Industry Federation,


the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, the Environment Ministry and academic experts. Although the Japanese car industry


uses around 1 million tonnes/year of plastics, very little of this is based on recycled materials, according to the report.


www.injectionworld.com


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