Starlinger launches new recycling headquarters at customer event

At this year’s customer event, ‘dynamic days’, held on October 23-24, 2017 in Weissenbach, Lower Austria, Starlinger launched the new headquarters of its recycling technology division. The building is located in close proximity to the existing Starlinger factory.

Starlinger & Co. is one of the market leaders in the field of machinery and process technology for woven plastic bags. In addition, its recycling technology division has firmly established itself on the market over the past 30 years. Until recently, the division was operating from the head office in Vienna, as well as from the Starlinger factory in Weissenbach. The construction of the additional building started one and a half years ago. The departments placed closely beside one another in order to facilitate internal communication and accelerate processes.

At the beginning of the opening ceremony, Andreas Pechhacker, head of recycling technology, pointed out parallels between machine setup and building design and noted that the building is heated with 100 per cent renewable energy.

Managing partner, Angelika Huemer, emphasised that recycling technology is an integral part of the company: “We are committed to the future of recycling at Starlinger. Recycling is here to stay.”

The event was attended by 150 participants from 34 countries. Day one focused on odour reduction, with an overview of the technology available as well as a specialist presentation of odour profiling with quantitative and qualitative methods. PP regrind was processed on the recycling line recoSTAR dynamic: a machine with a smell extraction unit shown in operation in one of the assembly halls. Day two was dedicated to polyester recycling. For fibre production (bottle-to-fibre recycling), Starlinger recently developed a filter, the Rapid Sleeve Changer (RSC). This filter allows for fine filtration — a necessity in fibre production — and a rapid change of the filter elements without having to stop production. The event concluded with a visit to Starlinger’s PET Competence Centre, where rPET flakes were used as input material for the production of tapes for woven fabric.