Extrusion International USA 1-2021

38 Extrusion International 1/2021 RECYCLING The Indonesian family company Pan EraGroupwith its head- quarters in North Jakarta is a group of companies active in multiplebusiness sectors, oneof them is the recyclingof post- consumer plastic waste and processing it into fi lm products. The founding of the company dates back to 1989 when its founder started grinding and washing several types of plas- tic waste, becoming one of the early players in this fi eld. The company then progressed to producing recycled pel- lets and subsequently, in 1997 it then started producing plastic shopping bags and packaging fi lmmade from recy- cledmaterial. Ever since, the company has stayed true to its roots and has always used recycledmaterial. To date, more than 95%of the plastic bags produced and sold by Pan Era Group are made using at least 80% recycled content. And it has achieved a market leader position, and is one of the most sought-after products on the market. This indicates that the group possesses excellent knowledge of the recy- cling process as well as fi rm dedication to quality. Following years of continued growth, the company then expanded to Cikarang in the province of West Java, in 2011. Production quickly ramped up and within several years, the group has already used up almost all of its ca- pacity. Currently this facility is one of the most prestigious recycling plants in the region, drawing praise frommany of its visitors, as Pan-Era Director Wilson Pandhika con fi rms. (Picture 1) The group is now progressing on one of its most ambitious growth steps so far,which is theestablishment of yet another plastic recycling plant in Cikande, about one and a half hours drive from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The new facility is projected to be one of the largest Polyethylene recycling plants in South-East Asia. (Picture 2 to 4). It is at this new loca- tion that Pan Era Group relies on Austrian recycling compe- tence and has ordered an ES-compound extrusion line with an output of 1000 kg PE per hour fromMAS. The “plus” of the MAS-extrusion-technology: The gentle polymer plasticization MAS stands for innovative extrusion technology, espe- cially the conical twin-screw-extruders with co-rotating screws. They are available in six sizes, from the MAS 24 laboratory extruder with an hourly output of 10 kg PE up to the high-performance extruder with an output of more than 2,000 kg/h. The range is supplemented by the CDF-melt- fi lters with very ef fi cient, rotating disc fi lters and the DRD-centrifugal-cleaners for the pretreatment of input materials, especially for drying and the waterless separation of solids. Investment in Austrian Recycling Technology Although plastics have been used on a larger scale for more than 100 years, they are, in contrast tometals, glass or paper, only very hesitantly perceived as valuable materials that are worth recycling. Too often, plastic products end up after use in a land fi ll or in an incineration plant. Only the realization that plastics are of such high quality and durable that they do not disappear on their own when they end up in the environment has led to a rethink. This is also the case in Indonesia, where the Pan Era-Group has specialized in the recycling of polyethylene and the manufacture of carrier bags and packaging bags from it. The Pan Era Group relies on high technical standards and, after extensive preliminary tests, decided on a recycling line from the Austrian extrusion technology company MAS. Picture 1: Director Wilson Pandhika is heading the Pan Era Processing Division, which is among the leading recycling companies in South-East Asia (Photo: Pan Era) Picture 2: Pan-Era Group produces in a one-stage-process particle-free HDPE-qualities in different colors, suitable for producing new high quality packaging fi lms (Photo: Pan Era)