Extrusion International 3-2022

16 Extrusion International 3/2022 INDUSTRY NEWS  Construction machinery rolls into action again at the EREMA site inAnsfelden. The ground-breaking ceremony on April the 6th signals the start of work on a new R&D centre. Two halls with a total area of 1,550 squaremetres and a new offce building with 50 workplaces will be built. The R&D centre will offer cross-departmental and cross-company test machines and laboratory for research and development of plastics recycling technologies to further advance the circu- lar economy. Completion is scheduled for February 2023. Plastics recycling is currently evolving very rapidly from a niche to a trend. This is driven by the legislative targets for plastics recycling that the European Union and many coun- tries around the world have enacted, as well as by the Eu- ropean Green Deal, which aims to make Europe the frst climate-neutral continent and in which the circular economy plays a very central role. However, there is not just one recycling solution for all types of plastic waste, but rather different solutions depending on the type of plastic, the product and the application intended for the recycled plastic. "It makes a difference whether clean production waste is recycled and returned to the produc- tion process or whether printed and contaminated packag- ing materials collected in yellow bags are recycled and used to make food packaging again," explains Markus Huber- Lindinger, Managing Director EREMA Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen GesmbH. While some plastics processing loops, such as for PET bottles, have already been closed, many oth- er plastic waste streams still require a great deal of R&D in cooperation with everyone involved in the value chain to produce recycled pellets that meet the very highest stan- dards for the production of new products. More space will be available for this in the new centre. R&D is decentralised at EREMA. In recent years, approxi- mately 5 percent of turnover was reinvested annually in re- search and development. Employees from different depart- ments handle process engineering challenges, innovations in mechanical engineering and automation technology, and special technologies with a view to further improving the quality of recycled pellets. They also focus on new recycling technologies for waste plastic materials for which there is currently no satisfactory circular economy solution. The de- cisive factor here is also to exploit the potential of digitalisa- tion. By collecting and analysing machine data, not only can recycling processes and product quality be further improved, but we can also develop our digital service offering for our customers. Such offerings include customer-specifc infor - mation tools that feature plant and process data, predictive maintenance and online support as well as commissioning via remote access. For material tests, which are necessary for research and de- velopment work, an expanded machine park will be avail- able following completion of the new R&D centre. Here, the recycling process can be evaluated end-to-end, includ- ing upstream and downstream processes such as shredding and further processing of the recycled pellets. The material tests are supported by detailed analysis in the profession- ally equipped laboratory, which will be relocated to the new premises and upgraded where necessary with the very latest lab equipment. EREMA Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen GmbH www.erema.com NewR&D Centre for Innovative Recycling Technologies Fromthe left:MarkusHuber-LindingerManagingDirector EREMA GmbH;MarkusAchleitnerUpperAustria´sMinister for theEconomy; ManfredHackl CEOEREMAGroupGmbH; andChristianPartoll Ansfelden´sMayor (Copyright: LandOÖ/Kauder)  Davis-Standard announced that Markus Lehmann has been appointed area sales manager, representing Da- vis-Standard’s German subsidiary ER- WE-PA GmbH. In his new role, Markus will be responsible for capital equip- ment and converting machinery sales in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as the Benelux, Mid- dle Eastern and Scandinavian regions. Markus brings more than 28 years of experience to this position, having worked at Reinhardt Technik GmbH, Atlas Converting, Kampf, Nordson and EMG Automation GmbH, among others. He has extensive technical knowledge in supporting customers with solutions-based technology that promotes effciency, high outputs, and sustainability goals. Davis-Standard, LLC www.davis-standard.com Appointment Markus Lehmann