South Africa-based PET bottle materials recycler Extrupet Group has invested in a second Starlinger PET recycling line, in a bid to meet the demand from the customers for rPET in the region.
Image: The Starlinger recoSTAR PET recycling line at Extrupet’s plant. Photo: courtesy of Starlinger Group.
Situated in Wadeville, just east of Johannesburg, Extrupet’s PhoenixPET facility is involved in the conversion of over 2.5 million PET bottles into quality flakes and pellets per day.
The company, which has a network of collectors, has added a first a Starlinger recoSTAR PET recycling line at its recycling facility in 2014 to meet the rigorous food safety requirements of multiple local and multinational brands.
The new Starlinger recoSTAR PET 165 HC iV+ line will be installed at the facility by early next year, helping Extrupet to significantly enhance the recycling capacity of its South African factory.
According to the company, the new line will achieve a throughput of around 1,900 kg/h, which is slightly more than the first recycling line.
The new line will be equipped with a larger solid-state polycondensation unit to further enhance the cleaning efficiency, allowing setting a new benchmark in terms of rPET pellet quality.
Extrupet group director Ravi Chanrai said that in addition to the upcoming expansion in South Africa, the group also plans to increase the capacity of its Nigerian recycling operations.
Chanrai also said: “The market in West Africa is highly dynamic and shows a strong demand for products made from recycled PET, such as PET bottles and textiles made of polyester fibers.”
Extrupet is specialized in reclaiming and converting waste PET Bottles into various grades of PET chips and flakes.
Later, the firm will convert these materials into fiber, thermoforming, food-grade and strapping grade material for the production of end-products for use in packaging and other applications.
Starlinger is a major producer of machinery solutions for sacks, packaging fabrics, and technical textiles woven from plastic tapes.
The company’s machines will allow producing sacks, which can be used for packaging of various bulk goods such as cement, chemicals, seeds, grain, flour, sugar, citrus fruits, fertilizer, animal feed, and similar products.