Recycling tech expert Stadler has opened a new test centre at its headquarters in Altshausen, Germany, creating a dedicated facility for developing, testing and validating recycling technologies under realistic operating conditions.
The inauguration was the highlight of the Stadler Summit 2026, which brought together around 50 customers, recycling industry representatives and journalists from 10 countries.
The new facility is designed to strengthen the connection between Stadler’s engineering expertise and the practical needs of recycling operators, allowing customers to test their own materials, optimise processing parameters and compare machine configurations before investing.
AI and smart sensors
The test centre spans some 2 160 m² across several halls, with 726 m² dedicated to test installations and equipment. It incorporates examples of every type of equipment manufactured at the Altshausen site, alongside digital technologies including AI Material Compass, volume flow sensors and STADLERconnect.
Developed primarily for Stadler’s engineering department, the facility will support fundamental trials, prototype development and the optimisation of machines, components and digital solutions. It will also enable the company to evaluate new machine concepts, including different air classifier models.
Fractions tested
During the inauguration, the company demonstrated the facility by processing HDPE, PET and film, showing how different plastic fractions can be tested under controlled, realistic conditions. Customers will be able to bring their own materials to evaluate processing parameters and machine configurations. The resulting data can help reduce investment risk and support decisions aimed at achieving high throughput, recovery and purity.
Training for the real thing
The test centre will also provide hands-on training for operators and service personnel, helping customers maintain consistent performance and high plant availability throughout the lifecycle of their sorting plants.
‘The new test center creates a direct link between our engineering expertise, practical testing and the real needs of our customers,’ says co-ceo Willi Stadler. ‘Waste composition, collection systems, legislation and output requirements vary from one project to another, so we engineer the mechanical, electrical and digital components as an integrated system. The facility enables us to evaluate and refine that interaction under realistic conditions.’
Another test facility
The Altshausen facility complements Stadler’s test & innovation hub in Krško, Slovenia. While Altshausen focuses on Stadler’s own technologies and customer-facing trials, Krško combines Stadler equipment with additional technologies such as shredding, magnetic and eddy current separation, and NIR sorting for larger-scale material trials and comprehensive process validation.
Integrated
The new site is integrated into Stadler’s wider engineering and manufacturing operation in Altshausen, where more than 350 employees work across over 20,000 m². The company manufactures equipment including conveyors, ballistic separators, air drum sifters and dosing systems at the site.
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