Innovation recycling centre unveiled by Coperion

Coperion has launched its Recycling Innovation Center (RIC), a high-tech test facility for the range of applications involved in recycling plastics from material handling and feeding to extrusion, compounding, pelletising, material postprocessing and deodorisation.

Coperion is a technology leader in this area of plastics and the new centre complements the Herbold Meckesheim Test Center, where customers can simulate and test the mechanical pretreatment of plastic. Herbold Meckesheim has been part of Coperion’s recycling business unit since 2022.

RIC is located in Niederbiegen near Weingarten, Germany, alongside Coperion’s existing centre for testing bulk solids handling. The first tests for customers have already been carried out in which new, sustainable products and recycling processes have been analysed. Coperion process engineers can modify the available technologies and the results can be scaled up to production level.

‘Ideal environment’

‘RIC shows how important it is for us to advance technology that helps our customers work towards more sustainability solutions and a functioning circular economy,’ says Frank Lechner, general manager of process technology and research & development. ‘RIC offers the ideal environment, both for our own research and development projects as well as for our customers, to master the challenges of plastics recycling.

Massimo Serapioni, general manager of Coperion’s recycling business unit, says RIC allows the company to simulate the entire plastics recycling process.
‘Our customers can test the complete process, from mechanical pretreatment of plastics in Herbold Meckesheim’s Test Center up to compounding and pelletising, prior to making the investment. As a supplier of entire recycling systems, we are very proud to be able to offer our customers this enormous added value.’

Coperion employs more than 5 000 people in its three Polymer, Food and Health & Nutrition divisions.