INTERVIEW
7recyclinginternational.com | November/December | 2019
LOOKING AT THE INDUSTRY AND
MARKETS, WHAT WILL BE THE
MAIN TRENDS IN THE FUTURE?
‘China may have closed its borders for
certain scrap materials but, obviously,
the country has not stopped consum-
ing. For instance, there is growing
demand for packaging boosted by
fast e-commerce. New paper mills are
popping up all over southeast Asia
and we deliver them. At the same
time Chinese mills are investing in
capacity expansion in the UK and
North America.’
LOOKING AT THE NEXT TWO
OR THREE YEARS, WHAT LIES
AHEAD FOR VIPA GROUP?
‘Our objective is to continue to
increase our growth line. That means
expansion in Asia but also finding
opportunities in markets and places
we are not so familiar with at the
moment. Africa: why not? There is
huge potential waiting to be explored
and it will happen at some point. In
2019, Vipa USA was launched with
offices in Los Angeles and on the East
Coast. We currently do 200 000
tonnes a year which is a tiny share
given that the total volume of recov-
ered paper export from Canada and
the US combined hits 21 million
tonnes. It’s only a start. But we are
absolutely eager to build on and cre-
ate further growth in North America.’
WHAT FURTHER CHALLENGES
DO YOU SEE?
‘We are facing big challenges with
changes in legislation in Europe and
beyond. There will be more bans and
ever stricter regulation.’
Marc Ehrlich: ‘Quality has been and remains our top priority’
06-07_qa-marcehrlich.indd 7 13-11-19 14:19
