Bachmann pursues vision of closed-loop plastics
Hochdorf - The Bachmann Group has opened a new plant for the production of plastic foils. The special thing about this facility is that used PET plastic can be recycled and used for packaging by way of an extrusion process. Bachmann has invested a sum of 5.5 million Swiss francs in the plant.
The Bachmann Group from Hochdorf near Lucerne, Switzerland, has opened a new PETEX plant. According to a press release, the new facility will produce 7,200 tons of PET film for food packaging. The special thing about this plant is that it uses 30 percent recycled PET. A special processing step known as extrusion is used to produce hygienic granules from used drinks bottles and food packaging. In the first step, the granules are heated to 120 degrees Celsius. Thereafter, a decontamination process ensures hygienic processing. The purity of up to 99.5 percent achieved in this manner exceeds the legal requirements of the Swiss, European and US food authorities.
The third step involves the cleaned PET granules being melted and processed with other raw materials into films that can be used for food packaging applications. The film thicknesses range from 0.15 millimeters to 1.8 millimeters.
The Bachmann Group has invested 5.5 million Swiss francs in the new plant. «With the investment in the new extrusion plant with upstream decontamination, we are launching our own production of recycled PET film», comments Reto Bachmann, Group CEO, in the press release, adding that: «Our flagship PAC2PAC project demonstrates the feasibility of a closed loop for PET packaging from Swiss collection bags. As a founding member of RecyPac, we are putting everything into ensuring the successful implementation of plastics collection».
