TEXTILES.ORG
Indorama Ventures (IVL) has entered into an agreement to acquire Sorepla Industrie, a plastics recycling facility in France, Innovation in Textiles reports. Sorepla Industrie is one of the largest recyclers in Europe and has 58 employees. The facility consists of three production lines; recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET), recycled high density polyethylene (rHDPE) and food-grade pellets, with a combined capacity of 52,000 tons per year.
This acquisition is strategically in line with the company’s objectives of long-term sustainability. The addition of Sorepla opens up new opportunities to serve increasing demand for food grade rPET, the chemical producer reports. While IVL has a significant recycling presence in France through its subsidiary, Wellman France Recyclage in Verdun, the acquisition of Sorepla gives the company additional capabilities to deliver food grade rPET to serve increasing demand among major brand owners for more sustainable packaging solutions. Due to Sorepla’s proximity to IVL’s existing recycling business, synergies of management and supply chain are expected to benefit IVL businesses.
The demand for food-grade rPET in Western Europe is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7 percent from 2018-2021 and is currently outstripping supply. A growing emphasis on sustainability and circular economy objectives among packaging and consumer product manufacturers is expected to be amongst the key factors driving market growth. Recycled PET is well-known to be hygienic and is approved for food-contact applications in most countries around the world.