IVL to acquire plastics recycling facility in France

31-Jul-2018 - Last updated on 31-Jul-2018 at 10:35 GMT

IVL invests in French recycling facility. Photo: IVL Facebook.

Indorama Ventures PCL (IVL), a global chemical producer, has entered into an agreement to acquire Sorepla Industrie, a plastics recycling facility in France.

Sorepla Industrie is one of the largest recyclers in Europe with 58 employees and three production lines; Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET), Recycled High Density Polyethylene (rHDPE) and food-grade Pellets, with a combined capacity of 52,000 tonnes/annum.

Circular economy

Aloke Lohia, Group CEO, Indorama Ventures, said IVL is playing its part in the preservation of resources and the reduction of PET containers in landfills and is investing in recycling facilities globally.

“Indorama Ventures plays a key role in promoting the circular economy and environmental sustainability globally,” he said.

“With a comprehensive European network for bottle sourcing and good supply chain efficiencies, we feel this acquisition will contribute as an attractive platform for strong future growth in the sustainable recycling business with the potential to expand globally."

The acquisition of Sorepla will opens up further opportunities for IVL to serve increasing demand for food grade rPET.

IVL already has a recycling facility in France through its subsidiary, Wellman France Recyclage in Verdun, but with the acquisition of Sorepla it has additional capabilities to deliver food grade rPET to brand owners for sustainable packaging.

Rising demand for rPET

According to the company, demand for food-grade rPET across Western Europe will grow at a CAGR of 7% 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,” it said in a statement.

Earlier this year, the company acquired PET facility M&G Polimeros Brazil in Ipojuca Brazil, to deliver products to key customers in Brazil.

South America is an important emerging market with domestic demand for PET growing at around 5%, according to IVL.

IVL petrochemical producer is based in Thailand with a global manufacturing footprint across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.