Armacell celebrates 1 billion reused plastic bottles

• Armacell manufactures PET foam products entirely from recycled beverage bottles
• Recycling milestone: one billion plastic bottles given a new life
• Celebration event in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

Luxembourg/Thimister, 16 December 2019 – Armacell, a global leader in flexible foam for the equipment insulation market and a leading provider of engineered foams, celebrated the landmark of one billion recycled PET bottles consumption in its foaming process to manufacture PET foam products.

The celebration event, with 80 guests from the recycling and the composites industry, took place at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, an iconic location best known for regularly staging the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix. Converting plastic bottles into structural foam products used in applications such as wind turbines, high-speed trains, walkways and surfboards represents a significant step towards closing the loop in plastic production.

Innovative technology

In 2010, Armacell launched the world’s first foam cores made from 100% recycled PET (r-PET). Today, the company’s entire PET foam product portfolio is based on this pioneering process technology, widely recognised and supporting customers in their endeavour to increase the use of sustainable advanced composite materials. Armacell’s patented r-PET technology uses recycled PET bottles that are rejected for re-use by the PET recycling industry. Armacell converts waste material into a high-quality resource and feeds it back into the production cycle.

Focus on sustainability

The conference programme on the morning of 12 December 2019 included speeches by Patrick Mathieu, Armacell’s President and CEO, on the company’s sustainability story, Marius Smit, the CEO and founder of Plastic Whale, on creating value from plastic waste, Christian Crépet, Executive Director of Petcore Europe, on PET recycling, Dr. Karl Paetz-Lauter, retired Vice President of Armacell, on the company’s patented r-PET technology, and Dr. Justyna Dolega, Armacell’s Global Innovation Manager on sustainability-oriented innovations. Thomas Kessel, Armacell’s General Manager PET Foams concluded the event with a Q&A session. Networking activities during the afternoon were followed by a celebratory dinner in the evening.

Commenting on this significant milestone in the company’s history, Thomas Kessel, General Manager Armacell PET Foams, said: “There is a sustainable alternative to single-use plastics, and Armacell is playing its part in working towards a circular model. In reusing plastic bottles, Armacell is making a difference around the world.”

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