Since the beginning of the year, trade associations have been warning of the ongoing shortage of raw materials in the field of plastics – e.g. the Association of the Plastics Processing Industry (GKV eV) Where there are no plastic deliveries, production and delivery capabilities are jeopardized, and prices rise dramatically. Pallmann shredding technology opens up solutions that also do justice to the aspect of sustainability.
Cutting, agglomerating, fine grinding – with these core competencies, Pallmann, specialist in size reduction technology in the Siempelkamp Group, provides a solution to the raw material crisis that currently affects all areas of the plastics processing industry. The concept: Recyclates that arise in the production of many companies of all sizes are turned into new raw materials with Pallmann equipment in the form of granules or powders, which can be fed back into the production process instead of new goods that are expensive to buy.
The Pallmann machine family No. 1, which is valuable for this, is dedicated to cutting: Clean production waste – e.g. start-up patties, trimmed edges and rejects – can be cut to a size of approx. 5 to 10 mm with Pallmann granulators. Thanks to the special cutting geometry, homogeneous granulates are created with little fine material, which can be reused in production like new material. Machine family number 2, which is dedicated to agglomeration, is even more interesting for in-house recycling. The Pallmann agglomerator system PFV generates free-flowing granules with a high bulk density from light products. One advantage of this concept is that processing takes place below the melting point, i.e. the material is not thermally stressed.
Fine grinding is the specialty of the third Pallmann machine family, which makes in-house recycling so interesting. Some applications require powders with a degree of fineness of 0.5 to 1 mm. Our customers demand Pallmann quality, most powder suppliers use our PKM to achieve the special properties of the powder “, reports Michel Marchal. “If a customer has a granulate finely ground, this costs around 20 to 30 cents per kg. If he finely grinds in-house with our PKM, his costs are much more attractive 5 to 10 cents per kilo!
“Everyone produces waste – everyone benefits from the in-house options.” Self-generated raw materials, a clear commitment to more sustainability, cost reduction – relevant for companies of all sizes? “From small family businesses to large corporations, every company produces internal waste. Everyone buys new goods and could replace them with in-house recyclate. Everyone benefits from managing less waste and thus lowering their costs. In addition, resource efficiency and ecological awareness are an integral part of the DNA of corporate responsibility. All of these arguments speak in favor of our technology, ”says Uwe Wagner, Pallmann managing director.
