Page 22 - Plastics News April 2019

CompAny news

Brightmark plans plastics-to-fuel Engel opens facility at San Pedro

plant in NE Indiana in Mexico

recycling company plans to ngel de Mexico, part of Austria-based injection
A build a $260 million plant Epress and robot maker Engel Holding GmbH, has
in northeastern Indiana that opened a second location in Mexico, in San Pedro near
will convert plastics into fuels Monterrey, a center of the automotive, packaging,
and waxes for industrial uses. telecommunications and consumer electronics
San Francisco-based Brightmark industries. Engel opened a sales and service subsidiary
Energy will break ground next in 1996. In 2010, Engel moved the facility from Mexico
month on the plant, which is City to Querétaro and expanded the operation.Engel
expected to create 136 full- announced the San Pedro facility earlier this month.
time jobs when it opens in The two facilities are 800 kilometers apart. Each is
2021The Ashley facility will be located in industrial centers. "We are thus shortening
the first of its kind to take mixed waste, single-use plastics the distance to our customers in the very important
and convert them into usable products at commercial industrial region in the north of the country," said
scale. The facility will initially convert roughly 100,000 Peter Auinger, managing director of Engel in Mexico.
tons of plastics into over 18 million gallons a year of ultra- Initially, San Pedro is staffed by two sales people and
low sulfur diesel and naphtha blend stocks, and nearly four service technicians. The center has a conference
six million gallons a year of commercial grade wax in a room for customer training. During the inauguration at
process that’s expected to be 93% efficient.Ultimately, the San Pedro, Auinger made a live broadcast to Querétaro
output of this technology could also be used to produce using the Engel service tool called e-connect.24.
the feedstock necessary for manufacturing plastic again, He switched on an injection molding machine in
thus creating the world’s first truly circular economy the technical center there. The CC300 control was
technology for plastics.
then transferred in real time to San Pedro, allowing
“We are excited about the market’s confidence in the technicians to take over control the machine remotely
validity of this technology to economically convert from there. For training courses and workshops directly
single-use plastics for new uses,” said Bob Powell, CEO on the machine, ENGEL works together with a partner
of Brightmark Energy and RES Polyflow. “This technology in the north of the country. In its technical centre
provides a strong incentive for diverting single-use plastics in Monterrey, this partner has machine capacities
away from oceans, waterways, communities and landfills available for ENGEL customers."We are increasingly
by creating reusable value.” BP will purchase the fuels becoming a partner for our customers over the entire
produced by the facility, which will be distributed in the life cycle of our injection moulding machines and
regional petroleum market.jay Schabel, President of
Brightmark Energy’s plastics division and of RES Polyflow,
said, “I’m excited to be joining a team that has the
experience and capability to further the RES Polyflow
technology. The Ashley facility provides the next step in
realizing our vision to end plastic pollution, and we look
forward to partnering with Brightmark to develop future
plastics-to-fuel projects throughout the United States.”A
total of 136 full time manufacturing jobs will be created
in Northeast Indiana when all phases of the facility are system solutions," explains Auinger. “The demands
operational. BP will purchase the fuels produced by the placed on our consulting services are increasing,
facility, which will be distributed in the regional petroleum and we are working more and more closely with our
market. The Ashley plant will also produce commercial customers. The geographic proximity becomes even
grade waxes for sale to the industrial wax market, which more important as in Monterrey region, the auto motive
will be purchased by AM WAX. industry is strongly represented.

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