Page 46 - Plastics News December 2022

BUSINESS NEWS

GCR Innovating a Sustainable Tomorrow. Opens Innovation Hub for Co-
creation of End-to-End Development Solutions
equipment suppliers, raw material
and waste-stream suppliers, plastic
converters and brand owners. GCR
also offers turn-key project manage-
ment where customers completely
trust GCR’s capabilities. “We prefer
to send you all our scrap because the
quality you’re getting out of it is some-
thing we will never reach,” quoted a
major converter.

GCR’s extensive materials know-how
and relentless attention to quality are
reflected in existing product ranges.
Ciclic R-polyolefins (Recycled poly-
olefins) are based on ‘up-cycling’ fully
• Investment in the ‘Innovation overall company investment is ex- traceable waste streams and can de-
Hub’; a dedicated R&D facility for pected to reach Euros 100 million by liver similar and consistent material
developing solutions that mini- 2025. Combined with the new state- properties as virgin plastics with 60-
mise environmental impact while of-the-art 200,000 Tonnes recycling 80% lower Carbon Footprint certifi-
meeting exacting specifications plant opening in 2023, these invest- cation.
ments reflect a long-term vision cre-
• 2000m2 fully equipped ‘co-cre- ated when the company was founded Granic mineral-filled masterbatches
ation’ space for collaboration on in 2001; ’Innovating our Sustainable and compounds can offer up to a 30%
the development of new materi- Tomorrow.’ reduction in energy costs in down-
als and applications with suppliers stream polymer processing.
and customers While materials based on virgin poly-
mer resins have well-defined and In addition to an extensive range of
• Enables development of new for- consistent properties, working with existing products, the Innovation
mulations, pilot plant trials, test- recycled materials or finding ways Hub combines GCR’s comprehensive
ing and up-scaling to production to reduce carbon footprint presents technical and processing expertise to
• Customisation apability comple- new challenges that require experi- customise products and bring solu-
tions to the challenges encountered
ments Ciclic R-polyolefins and mentation to solve. Often custom when using post-consumer or post-
Granic mineral-filled masterbatch solutions need to be created consid- industrial waste or carbon footprint/
range ering the waste stream and the ap- LCA improvement.
plication. This is why GCR believes
As part of continuous investment, collaborative partnerships in ‘co-cre-
GCR Group has announced the re- ation’ projects within the value chain
cent opening of a dedicated R&D are vital. The new 2000m2 Innova-
center in La Bisbal del Penedés, Tar- tion Hub concentrates the technical
ragona, Spain. This ‘Innovation Hub’ expertise of GCR’s talented team. It
is intended to build on 20 years of includes all the equipment necessary
experience in materials technology for incubation and proof of concept
and develop short-term and long- from development to pilot plant and
term polymer-based solutions that final production. Existing collabora-
minimise environmental impact. The tions involve technical institutions,

46 PLASTICS NEWS December 2022