Gamma Meccanica eyes equipment, geographic growth to US

Dusseldorf, Germany — An ever-increasing use of PET in nonbottle applications has Italian recycling equipment maker Gamma Meccanica SpA taking action.

The Bibbiano-based company is hard at work creating a new integrated PET recycling line that will add to the company's roster of products. Gamma Meccanica already has a lineup of offerings commonly used for polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene, and it has dabbled in limited PET applications in the past on a case-by-case basis.

But the firm is now going full bore into the PET market as more and more products are being made from that resin, said Andrea Burini, plastics division manager and a member of the family that owns the company. It's a move that just makes sense as the company estimates PET use has significantly increased in recent years beyond bottle applications.

Gamma Meccanica already makes extruders and pelletizers that can be plugged into the new PET recycling line. It is working on a new feeder designed specifically for that market. The company will continue to use filters made by outside firms, the only component of the integrated system that will not be manufactured by Gamma Meccanica.

"The feeder is the most crucial part. … Material prep before it goes into the extruder is crucial," explained Heath Sellers, president of Innovative Recycling Solutions LLC, an independent sales representative for the company in the United States and Canada.

"If you don't prepare the material correctly before it gets into the extruder, then you are already behind the proverbial eight-ball," Sellers said.

The company expects to have the new system finalized and ready for sale by the end of the year.

"The material is growing, not only in the bottle," Burini said. "We're trying to invest to increase our market, to increase our quality and our technical opportunity."

As Gamma Meccanica looks to grow through the new PET processing line, the company also is taking a big step to establish a more prominent position in the North American market. The company has committed to building a service and technical center somewhere in the United States, probably along the East Coast, Burini said.

Sellers has been the longtime sales representative for Gamma Meccanica in both the United States and Canada. As the face of the company for North American customers for the past 15 years, Sellers said this is a move he is eagerly awaiting. Details are still being worked out just how the company and the independent sales representative will work together.

"It's something that I've been clamoring for and planning for many, many years and wanting," he said.

Having a permanent office in the United States, which will include laboratory facilities as well as installed lines to test and run recycled resin samples on, will help give the company a higher profile, the men said.

"To grow in this market, we need to be here," Burini said. "We need to have an office in the country."

This will allow the company to more quickly respond to questions and service needs in the market, he said.

Gamma Meccanica wants to decide soon on where the new facility will be located so work can begin on construction and machine placement. The goal is to have a permanent home open by the middle of 2023. That will give the company a chance to show off its increased commitment to the North American market at the NPE2024 show, Burini said.