Italian compounder Sirmax SpA will spend almost $18 million to build a new recycling plant in Indiana.
The 130,00-square-foot plant will be in Anderson, where Sirmax opened its first U.S. location in 2015. For the new plant, Sirmax bought 35 acres south of its existing 140,000-square-foot plant.
The new plant is expected to create 38 new jobs by the end of 2022. It will process and pelletize polypropylene and polyethylene scrap. Sirmax will use some of this recycled material to make recycled-content compounds.
Currently, Sirmax makes compounds based on prime PP and engineering resins for appliance, automotive, power tools, consumer products and other markets in Anderson. In a July 29 news release, city officials said the new plant "puts Anderson at the forefront of the global plastics business, which is requiring a greater amount of repurposed plastic content in plastic goods each year."
Sirmax Country Manager Lorenzo Ferro added in the release that his firm "is excited to be leading in today's needs to reduce plastic waste in the environment and provide second life to plastics, co-operating with our global customers in the development of environmentally friendly materials and applications."
The city "is excited to continue working with Sirmax and their newest venture that will continue to bring diversity and opportunity into our community," Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. said in the release. He added that Anderson "has a long tradition in providing innovation that has made a difference not only in our community but across our country and beyond."
Sirmax is receiving more than $2 million in public funding for the new plant, including $1.5 million for developing a brownfield site and $650,000 for infrastructure, including a rail spur and utility expansion.
The new plant officially is being built by SER North America LLC, a new company that Sirmax formed after acquiring Italian plastics recycler SER in March. Sirmax officials said at the time that the deal was "the first step of a bigger project aimed to become an important global player in the circular economy."
Cittadella-based Sirmax operates three production plants in Italy, two in India, two in Poland and one in Brazil. A second plant in Poland currently is under construction.
Sirmax's global customers include Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen, Whirlpool, Bosch, Honeywell and Ikea. In 2018, Sirmax posted sales of more than 300 million euros ($334.5 million). The firm claims to be one of the world's largest independent producers of polypropylene compounds for several markets.