ENGEL wins Austrian State Innovation Award 2024 for its two-stage process for more energy-efficient plastic recycling

In October 2024, the Austrian Federal Minister for Labor and Economy, Martin Kocher, presented the award in Vienna. The State Award honors Austria’s most innovative companies, and the jury recognized ENGEL’s contribution as a groundbreaking transformation in the recycling process. In their statement, the jury emphasized the significance of the two-stage process: “This method is highly innovative and ecologically invaluable. The project’s benefits, as well as the promotion of the company’s innovative capacity, were very positively assessed. By eliminating an additional processing step, resources and costs are significantly saved. The technology enhances recycling processing capabilities, reduces the global CO₂ footprint, supports the circular economy, and revolutionizes the industry with a 30% energy saving.”

“The innovative and unique aspect of the two-stage process is that it streamlines the recycling process. In the traditional processing of recycled materials, raw material is supplied to the injection molding machine as pellets, which has been separately processed beforehand. With ENGEL’s new two-stage process, shredded recycled material can now be directly processed into new parts without prior preparation. In the first stage, plastic flakes are melted in a plasticizing screw. Impurities and odor emissions are then removed through a continuous melt filter and a degassing unit. The second stage involves injecting and shaping the part. This allows plastic part production from recycled material to be streamlined into a single process step, enabling direct processing at the injection molding machine. This reduces investment costs, energy consumption, and CO₂ emissions,” explains Dr Klaus Fellner, Head of Application Technologies at ENGEL.

Dr Johannes Kilian, Head of Process and Application Technology at ENGEL, emphasizes: “ENGEL, as Austria’s largest machine manufacturer, is an innovative family-owned company. We have been deeply committed to the topic of recycling for many years. Thus, this innovation award is a significant milestone for ENGEL and the entire plastics industry. The State Innovation Award highlights the importance of plastics and plastics recycling. In light of climate change and carbon neutrality, plastics and the circular economy are indispensable for a sustainable future.”

Learn more about ENGEL’s plastics recycling processes to save CO2 and costs: https://www.engelglobal.com/en/products/injection-moulding-processes/plastic-recycling-process

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