Otto Graf (Teningen / Germany; www.graf-online.de) has acquired a 49% share of Wilken Plastics Energy (Haren / Germany; www.wilken-gruppe.de). The manufacturer of rainwater management products is thus expanding its commitment to plastics recycling by a further step in the value chain. Just recently in February 2020, Graf had commissioned a recycling plant near Freiburg / Germany to increase the use of polyolefin recyclates to 85%.

Wilken shreds, washes and dries recyclable plastics. The processed material serves as the basis for further refinement and granulation at Graf in Herbolzheim / Germany, some 600 km away. The Haren-based company produces all process energy and heat in their own biogas plant. The facility is powered by biomass produced from 100% renewable raw materials in the company’s arable and poultry farming. Founded in 2009, the company employs a staff of 25, the entire group has 45 employees.

“We are clearly committed to the use of sustainable raw materials and are consistently pursuing our set course,” Otto Graf, managing partner of the Graf group, said about the investment. Within the next twelve months, more than EUR 2m are to be invested in doubling Wilken’s capacity. Graf did not offer any information on the costs of the buy-in.

Today, a good 80% of Graf’s products are already made from recyclates. These come from Germany’s “yellow bag” plastics collection system, among other sources. In the past financial year, the Graf group generated sales of EUR 120m with around 600 employees. This represents an increase of 10% compared to 2018. The company said it still expects a successful fiscal 2020 despite the current crisis.