BHS installs PET sorting system for Unifi

Unifi Inc., headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, celebrated the grand opening of its Repreve Bottle Processing Center in Reidsville, North Carolina. The $28 million facility includes a front-end polyethylene terephthalate (PET) purification system, designed, manufactured and installed by Eugene, Oregon-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS). The facility supports the company’s objective of vertical integration into bottle processing as the source of raw materials for its Repreve recycled fiber product line.

Unifi’s new system features screen, air and optical separation technologies from the BHS Family of Cos. including BHS, National Recovery Technologies (NRT), Nashville, Tennessee, and Nihot, based in Amsterdam. Nine NRT optical units with In-Flight Sorting technology remove non-PET plastics. The plant, which BHS describes as among the world’s most advanced, is capable of processing more than 22,000 pounds per hour of plastic container bales to produce 75 million pounds annually of the highest quality and most consistent clean bottle flake. (Read more about the plant here.)

“We chose BHS and NRT because we felt the technology, process design, engineering and customer service were all first class,” says Mark McNeill, vice president of technology and business development for Unifi. “We have not been disappointed. The project management and startup have been exceptional. This state-of-the-art system is smart and robust and delivers high rates of purity and yield. With the support of BHS and NRT, it will continue to be a tremendous asset to Unifi for years to come.”

“Our latest technology is at work for Unifi, including In-Flight Sorting and PET Boost, maximizing the recovery and reuse of clear PET to create Repreve products and capturing other plastic commodities,” says NRT President Matthias Erdmannsdoerfer. “The new Repreve Bottle Processing Center is great for the recycling industry, and Unifi should be commended for its forward-thinking leadership. The company is committed to innovation, in this system and with its business model, and provides a strong domestic source to help drive a circular economy.”

The company says its PET Boost technology gives its optical sorters the ability to identify wet and thin-walled PET bottles more clearly, while In-Flight Sorting detects and ejects materials after they have left the conveyor belt. 

BHS is a leader in the design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of sorting systems and components for the solid waste, recycling, waste-to-energy and construction and demolition industries. Wholly owned subsidiaries include Nihot, NRT and Zero Waste Energy (Lafayette, California).