Mitsubishi subsidiary buys German carbon fiber recycling assets

Wischhafen, Germany-based Karl Meyer AG has announced the sale of its carboNXT GmbH and CFK Valley Stade Recycling GmbH & Co. KG carbon fiber recycling subsidiaries to Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials GmbH.

A press release posted by waste and recycling firm Karl Meyer says its former carbon fiber recycling plant in Wischhafen will remain in its present location, but the plant and its employees “will be taken over” by the Mitsubishi subsidiary.

Karl Meyer had been involved in carbon fiber recycling for more than a decade, and it calls the Wischhafen plant, established in 2011, “Europe's first industrial recycling plant for [discarded materials] made of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP).”

Says Dr. Axel Meyer, a Karl Meyer board member, “However, topics such as research and product development for industrial applications go beyond the core business of the Karl Meyer Group. We have now reached our limits in these areas.”

Dr. Meyer says because of changing market requirements and increasing amounts of CFRP scrap being generated, extensive investments would have been required. “In recent years, we have had to recognize that we cannot continue this project on our own. We are glad that with Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials we have found a partner who will continue to promote CFRP recycling.”

According to the press release, all employees of CFK Valley Stade Recycling and carboNXT will now report to Mitsubishi. “We would like to thank all employees for their exceptional commitment in this business area over the past 10 years,” says Dr. Meyer.

Sinsheim, Germany-based Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials GmbH is part of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.