APK, MOL Group sign deal on plastics recycling plant

MOL Group, an integrated oil and gas company based in Budapest, Hungary, and Merseburg, Germany-based APK AG have signed an agreement under which MOL will support the completion of APK’s Merseburg, Germany, plant. The plant will serve as a pilot for APK’s Newcycling project, which is geared toward allowing the company to recover materials from complex LDPE (low-density polyethylene), HDPE (high-density polyethylene) and polypropylene (PP) multilayer packaging.

Ferenc Horvath, MOL Group executive vice president for downstream operations, says, “In line with MOL 2030 strategy, we are taking steps to grow our petrochemicals business and enter knowledge-intensive industries together with strategic partners. We see a growing demand from our customers for recycled plastics, and at the same time we are also fully committed to the idea of circular economy and sustainability.”

He continues, “We aspire to become leaders in recycling in Central and Eastern Europe, and with today’s agreement we are marking the first milestone on this journey. MOL, as an established polymer player, together with an innovative partner as APK, will work on further developing the Newcycling technology and bringing it to our core region, where the need and the potential for plastic [scrap] recycling is significant.”

Klaus Wohnig, APK’s speaker of the management board, says over the past several years APK has developed the technology and is reaching market maturity that has been helped along by joint projects within the plastics industry.

“We are proud to enter now into a strategic partnership with MOL, a highly reputable player in the polymer industry, in order to finalize our new plant in Merseburg,” Wohnig says. “And with MOL’s strong roots in this region, we think MOL is the perfect partner to step into Central and Eastern Europe.”