Veolia acquires Dutch plastics recycler and reprocessing company

Paris-based Veolia has acquired the Dutch company AKG Kunststof Groep, a polypropylene (PP) compounding and manufacturing company. With this acquisition, Veolia says it hopes to further its commitment to producing recycled raw materials.

AKG Kunststof Groep manufactures a broad assortment of polypropylene (PP) granulates for manufacturers of plastic products, often substituting virgin plastics, Veolia says. Raw materials are either preprocessed plastic flakes with a high PP content, mainly sourced from commercial, industrial or household waste or PP production scraps, sourced from manufacturers of PP products.

Veolia says it acquired the company from the private equity fund Wadinko N.V, which will retain a minority share in AKG and serve on the supervisory board.

The postconsumer fraction of the PP used by AKG has recently grown to 90 percent sourced materials, Veolia says. Customer applications of AKG products include horticultural, infrastructure, electronic appliances, automotive and packaging products.

Operating out of Vroomshoop in the Netherlands, AKG currently employs 53 people, has sold 37,000 tons of recycled material and has posted revenues of €34 million in 2014, Veolia says.

Veolia also reports that AKG will serve as the cornerstone for the expansion of its European platform of recycled raw plastic materials manufacturing.

Antoine Frérot, chairman and CEO of Veolia, says, “this operation is the next natural step for Veolia in its strategic transformation and development. Our growth on new thriving markets and our ability to provide solutions for the recovery and production of raw recycled materials have demonstrated the Group’s ability to turn the waste of some into resources for others, by encouraging the implementation of a circular economy from waste collection to treatment, and now to recycled materials manufacturing.”

René Wolfkamp, CEO of Wadinko, observes, “the prospects for AKG in terms of market growth and profit are indeed favorable and together with Veolia we hope to accelerate this growth and as a result increase employment in the region. This is one of the primary objectives of Wadinko: promoting business and employment in our region.”

Active in the Netherlands for more than 40 years, Veolia’s Dutch operation currently employs over 300 people and provides a range of sustainable energy and water utility services to both Dutch industrial and municipal clients. Projects include assisting coffee manufacturer Jacobs Douwe Egberts to produce energy for the production process using spent coffee grounds, as well as a pilot project studying the generation of bioplastics from the sludge recovered from wastewater treatment facilities.

A video of AKG activities can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7NCweDpZ7w.