Risk-free recyclate processing at Sitraplas

Complaints reduced, performance improved

Schönberg, May 2020

SITRAPLAS GmbH is a producer of high-performance engineering plastic compounds. Founded in 2005, the company is headquartered in the city of Bünde in the East Westphalia region of Germany. Their spectrum of services ranges from coloring engineering plastics to the development of customized polymer compounds for a wide variety of applications.

The Sitraplas team, over 40 employees strong, works in state-of-the-art production and laboratory facilities to quickly and reliably implement individual solutions. Their compounds are used by customers all over the world in challenging applications in the automotive, electrical engineering, and electronics industries, among others.

Metallic impurities in purchased recyclate

Separately purchased recyclate often contains various different polymers as well as metal contaminants such as aluminum, brass, and stainless steel. Depending on the size of these contaminants, metallic particles can impede the plastic production process by clogging screens or damaging screws. In other cases, metallic impurities can also lead to contaminated end products. Such scenarios must be avoided at all costs, as machine downtime and product recalls are enormously costly both for production and a company’s image. Furthermore, contaminated end products must be disposed of, leading to a tremendous volume of waste.

Metal separators that detect and separate the finest metal particles

To prevent downtime and recalls, Sitraplas uses GF Primus metal separators from Sesotec. These metal separators are installed in pneumatic conveying systems, where they detect metallic contaminants within the recyclate as they pass through, reliably rejecting them in a fraction of a second. All of this is possible without interrupting the material flow and without reducing the speed of conveyance.

Reliable processes, high product quality, increased profitability

Sesotec’s GF metal separators play a key role in helping to protect Sitraplas’ machinery, preserve the quality of their products, and keep their facilities operating efficiently. Furthermore, the rejected contaminants are automatically collected so they can be analyzed for important information about the quality of the purchased recyclate.

„Thanks to Sesotec’s metal separators, we’ve had zero incoming complaints about metallic contaminants,” says Tim Hencken, Managing Director of Sitraplas. “They have led to a noticeable improvement in the performance of our processing equipment, eliminating the risks involved in working with recyclate.“ Bartosch Jauernik, Product Manager for the Plastics Industry at Sesotec, adds: “In this way, our metal separators are doing their part to contribute to the establishment of a sustainable and profitable circular economy.”