Technological watch

The product portfolio of Sirmax Group is increasingly “green”. In the sustainable development context towards which the company has been focusing since some years ago, the range of bio-compound products, with the brand Biocomp® produced by the Company Group Microtec srl, based in Mellaredo di Pianiga (Ve), is expanding. The bioplastics portfolio has been enriched by 4 new grades – which add to the already existent ones – specifically developed for injection molding and extrusion/thermoforming: Biocomp® IM 95, Biocomp® IM 95CP, Biocomp® IM DPLA and Biocomp® IM CFLEX.

The new grades are based on the formulation of innovative plant materials with the inclusion of natural additives which ensure a content of renewable “biobased” sources up to 100% (referencing to ASTM D 6866). The main properties of the new grades are the ease of processing through extrusion and moulding, the limited cycle time, also using standard presses with non-dedicated screws for plasticisation, and the great resistance to deformation due to heat with HDT up to 95°C (without pre- or post-crystallization processes).

“For Microtec these new products represent the entrance into a new field, the one of injection moulding – explains Diego Lombardo, Microtec managing director -. Now we are able to source our customers with the compound specific to thermoforming, too. We are already operative”.

The 4 new grades introduced are suitable to produce “single use” products or “semi-durable” goods which are wholly biodegradable and compostable according to the EN 13432 norm, certified “OK Compost INDUSTRIAL” by TUV-Austria. They can be used in several application fields: plates, glasses, cutlery, straws, clips for agriculture, pens, brushes, trays, jars, lids, coffee capsules, toys, closing caps, and more. In sight of the new and more stringent European regulations, the objective is to respond to the new needs of the market, especially those of the food market, identifying innovative solutions in the perspective of sustainability. All the Biocomp® compounds, indeed, are suitable for the contact with food in accordance with UE norms.

Moreover, Sirmax produces with Microtec a wide range of biodegradable and compostable products with reference to the EN 13432 norm for flexible packaging applications, shopping bags and bags for fruit and vegetables, among which there is the recent Biocomp®BF 6535, which has a content of raw materials from renewable sources higher than 60%. A few months ago, Microtec has improved the productive capacity, with to the expansion of the plant from 5.000 to 17.000 square meter in total. Thanks to the doubling of the extrusion lines, the production capacity isnowequal to 16.000 tons per year.

About the Sirmax GroupThe Sirmax Group, with headquarters in Cittadella (Padua), is the leading independent European manufacturer (and among the top global manufacturers) of polypropylene compounds used across all sectors: automotive, household appliances, power tools, household, construction, and furniture. It is also a leading distributor of plastics. Active since the 1960s, today Sirmax boasts 6 production plants in Italy, two in Poland (2006-2019), one in Brazil (2012),two in the USA (2015-2019) and two in India(2017), as well as a sales office in Milan, Italy, and technical sales offices in France, Spain and Germany.

Sirmax has acquired significant market shares in Europe, North and South America and Asia, and has become a global benchmark for the international market. Among its clients are industry-leading firms such as Whirlpool, Bosch Siemens, Electrolux, Karcher, Philips, Honeywell, ABB, Technogym, FCA, Volkswagen Group, Daimler and PSA (Peugeot Citroen Group). In 2020 the Sirmax group consolidated over 300 million Euros’ worth of business, employing 700 people around the globe.

Source: Sirmax, press release, 2021-01-20.