TOMRA Recycling Sorting celebrates expansion of its test facility in Germany
TOMRA’s recent integrator conference at its headquarters in Mülheim-Kärlich, Germany, provided the setting for the celebration of the opening of a second test center. More than 200 attendees from 26 different countries attended the two-day event. The first day was an opportunity to listen to numerous presentations by CEO Tove Andersen and to learn about the strategic direction of the company. The second day was chosen to visit the facilities.
Fabrizio Radice, vice president and head of global sales and marketing at TOMRA Recycling Sorting noted that “with stricter legislation and higher recycling targets, the demand for recovering recyclable materials from waste is at a record high, as is the demand for our sorting and material testing solutions. We have observed this situation in recent years and have approached our testing capacity limits in Germany. We had to act to ensure the best service for customers and partners.”
Until now, TOMRA’s test center incorporated its waste and metal sorting solutions and is one of 8 facilities operating in 7 locations around the world that give recyclers and plant operators the unique opportunity to test their materials on TOMRA’s advanced sorting machines before making an investment.
“In addition to the growing demand for testing, we are continuously developing new sorting systems that are installed in our test center. In recent years, we have introduced multiple new products to the market and will be launching more in the future. Therefore, we needed to make sure we had enough space for our growing portfolio and decided to invest in an additional building,” Radice added. The company conducts approximately 650 internal and customer tests each year and anticipates that demand will grow in the future.
Ralph Uepping, vice president and chief technology officer of TOMRA Recycling Sorting, added, “Until recently, we have combined metal and waste sorting machines in one area. Now, each test room will be dedicated to a single segment. While waste sorting tests are conducted in the first established facility, the focus of the new facility is on metal sorting.”
