Recycling: Erema hits milestone, sees more opportunity ahead

Plastics recycling machinery manufacturer Erema (Ansfelden, Austria) saw its turnover hit a company record for the 2007/2008 fiscal year, ended March 31, with revenue exceeding euro 100 million for the first time. This is the fourth record year in succession for Erema’s financials. The company was founded in 1983.

Consolidated turnover achieved by the Erema Group, comprising the Austrian headquarters and subsidiaries in the U.S. and Roitham, Austria, reached euro 102.4 million, more than 15% growth compared to FY06/07. Erema manufactured 290 complete recycling systems in the most recent fiscal year, with about 50% of these going to customers outside the EU. The number of employees rose from 319 at the end of March 2007 to the current figure of 346.

“We expect a high level of consolidation for the next fiscal year,” says Gerhard Wendelin, managing partner and CEO at Erema. “If it does come to a worldwide slowdown in economic growth at some point this year, as now assumed by the economic experts, it is possible that the impact on the recycling industry will not be that harsh. An oil price that is already high and continues to increase may result in polymer prices for virgin material soaring even further. This would mean that the demand for high-quality recycling materials would then also increase. This, in turn, could have a positive effect on demand at Erema—anti-cyclical, so to speak, as our systems would then give an even faster return on investment than today for the owner.” He added that Erema’s order books are nearly full through the end of this year.—[email protected]