With eco-design and the successful use of recycled materials, the plastics specialist demonstrates how a genuine circular economy can be realized in series production for demanding industries - and supports its customers in achieving their own sustainability goals.

Eco-design in product development, sustainable supply chain

_{CO2 neutrality} is a declared goal across a wide range of industrial sectors. Pöppelmann K-Tech develops highly complex technical plastic components, for example for the automotive industry. With various measures to reduce the use of resources in production, the plastics specialist aims to establish itself as part of a_CO2-neutral supply chain. For example, Pöppelmann K-Tech develops its products according to eco-design standards. These take into account the integration of environmental aspects in the design of an article throughout its entire life cycle and analyze the ecological aspects in order to exploit all possibilities for material savings and the use of recyclable materials.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle: 3Rs for the careful use of resources

Product development is based on the 3R concept: "Reduce - Reuse - Recycle". "Reduce" means using less material while maintaining the high quality of the precision components. This is achieved, for example, through the production of lightweight articles, e.g. with the help of MuCell. The process for physically foaming thermoplastics reduces the weight of products while improving their dimensional stability. With "Reuse", Pöppelmann K-Tech aims to reuse materials, for example in the form of high-quality reusable trays, developed together with the Pöppelmann Kapsto division.

These workpiece carriers ensure comprehensive protection for sensitive Pöppelmann K-Tech components during transportation or storage and simplify handling in production. After use, the disposable or reusable trays can be recycled. "Recycling" has been practiced at Pöppelmann K-Tech for more than 25 years. The plastics specialist's customers benefit from extensive basic tests and the best specialist knowledge of the material characteristics of a wide range of recyclate types. Pöppelmann K-Tech currently uses recycled materials in more than 100 series components. The Pöppelmann blue initiative, which aims to achieve closed material cycles, continues to drive the commitment of the Pöppelmann Group - and therefore also the Pöppelmann K-Tech division - to conserve resources.

Circular economy in series: numerous successful projects

Numerous successful projects by Pöppelmann K-Tech prove that a genuine circular economy is also possible in strictly regulated industries, such as the automotive sector. For example, the plastics specialist only uses post-industrial recycled material (PIR) to manufacture spacers (crash blocks) for vehicle batteries. This production waste, obtained for example from sprue return, is melted down by an external service provider, granulated and then reused in production. PIR material from in-house production, for which the Pöppelmann Group processes plastic waste from its own production and compounds it with appropriate additives, is used at Pöppelmann K-Tech for the production of wash caps - also technically sophisticated components that have to meet high customer requirements.

With the SAM holder, a footrest including a control unit holder, Pöppelmann K-Tech demonstrates how lightweight construction, resource conservation and functional integration can be combined in high-precision technical plastic parts. Manufactured using the weight-reducing MuCell process, the component uses a recycled material developed in collaboration with a supplier that is ideal for technical applications. Pöppelmann K-Tech achieved a real breakthrough in resource conservation with the use of post-consumer recyclate (PCR) for the production of brackets for sound generators for a renowned vehicle manufacturer. A plastic granulate is used for these technical components, the components of which come from used plastic packaging from household recycling collections. These are processed into a PP GF30 suitable for series production. Series production of the resource-saving holders for the sound generators started at Pöppelmann K-Tech in 2020.