In the Spanish town of El Ejido, Denplax SA recently began operating a new large-scale facility for recycling polyethylene stemming from agricultural applications. At full capacity, it can recycle 20,000 t polyethylene a year. The US Trex Company Inc. (Winchester, Virginia; www.trex.com) has exclusive right to 100 percent of the plant´s production and will use it in their Wood-Polymer lumber manufacturing process in the United States.

Denplax is a joint venture between Trex and two other partners: Recycling Industrial Holding (RTH), the Italian-Swiss equipment manufacturer, and Egmasa (E-41092 Sevilla; www.egmasa.es), a local Spanish company responsible for public environmental programs in southern Spain. The investment is said to amount to around EUR 6m. The recycling process covers the steps of metal separation, washing, centrifuging, drying and compacting. According to Trex, the resultant material is suitable for use as a wood substitute. It is to be transported in batches of 3,000 t across the Atlantic Ocean to the Trex production facility in Virginia. Egmasa says income will be about 15 percent above the figure attainable locally.

Trex was formed in 1996 as part of an MBO from the former “Composite Products” division of the oil giant, Mobil. Its main product is so-called ´Wood-Polymer lumber´, which is used as a substitute for conventional wood decking. The company is focused on the professional construction sector. Trex has a distribution network of 75 wholesale and some 2,600 retail outlets throughout the USA. In 2000, the company had sales of around USD 118m (1999: 78m). The Spanish facility will supply the growing company with a reliable source of high-quality polyethylene at a predictable, favourable price, according to Trex Company President, Robert Matheny, talking about its new European involvement.