German masterbatch specialist Heraplast (Vilgertshofen; www.heraplast.de) said it has significantly expanded its production capacity, having invested an undisclosed sum in another line. It put the total output of its colour masterbatch lines, now numbering eight, at 2,000 t/y.

“This means we can now produce all order sizes from 1 kg to full truckloads ourselves”, said company founder and director Alban Heitmeir in an interview with Plasteurope.com.

Last year, the manufacturer said it installed a 200 t silo facility with four high silos for the most common feedstocks at its Bavarian site in Vilgertshofen near Munich.

With these investments, Heraplast, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is responding to a recent “very strong order intake”, according to Heitmeir. He did not provide any figures.

To be able to satisfy demand, the company has increased staff at its sales, technical, and production departments. Heraplast said it currently employs 40 people.

The company produces colour masterbatches as well as application-specific compounds based on all common thermoplastics, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, ABS, ASA, SAN and polyamides. The product range of the supplier, which recently reported a turnover of over EUR 20 mn, also includes standard masterbatches in white and black along with flame retardant and cleaning granulates with a total volume of more than 6,000 t/y.

According to Heitmeir, the colouring of recycled plastics is becoming increasingly important. The company therefore develops and produces individual colour formulations that are tailored to the respective recyclate.