Korteks (Bursa / Turkey; www.korteks.com.tr/en) said it invested some USD 10m (EUR 8.5m) in a new recycling plant at its Turkish headquarters. Starlinger (Vienna / Austria; www.starlinger.com) noted that it has supplied equipment to the 17,000 m² facility, which has a capacity for around 7,200 t/y of polyester filament yarns from recycled materials.

The “recoSTAR universal 165 H-VAC iV +” from Starlinger, put into operation in May 2021, is said to process clean production waste from in-house polyester fibre production together with washed post-consumer PET bottle flakes in a 50/50 ratio. The machine maker noted that the system – the first of its kind in Turkey – can process a mixture of input material and 100% polyester fibre waste or 100% PET bottle flakes.

Korteks, said to be the largest integrated polyester yarn manufacturer in Europe, is using the polyester regranulate for a new product line made of 100% reclaimed material and marketed under the name “TAÇ Reborn”.

At its 335,000 m² production site, Korteks makes 170,000 t/y of yarn, which is said to cover almost 20% of Turkish demand. Polyester yarns from the company, a member of Turkey’s Zorlu Group, are used in many areas, including home textiles, clothing, and garden furniture.

Other sectors served by the Zorlu Group include real estate and energy generation, and Turkish member company Vestel Elektronik (Manisa; www.vestelinternational.com) makes white goods (see Plasteurope.com of 17.06.2021).