Synbra Technologies’ (Etten-Leur / The Netherlands; www.synbra.com) new plant for expandable PLA currently is in the final construction phase and is expected to begin regular operations in October, a company spokesperson told Plasteurope.com. Developed in cooperation with plant manufacturer Sulzer and lactide producer Purac, the plant initially will produce about 5,000 t/y of “Biofoam” – see Plasteurope.com of 25.09.2008. The spokesman added that the material would be processed by the Synbra group exclusively.

The Dutch EPS specialist recently expanded its processing business. At the end of July 2010, group member Synprodo (Wijchen / The Netherlands; www.synprodo.nl), specialised in the manufacture of moulds, took over the EPS activities of packaging company Van der Heijden Nederland (Veldhoven / The Netherlands; www.heijned.nl). The latter has been processing EPS into moulded parts for the past 30 years, manufacturing PU flexible foams, cardboard boxes as well as air cushioned packaging, among others.

All part of Synbra Holding, the group of companies operates six clusters dedicated to EPS, focused both on producing and recycling the material as well as processing it into packaging and construction materials (insulation). The companies employ some 1,400 workers at sites in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Denmark, Portugal and the UK, reportedly generating sales of about EUR 300m. Aside from Synprodo, other famous group member companies include IsoBouw (Netherlands, Germany), Isobox (France), Styropack (Denmark, UK), Styrolit (Denmark) and Plastimar (Portugal). After a management buyout in 2006, the group that formally belonged to Ten Cate and Shell became an integral part of the investment portfolio of Glide Buy Out Partners (www.glide.nl).