Bigger, smarter, better: US compounding specialist Teknor Apex (Pawtucket, Rhode Island; www.teknorapex.com) has completed its new German facility in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. As the US company announced, the 50,000 m² site creates space for the expansion of compounding for thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) and engineering plastics, and service and sales.

With the “European Center of Excellence”, the site, said to have a workforce of around 100, will also include an R&D facility. The complex reportedly also has a lot to offer from an environmental point of view, with energy-efficient LED lighting, heat recovery and insulation, and a closed water cycle.

Essentially, however, the site creates a new home for the activities of the former German contract compounder PTS from nearby Adelshofen, which Teknor Apex acquired over a five years ago (see Plasteurope.com of 05.04.2016). The construction work in Rothenburg apparently took longer than initially planned, because when plans for the project were announced in 2017, the Americans were still aiming for commissioning in the summer of 2019 (see Plasteurope.com of 21.08.2017).