Gräfe will be one of the first print finishing companies to participate in Germany-based Leonhard Kurz’s PET recycling program, which involves returning the PET carrier foil from transfer products to the material cycle. The residual PET material from the finishing process is collected and converted into injection molding material in a recycling plant developed by Kurz.
Gräfe decided on the Kurz recycling concept to strengthen its company’s firmly anchored commitment to sustainable finishing. Gräfe is striving to exploit every opportunity, strategically and production technology-wise, to act sustainably and advise their customers accordingly.
Frank Denninghoff, managing director at Gräfe, explains, “We would like to offer our customers not only highly attractive, multisensory, stimulating print products but also consistent sustainability that pays off for the brand. The PET recycling concept from Kurz enables us to now even better achieve this lofty aspiration.”
Roland Seidl, head of Sales Germany at Kurz, adds, “Brilliant print finishing and sustainable practices along the entire process chain – Gräfe is pursuing these goals just like Kurz. We look forward, with this PET carrier recycling, to taking a decisive step with them towards a closed material cycle.”
Kurz’s PET recycling program is currently in the test phase and will be rolled out throughout Germany in 2021. A recycling facility at the company headquarters in Fürth, which was created with a high level of development and capital expenditure, is available for this purpose. It is planned to successively equip all production locations worldwide with recycling facilities of this kind.
The Kurz Group is a global leader in thin-film technology. Kurz develops and manufactures decorative and functional layers applied to carrier foil for various industries, from the packaging and printing industry to the automotive, electronics, card, and textile sectors. Kurz offers a comprehensive portfolio of products for surface finishing, decoration, labeling, and counterfeit protection, rounded off by an extensive range of stamping machines and stamping tools. The company is also continuously investing in new technologies and developing innovative solutions for integrating functionality into surfaces. The Kurz Group has more than 5,500 employees at over 30 sites worldwide and produces under standardized quality and environmental standards in Europe, Asia, and the USA.
