A commitment to recycling PVC-U by the VEKA Group that spans almost three decades, is epitomised by a photograph that captures a delivery of recycled PVC-U pellet by VEKA Recycling Ltd, to sister company, systems extruder VEKA PLC.
VEKA was the first major PVC-U window brand to realise the value and commit to the recycling of the material, which may be recycled and remanufactured into new products as many as 10 times, when it opened the first dedicated recycling facility in Behringen, Germany, in 1993. The tanker deliveries of high-quality recycled pellet to VEKA PLC’s Burnley plant, mark the latest phase of the Group’s commitment to the promotion of PVC-U as a sustainable material, with the completion of VEKA Recycling’s state-of-the-art facility in Wellingborough at the end of last year.
Deliveries by tanker allow 26 tonnes of high-grade PVC-U pellet – enough to provide 75% recycled content for 27500 metres of profile – to be transferred at each end of the journey in less than a couple of hours, with as many as three deliveries per week. The process is considerably quicker than the alternative delivery method of one tonne bags that are lifted on and off the delivery vehicle by forklift truck.
“The completion of our Wellingborough plant enables us to supply our sister company in Burnley not simply due to the availability of high volumes of recycled material, but also because the quality satisfies VEKA PLC’s exacting standards for quality,” explained VEKA Recycling’s Managing Director Simon Scholes. “Although we are both part of the VEKA dynasty, we have not been given the automatic right to supply Burnley. We had to demonstrate an ability to supply high volumes of the finest quality material, on a regular basis. There was never any question of a silver spoon,” added Simon.
VEKA PLC MD Neil Evans said that the completion of the Wellingborough plant, followed by strenuous trials, enabled his company to honour its commitment to the inclusion of higher levels of recyclate in its products: “This commitment is contained in our latest CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] manifesto published in 2021, which details our commitment to sustainability in every aspect of our business. I am delighted that our sister company has been able to open as scheduled despite the difficulties of building the plant during the pandemic, and also that the quality and volumes are to our very exacting standards at Burnley.”
VEKA recycling Ltd continues to supply a number of other established customers with recycled material, including manufacturers of electrical conduit, air conditioning ducting and other building materials: “VEKA PLC has become an important customer, together with others with whom we have traded for many years. But it feels very special to see end-of-life window and door profiles, being re-manufactured into new frames,” added Simon.
