From an associated institute of the University of Applied Sciences to a pioneer of the circular economy for a sustainable plastics industry. Stories like this one are not only written in Silicon Valley, but also in the Lower Rhine region in Germany.
 |
|
Dr. Edmund Dolfen, founder and visionary and forerunner of FKuR |
What started back at the Willich site with just a few employees and a laboratory extruder has now become a major company in the bioplastics industry. FKuR develops and produces innovative bioplastic compounds on the company’s premises covering more than 7,000 m². The company’s own granulates are complemented by a broad distribution portfolio of bio-based bioplastics and high-quality post-consumer recyclates.
Meanwhile, the FKuR group of companies produces and distributes its plastic solutions from three worldwide locations. Embedded in the group are, in addition to FKuR Kunststoff GmbH supplying the European market from the company’s headquarters in Willich/Germany, the US marketing & sales office of FKuR Plastics Corp. (Texas/USA) as well as the joint venture SKYi FKuR Biopolymers Pvt Ltd, founded in 2019 and producing in Pune/India.
20 years of bioplastics, 30 years of sustainability
„This year we are not only celebrating 20 years of FKuR, but also more than 30 years of commitment to the circular economy,” emphasizes Managing Director Carmen Michels. FKuR’s roots go back to 1992, when it was founded as a research institute under the name Forschungsinstitut Kunststoff und Recycling (FKuR). Since its beginnings, the company has been dedicated to the topic of sustainability. It all started back then with the question of how plastic products could be better recycled.
When plastics recycling in Germany evolved from its infancy at the end of the 1990s, FKuR focused on the development of biodegradable plastics. This step was followed by the rebranding as FKuR Kunststoff GmbH with the corporate philosophy ‘Plastics made by Nature!’
„For us, nature was and is the best recycler. That’s why, with nature as our guideline and a passion for plastics, we have developed a unique range of bioplastics and recyclable granulates,” explains Patrick Zimmermann. As the company’s history continued, it added biobased distribution products to its own compounds, such as the bio-based I’m green Polyethylene™ (Bio-PE) from Braskem S.A., the Bio-PET from Taiwan’s Fenc Group, and most recently the high-quality post-consumer recyclates from Kaskada Ltd.
Goal: Keep carbon in the cycle
„We are convinced that the future of plastics must be carbon neutral: to protect our planet and for a more responsible use of the limited resources we are given. Therefore, these strategic cooperations were the next logical step for us in our mission ‘Plastics care for Future’,” explains Daniel Peltzer, also Managing Director at FKuR.
Today, FKuR is one of the leading suppliers of sustainable plastic granulates. From bio-based and biodegradable bioplastics to high-quality recyclates, FKuR offers its customers unrivaled product diversity for a wide range of applications and processing methods.
„FKuR’s central philosophy is a new way of thinking about the future plastics age, as problem-ridden and successful at the same time as it currently presents itself. The search for sustainable solutions has become an important part of our DNA. We are grateful and proud that we have been able to make an important contribution to the sustainability of the plastics industry over the past 20 years. Our thanks go first and foremost to the people who make up FKuR, our shareholders, all of whom are active in the company, as well as our employees & staff, who work highly motivated for our success. Guarantor of our success are in the same way the partners who accompany us: Customers, suppliers, development and distribution partners”, says Dr. Edmund Dolfen, founder and visionary and forerunner of FKuR.
