Sicut Enterprises and Regain Polymers have signed exclusive agreement for the European manufacture of Sicut’s structural recycled plastic composites, including its railway sleeper, Ecotrax.
Benefits of the partnership for UK and European customers include reduced lead times, lower prices and reduced carbon footprint.
Under the agreement, Regain will manufacture all of Sicut’s products for its European customers. Production, starting this summer, will initially be delivered from Regain’s established manufacturing plant in Allerton Bywater, West Yorkshire, but is expected to extend to other parts of the UK or Europe over the next three years. Sicut expects to be converting in excess of 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste per annum into its products by the end of 2018.
The merging of Sicut’s technology with the manufacturing expertise of Regain will accelerate the European adoption of Sicut’s structural composite materials made from Europe’s growing recycled plastic waste stream. This will help address growing demands for durable materials to replace timber, especially in railway infrastructure, but also in the highway and maritime sectors. It will also provide a local, valuable and recognisable home for considerable volumes of domestic and commercial waste streams, generated daily across Europe.
The Sicut/Regain partnership will deliver further economic and environmental benefits to UK and European customers, with reduced lead times, lower prices and reduced carbon footprint. In particular, the manufacture of Ecotrax railway sleepers will provide European rail infrastructure owners, such as Network Rail, with a much sought after solution to the European ban on the use of creosote treatment for timber sleepers effective from May 2018.
Chief Executive of Sicut, William Mainwaring, said: “We are delighted that Regain have agreed to become our European Manufacturing partner. As the UK’s leading recycled polymer compounder, Regain understands the importance of quality control and can apply their in-depth knowledge of polymers, recycling and extrusion manufacturing to produce consistent high quality products using our unique licensed technology.
The manufacture of our structural composites here in the UK, including our Ecotrax railway sleeper, will not only offer significant benefits to our European customers but will also be welcomed by the UK plastics recycling industry as it battles to meet ever more challenging UK and European recycling targets.”
Managing Director of Regain Polymers Limited, Michael Eidecker, said: “Ever since Regain and Sicut started the discussions surrounding this partnership, we felt it was one of the greatest opportunities for Regain in its recent history. We are delighted that this partnership has been established and that Regain will be able to contribute to the significant positive change in the use of what is commonly considered to be waste plastic.
We are extremely pleased to be working with Sicut to partner them in this exciting business and it is a real testament to the skill and knowledge of everyone at the Allerton Bywater site. We now look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with Sicut, delivering this unique structural recycled plastic composite.”