Thai firm focuses on PET recycling; targeting packaging sector
Thai plastic product manufacturer Royce Universal Co is utilising Austrian recycling machinery maker Starlinger’s recoSTAR PET 165 HC iV+ PET recycling line to recycle around 15,000 tonnes/year of post-consumer PET, turning it into food-contact material for packaging applications.
In addition to rPET sheet produced from PET bottle flakes, Royce offers certified high-quality food-grade recycled PET pellets under the brand name PetaRoyce. The company invested in PET bottle-to-bottle recycling technology from Starlinger in 2023.
The recoSTAR PET 165 HC iV+ installed at Royce’s production site in Nakhon Pathom Province 50 km from Bangkok turns washed PET flakes into food-contact rPET pellets and has a production capacity of up to 1,800 kg/hour.
Starlinger adds that the decontamination capacity of its PET bottle-to-bottle recycling process has been approved by many international brand owners as well as authorities such as FDA and EFSA and guarantees sustainable and food-safe feedstock for food and beverage packaging applications.
Royce uses the food-contact rPET in its own sheet production and supplies it to brand owners and beverage producers for mineral water and soft drinks in Thailand as well as in the US, Australia and Japan.
“Through our various partners in Thailand we are working on developing a truly circular economy,” said Touchawatt Techamongkoljit, CEO of Royce.
In one of its current projects, Royce plans to expand its operations and recycle used PET bottles collected in the south of Thailand. The produced rPET pellets will be shipped back for producing food-contact packaging in the region.
“In addition, we want to enable Extended Producer Responsibility by developing a traceability system that uses blockchain technology to prevent greenwashing. These are a few of our steps to support and drive the use of sustainable recycled materials in various applications like food and beverage packaging, cosmetic packaging, or home appliances and houseware,” Techamongkoljit added.
Founded in 1970 as Thai Creative Lighting Co for the manufacture, import and distribution of decorative lamps, the company diversified in the following years to include the production of furniture and household items made of plastic under the name Modern Furniture Ltd. In 2000, the company Royce Universal Co was established for the manufacture and distribution of packaging sheets, roofing and decking made of plastic.
After restructuring measures in 2020, Royce Universal Co now acts as a corporate company for the existing businesses, its core areas being furniture and houseware, building materials, food and beverage packaging (sheet extrusion and thermoforming) and rPET production. In 2023, Royce created the brand PetaRoyce for marketing the food-contact rPET it produces on the Starlinger recycling line.
Royce operates three production sites located close to each other in the town of Sam Phran, Nakhon Pathom Province in Central Thailand, and employs more than 500 people.
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