The Swiss trading group Meraxis and the leading integrated Central and Eastern European oil, gas and petrochemical company MOL Group are entering into a strategic partnership. They will be joining forces to forge ahead with the development and production of polyolefins re-compounds in the future. The aim is to develop and produce high-quality recycle-based compounds and then distribute them worldwide.
Meraxis will supply MOL Group with high-quality, post-consumer recycled materials going forward to be blended with MOL virgin polyolefins resins. Using the combined compounding knowledge of Meraxis and MOL Group, a new product portfolio will be developed and firstly it is planned to be produced at Aurora Kunststoffe GmbH, a member of MOL Group in Germany. Distribution will be the responsibility of both partners in the future. The partnership will create a unique value proposition to the customers by providing competence in the entire product value chain from sourcing, compounding, sales to technical service. Managing directors of both companies signed a joint letter of intent on the cooperation.
“MOL Group is a key strategic partner for us. As one of the leading polymer manufacturers in Europe, MOL Group has been committed to a closed-loop circular economy for years now,” said Dr. Stefan Girschik, CEO of the Meraxis Group. “We aim to use the combined expertise of the two companies to meet the increasing demand for high-quality plastic recyclates in the automotive, construction and packaging industries. The potential offered by recyclates in the manufacture of high-quality plastic products is still far from exhausted. Strategic cooperations like this one, however, allow us to take a key step towards optimized recycling management,” he added.
“Compounding is an important avenue for the transformational journey to become a leading chemical player in the Central and Eastern European region. As regulations and customer preferences are continuously changing, MOL Group has identified the importance of using recycled material, no matter the industry. The partnership will allow us to quickly develop recyclate re-compounds that meet the customer’s requirements and complement our virgin compounding development. This partnership will give us access to top-quality raw material sources and we will continue our international distribution networks to supply recycled materials in the desired quantity and quality. In addition, Meraxis has extensive expertise spanning the entire value chain and together we want to accelerate on the road to reach our sustainability goals,” emphasized Gabriel Szabó, MOL Group’s Executive Vice President of Downstream.
As one of the leading European polymer manufacturers, MOL Group has been expanding its petrochemical business for years now. MOL Group entered compounding with the acquisition of Aurora Kunststoffe in November 2019 and is continuing its “Enter Tomorrow 2030” strategy aiming to transition from traditional fuel-based business model in its Downstream division to higher value-added petrochemical product portfolio. The company is aiming to establish itself as the market leader for recycling and compounding in Central and Eastern Europe.
Meraxis has been on the market for more than one year following the merger of the two global Swiss companies MB Barter & Trading and REHAU GmbH, the latter being responsible among others for global production material supply for the REHAU Group. The company has been expanding its portfolio of prime and recycled materials on an ongoing basis ever since. In order to achieve this, the distributor works with numerous partners and suppliers to offer re-granulates and re-compounds in the desired quality and quantity to companies across the globe via a one-stop shop.