Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials Acquires European Carbon Fiber Recycling Company - CFK™ / carboNXT®
Key acquisitions, such as this one, will continue to strengthen the company's ability to offer innovative solutions to the Global market as a leader in not only Engineered Polymers, but also within the carbon fiber composite industry, reinforcing their mission to generate a recycling-based society.
VREDEN, Germany, July 30, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Effective today, July 30, 2020, Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials is privileged to announce that they have acquired the assets of two German carbon fiber recycling companies - CFK Valley Stade Recycling GmbH and Co. KG™ (CFK™) and carboNXT® GmbH (carboNXT®). These strategic acquisitions are part of the vertically integrated company's circular economy approach to business, which contrasts the traditional linear economy model of production. Based on Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group's (MCHC) Management Strategy, KAITEKI Vision30, circular economy is the main driving factor in their realization of KAITEKI, and is achievable through strategic acquisitions such as this one.
Ron Denoo, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials agrees that, "This acquisition enables us to fully extend our position in the carbon fiber market, by providing a sustainable solution to a major problem in today's production environments - manufacturing waste and end of life parts. We are excited to bring this to our customers, and to help them realize the benefits of using recycled materials and contents in their products." Tim Rademacker, President of CFK™ and carboNXT®, added that "This announcement marks another important step in our success story. Customers, employees, and stakeholders will benefit from Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials' Global reach and experience, and CFK™ / carboNXT® will continue its focus on providing innovative carbon fiber composite solutions to Global mobility markets, and beyond."
With their own network to collect carbon fiber waste products, CFK™ has built a strong reputation as a leading solutions provider for customers in mobility-related industries. Another competitive advantage that CFK™ offers is their advanced proprietary technology that breaks down carbon fiber waste, and converts this material into various usable forms of carbon fiber. In turn, carboNXT® sells these CFK™-recycled products back into the market, which closes the circular loop.
Recently Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials acquired c-m-p GmbH, a carbon fiber prepreg manufacturer, as well as the Minger Group, an Engineering Plastics recycling company. With this latest acquisition of CFK™ and carboNXT®, Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials is now well-equipped to support the lifecycle of carbon fiber from creation, to re-use, and to re-sale. Furthermore, Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials has a variety of composite materials in their portfolio that will benefit from recycled carbon fiber, helping their customers achieve the right balance of improved performance and more sustainable / economical solutions.
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) has already experienced a significant amount of success employing a similar model in Japan where they have been recycling carbon fiber through its subsidiary, Shinryo Corporation. In the future, MCC will offer total turnkey solutions that include waste recycling to customers by using recycled products as raw materials within the group. Ultimately, key acquisitions such as this one will continue to strengthen Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials' ability to offer innovative solutions to the Global market as a leader in not only Engineered Polymers, but also within the carbon fiber composite industry, reinforcing their mission to generate a recycling-based society.
About KAITEKI
KAITEKI is an original concept of MCHC that proposes a way forward in the sustainable development of society and the planet, in addition to serving as a guide for solving environmental and social issues.
About Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials
With more than 80 years of experience, 30 branch offices in 20 countries, and a team of technical service experts, engineers, and application development managers, Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials** is the Global, vertically integrated leader for researching, developing, and manufacturing high-performance materials. Our products make the world a safer place by providing solutions across all industries- food processing and packaging, aerospace and defense, semiconductor, oil and gas, medical and life sciences, renewable energy, construction and heavy equipment, and electronics.
Registered trademarks of Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials include: Acetron®,
CleanStat®, Duratron®, Ertalyte®, Ertalene®, Ertalon®, Fluorosint®, Ketron®, Nylatron®, Proteus®, Sanalite®, Semitron®, Techtron®, KyronMAX® and TIVAR®.
**Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials, formerly Quadrant EPP, was officially named on April 1st, 2019.
SOURCE Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials Inc.
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