Getzner continues to expand recycling and material cycles

Getzner Werkstoffe focuses on sustainability when it comes to vibration protection in the railway, construction and industrial sectors. In addition to the durability of the applied solutions, which has been proven by studies, Getzner is increasingly focussing on the recycling of the polyurethane materials used for this purpose. Getzner has been driving forward the establishment of material cycles, product development and production based on various recycling technologies across the market for some time now. In autumn 2023, an independent subsidiary, Getzner Circular Technologies GmbH, was founded for this purpose. The acquisition of shares in the Italian acoustics company and recycling specialist Isolgomma Srl at the beginning of this year also contributes to this endeavour.

In August 2024, Getzner Werkstoffe Holding GmbH acquired 60 per cent of the shares in TecInn GmbH. The owner-managed company, which was founded in 2016, is based in Bludenz in Vorarlberg and has a production site in Hornstein in Burgenland. It specialises in the processing of plastics and the production of composites. “For the sake of sustainability, we want to utilise the advantage that our products and materials are very durable even more intensively through recycling. For this purpose, we have founded an independent subsidiary, Getzner Circular Technologies, and we are utilising synergies with our participations for the benefit of our customers,” emphasises Jürgen Rainalter, CEO of Getzner.

The business activities of TecInn are based on many years of experience in the circular economy, particularly in the processing of plastics. The recycling specialist uses innovative technologies and customised engineering to extend the life cycles of plastics and to establish material cycles. ‘The production systems are designed for the industrial processing and production of polymers and are state of the art, for example for shredding, separation, compounding and extrusion,’ explains Lucas Brändle, general manager of TecInn. Getzner will particularly utilise the technology for pressing granulates to create material cycles in the field of vibration isolation. ‘We are jointly trialling different methods in mechanical recycling and are making good progress. With TecInn's technology and capacities, we are considerably speeding up the process to market maturity,’ explains Christian Loretz, Chief Development Officer at Getzner and Managing Director of Getzner Circular Technologies.

The newly developed material Relomer made from pure polyurethane granulate is the latest result of the research endeavours. It is already available for selected applications in vibration protection ‘We have been able to develop a recycling process that retains all the key properties of polyurethane, namely durability, performance reliability and maintenance-free operation. We are really proud that we can already offer our customers a high-quality, marketable polyurethane recycling product,’ concludes Christian Loretz from Getzner. Relomer will be presented to the trade public at InnoTrans, the leading international rail trade fair in Berlin, at the end of September 2024.

Getzner's solutions are sustainable in two ways: on the one hand, as elastic bearings they extend the service life of components by protecting them from premature wear and reducing maintenance costs. On the other hand, the materials used can be used as secondary raw materials over several life cycles without any significant loss of performance.