It's K time – and this is the reason why EREMA Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen Ges.m.b.H. of Austria has made its way to Düsseldorf. The company always prepares itself thoroughly for the leading international trade fair for the plastics industry every three years, but for EREMA, K time is not only now, it started at the beginning of the year.

The well-known manufacturer of recycling systems has taken a particularly keen interest in this K trade fair. This year the managing board has stressed the importance of even greater efforts in the preparation of the show. New products, innovations, a bigger stand, more people for visitors to talk to and the presentation of a whole spectrum of services called for a different approach to the ones taken at previous K trade fairs. Besides a multimedia presentation of the well-known products that have become firmly established throughout the world, the emphasis has been on showing that customers' interests go beyond the mere functionality of a recycling machine. EREMA offers its customers an all-inclusive package. A high-performance, reliable system with high availability in production is the indispensable basis. First-class service through competent employees and fast supplies of high-quality spare parts are the icing on the cake. And this is why more specialists than ever before from the managing board, sales, project management, process engineering and service will be available to answer any questions and discuss all aspects. EREMA stands for long-lasting success, support and partnership. And these are exactly the things that people who are interested in EREMA should experience and feel when they come to the stand.

It goes without saying that the latest technologies and innovations which, as always, arouse interest even before the show, have the presence they deserve. The new EREMA TVEplus® series (patent pending) will be presented to the international audience for the first time at the K 2010 trade fair. This recycling system is able to recycle plastics with full-surface, multiple-layer, heavily printed and also highly contaminated plastics to make pellets that are suitable for use in high-quality end products in the plastic film industry, for example. Previously it was not possible to recycle such materials with the quality that is now possible thanks to EREMA TVEplus®. This opens up a new scale of application opportunities for the owner as a result. Customers were also involved the development process which concentrated on significant modifications in the filtration, degassing and homogenisation of polymer melts.

Visitors can take a closer hands-on look at the EREMA 1310 TVEplus® at the EREMA trade fair stand. With a screw diameter of 100 cm this system is ideal for capacities up to 650 kg/h (700 kg/h), depending on the material. The new downstream HG D featuring Direct Drive technology with optimised pellet dewatering screen and the completely new centrifuge series with enhanced drying efficiency will also be presented. With these components in particular the focus was on making maintenance tasks as easy as possible for the operators. Direct access to water filters, dewatering screens and centrifuge screen mean no elaborate disassembly work is necessary when carrying out service work.

In addition to new products and enhanced performance the developers at EREMA have also thought seriously about the environment. The trade fair exhibit features the new EREMA ecoSAVE® technology as a result. This technology reduces the specific energy consumption (which was already low to begin with) by a further 10%. Besides the energy costs, CO2 emissions are also reduced effectively. ecoSAVE® is now a standard feature on all EREMA systems. Saving energy and reducing CO2 are important issues for customers. Public grant programmes are available in certain countries and regions. CIC (Compact Inline Crystallisation) has been developed for the field of PET bottle-to-bottle recycling. PET pellets, made from PET bottle flakes, are crystallised directly after production and without any energy. This process also enables AA (acetaldehyde) values under 1 ppm.

However, not only EREMA but also a closely affiliated company is on the stand. As always, EREMA subsidiary 3S Schnecken + Spindeln + Spiralen Bearbeitungsgesellschaft m.b.H. is joining EREMA at its booth. The power of innovation can be seen here, too. 3S is presenting a wear-protection sleeve made of hardened tool steel for conical twin screw extruders, plus the unique world-first WISCEB (Wear Inspection System for Conical Extruder Barrels). This method enables you to measure the wear on conical twin screw extruders. Analyses are logged using specially customised software and displayed on a tablet PC. The LASEX® (Laser Armoured Screws for Extrusion) process is the third key field that the EREMA subsidiary is presenting at the show. The laser CMB process for extruder screws is a process that was developed in close collaboration with a research institute.

The efforts made by all employees at 3S and EREMA to improve what already exists and create new developments are what make the EREMA group so successful. EREMA is currently experiencing a strong upward trend in its recycling systems in the field of polyolefins. The pressure to minimise overhead costs is increasing. More systems than ever before in the field of PET processing will be shipped this year. Whether you are planning to replace old plants, uneconomical plants with high energy consumption, low capacities and high maintenance or increase your production capacities, EREMA offers an all-inclusive package with an unbeatable price-performance ratio. Short amortisation periods, long-lasting environmentally-friendly technology and premium service are convincing arguments. "The 'overture' for K 2010 has been very encouraging and, to be honest, taken us somewhat by surprise. Such an increase in order intake leading up to the K trade fair is not really typical. But that makes us all the more happy about it," says Manfred Hackl, one of the two CEOs. The excitement will certainly be here to stay until the end of K 2010.