Plastics News - Show Daily - October 17, 2024 - 7

FAKUMA 2024
Plastics News, October 17, 2024 * 7
'Growth is
mandatory'
for Sirmax
By Jim Johnson
Plastics News Staff
Standing pat is not an option
for Sirmax SpA.
The Cittadella, Italy-based plastics
compounder and recycler,
which has already spent €180 million
($196 million) in recent years
to expand operations around the
world, expects to spend another
€30 million ($32 million) with an
eye toward growth in both the
United States and India.
CEO Massimo Pavin was just
settling in at the Sirmax booth
on the first day of the Fakuma
trade show in Friedrichshafen,
Germany, shortly after the
doors swung open when he talked
about the trends driving his
company's growth plans.
" First of all, I think that our
business, our sector, is a sector
where the number of the players
is decreasing and the size
of the players is increasing. I
mean, there are a lot of movements
about merger and acquisition, "
he said.
" The playground is the same,
but the players are bigger and
bigger. So, I don't think that in
the present, the future, there
will be enough room for the
small companies. So, the best
answer is that growth is mandatory, "
Pavin added.
Sirmax already has
existing operations in
the U.S. and India, but
it sees the need for
more growth to better
serve each market. In
the U.S., that means continuing
to expand the company's manufacturing
compound in Anderson,
Ind., that currently handles
polypropylene compounding
and recycling.
While plans are still being
formulated - Sirmax expects
to firm up decisions in 2025 -
Pavin talked about bringing additional
resin capabilities there
to more closely match what
the company already offers in
Europe. That could include the
inclusion of engineered resins.
" We are quite strong in Europe,
where we have six plants
and where we are present since
60 years. And we defi nitely want
to develop the new markets and
the U.S. for us. I mean, North
America is the most important,
the most promising, " Pavin said.
Not only is the company looking
to introduce engineered
plastics to the Anderson location
but also Sirmax has room
to further expand the polyolefins
business.
" The idea is to have in North
America the entire range of
products that we have in Europe.
That means continuous
investments there, " Pavin said.
" We are exporting now from Europe
to U.S. Once the volume
could be quite signifi -
cant, we can move the
production there. "
In India, where it
already has two facilities,
the company is
eyeing a third site in
the southern part, in
Hosur, Tamil Nadu.
That location, planned
for 2026, will complement
existing company
locations in the east
at Valsad, Gujarat, near
Mumbai, and in the
north at Palwal, Haryana,
near New Delhi.
Sirmax is keen on
spending money to expand
in the U.S. thanks
to the growth it is experiencing
in that market,
about 20 percent
in 2023, the CEO said.
Sirmax has been
around for six decades,
but it has
only gotten into recycling
in the past fi ve
years. As a privately
We are quite
strong in
Europe, where we
have six plants
and where we are
present since 60
years. And we
defi nitely want
to develop the
new markets and
the U.S. for us.
I mean, North
America is the most
important, the most
promising. "
Massimo Pavin
Sirmax SpA
SIRMAX SPA
B2-2209
held company by Pavin and his
brothers, the company has had
the fl exibility to roll profi ts back
into expanding recycling in a big
way, he explained.
The company also
has used debt to
help fund production
growth, but the CEO
said his fi rm carefully
weighs the amount of
debt it takes on when determining
how to fund new projects.
" It is another advantage of the
private-owned company that can
really decide in which way to use
the money that comes from the
net profi t. And then more often I
sit down around the table with my
brothers and say this year I want
to leave the money in the company
because we need to grow up.
Some other years we can have
some dividends, " Pavin said. " We
are ready. We are fl exible. "
While the company is more
definitive about plans to expand
in both the U.S. and India,
there are also aspirations to
eventually create production in
Mexico, he said.
Pavin recently was in the U.S.
to attend a conference, and he
said he found that the country
is further ahead in sustainability
than people there realize.
At Fakuma, along with talking
about growth plans, Sirmax is
highlighting compounds targeted
to the automotive industry
as well as formulations for the
electrical and appliance sector
made from post-consumer plastics,
the company said.
Plastics News photo by Jim Johnson
E-series
energy-efficient
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Spritzgiessautomaten
E-Series
BOY 25 E
BOY 125 E
Hall A7
Servo-Drive
Booth 7101
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Plastics News - Show Daily - October 17, 2024

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