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Enabling a Sustainable Future in Plastics through Application Development
About
Sustainable Polymer Solutions
Our Role in a Solutions Based Community
As a distribution leader, we pride ourselves in collaborating for a sustainable tomorrow.
It’s all in our name, ENGINEERED-TECHNICAL-POLYMERS. Over the past 35 years, Entec has been a leader in recycled & bio-based polymer distribution across the Americas; our technical experts have helped customers troubleshoot a wide range of problems and have engineered sustainable plastic solutions based on the challenges of the market. Now, it is time to take on the next great challenge: creating a sustainable present to ensure a viable future.
At Entec, we are dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions and services that are environmentally and economically sustainable, beyond just the materials we distribute. We believe that at the heart of sustainability is ecological stewardship; responsibly using our natural resources to protect and preserve our environment for future generations.
As a member of the Ravago Group, Entec is proud of its foundation in sustainability. Ravago was established as a recycling center when founder, Raf Van Gorp, saw potential in discarded products.
At Entec, we challenge ourselves to implement this novel way of thinking across our business to advocate for responsible behavior. Looking to our roots and building off of Ravago’s Four Pillars of Sustainability, Entec has identified its core competencies which have helped us improve our strategy.
The responsibility falls on everyone to be a contributing member of the solution community. It is our mission to lead and inspire collaboration to develop comprehensive solutions in plastics distribution through our Core Principles of Sustainability. These Principles will guide us as we work towards a more sustainable future, starting with what we can do today.
SOLUTION COMMUNITY
Plastics play an essential role in everyday life, making it safer and easier. At the heart of our sustainability mission is our group of passionate team members advocating for responsible behavior to protect the longevity of our environment. Knowing that great change cannot be achieved alone; Entec is educating and inspiring a like-minded community of employees, service providers, customers, and industry partners to take action and promote ecological stewardship. This collaboration ignites our passion to be responsible for our community behaviors and we will continue to provide plastic developments and product offerings that promote a circular economy.
MATERIALS
Valued relationships with suppliers allow us to provide our customers with innovative sustainable material options. Our line card includes recycled, bio-based, and compostable polymers. We continue to develop new innovative technologies and relationships with sustainably minded companies that provide products that meet our quality standards and help our customers achieve their sustainability targets.
DEVELOPMENT & DESIGN
Our experienced applications engineering group has worked to adapt the way we use and design materials to improve environmental and economic impact, promoting energy and material efficiency. By light weighting conventional products and optimizing design to facilitate recycling, we are able to reduce consumption and provide a new life for materials. Skilled process expertise in bio-based, recycled, and compostable resins allows us to replace traditional plastics while maintaining product integrity. We improve manufacturing efficiency by optimizing cycle times and increasing capacity on existing equipment.
SUPPLY CHAIN
Entec consistently seeks optimization in our supply chain to reduce our carbon footprint. With strategic placement of inventory, dedicated shipping partners, and our logistics expertise, Entec aims to reduce road wear and emissions by minimizing miles travelled.
SERVICES
Through our Ravago network, Entec is able to offer recycling and collection services, as well as assistance in guiding our customers along their sustainability journey. Ravago has partnered with industry leaders in advanced and mechanical recycling to offer our customers a novel means to redirect traditional waste into a closed-loop circular economy. Additionally, our material and supply chain expertise allow us to develop comprehensive life cycle analyses to help form and achieve our customers’ goals.
At Entec, we are dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions and services that are environmentally and economically sustainable, beyond just the materials we distribute. We believe that at the heart of sustainability is ecological stewardship - responsibly using our natural resources to protect and preserve our environment for future generations. The responsibility falls on everyone to be a contributing member of the solution community. It is our mission to lead and inspire collaboration to develop comprehensive sustainable plastic solutions that will guide us as we work towards a more sustainable future, starting with what we can do TODAY!
Watch Our Video
Learn more about our Core Principles of Sustainability and how Entec can help you reach your sustainability goals.
OUR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT SOLUTIONS
RECYCLABLE
Entec Polymers prides itself on being a leading supplier of engineering thermoplastics. Most thermoplastic materials can easily be recycled and re-processed several times during the manufacturing of parts and components. Here are some example polymers that can easily be melted and re-melted several times over:
- Acetal (POM)
- Acrylic, Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA)
- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
- Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA)
- Cyclic Olefin Copolymers (COC)
- Olefin Block Copolymers (OBC)
- Polyamide (PA)
- Polybutylene (PB)
- Polycarbonate (PC)
- Polyethylene (PE)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polystyrene (PS)
- Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN)
- Styrene Butadiene Block Copolymer (SBC)
If your process requires the use of recycled or reprocessed resins, Entec can also provide masterbatch additives as well as recommendations on how to reduce brittleness, discoloration, yellowing, gel formation, melt fracture, or other processing challenges that can be associated with processing recycled resins.
RECYCLING
With so many materials available for recycling, Entec has taken an active role as a supplier of post-industrial and post-consumer reprocessed resins. We offer a range of polymer types based on post-industrial recycled, post-consumer recycled, or a combination of post-industrial and post-consumer recycled resins. The recycled resins are often used at 100% or as a blend component with virgin resins to reduce cost and reduce the amount of virgin resin needed. Entec offers recycled resins based on PA 6, PA 66, PE, PP, PC, ABS, PET and PETG. Offering a wide range of recycled resins helps us to divert millions of pounds per year of resin that might otherwise end up in landfills.
Some products that are produced through our recycle partnership channels include:
- Celanese IMPET® Recycled Polyester
- Entec ECHO® Recycled ABS, Polyethylene, Polypropylene
- Entec HYLEX® Recycled Polycarbonate
- INEOS STYROLUTION ZYLAR® Ultra Black Recycled MBS
- Ravago Manufacturing EZPrene® R Recycled TPV
- Ravago Manufacturing MABLEX® R Recycled PC/ABS
- Ravago Manufacturing MAFILL® Recycled Polypropylene
- Ravago Manufacturing RAVATUF® R Recycled TPO
Entec also offers a full line of HYLON® Post-Industrial recycled Nylon 6 and 66 compounds and EnViramid® post-consumer recycled Nylon 6 and 66 compounds. EnViramid® compounds are UL 11CA26632ECV certified to contain 100% post-consumer resin.
- Neat PA 6 and 6/6
- Glass and/or mineral reinforced PA 6 and 6/6
- Impact modified PA 6 and 6/6
BIO-BASED & COMPOSTABLE
More and more OEMs and customer are demanding compostable, biodegradable or bio-based polymers. Because of this, Entec offers a range of compostable and bio-based resins to meet our customers’ demands for sustainability. Because of strong market demand for these types of products, Entec is continuing to expand our portfolio and supplier base for these types of products.
EMS-GRIVORY Grilamid®
EMS Grilamid® products are a variety of bio-based nylon compounds.
Grilamid® TR 2S
- Transparent nylon resin produced using renewal resources (castor oil derivatives).
- High bio-based content.
- Excellent transparency and natural color.
- Low density, high gloss and good scratch resistance.
Grilamid® 1S and 2S
- PA 1010 and PA610 resins produced using renewable resources (castor oil derivatives).
- High to very high bio-based content.
- Low density and low moisture absorption.
- Good UV and chemical resistance.
- From flexible to high stiffness grades available.
- Unfilled and glass reinforced grades available.
BioLogiQ NuPlastiQ®
BioLogiQ NuPlastiQ® are bio-polymers made from amorphous GP resin, which is 100% natural and plant based.
- Based on renewable resources.
- 100% USDA bio-based content.
- Some grades meet ASTM 6400 and EN13432 compostable standards.
- A wide range of grades available.
DOWN-GAUGING
In addition to our material offerings, our technical experts have experience working with customers to provide down-gauging opportunities for their packaging products. Our down-gauging solutions can reduce the amount of material being use, while maintaining or improving overall performance. We also help our customers to improve the overall recyclability of their flexible or rigid packaging applications. We also provide solutions to help lightweight many applications. Light weighting not only reduces the amount of material being used, but it can also reduce fuel costs during shipping as well as in end use applications such as automotive interior, exterior and under-hood components. We also work with customer to replace other engineering materials with plastic. This not only reduced weight, but plastics have also been proven to be more environmentally friendly because they use less energy and less natural resources during their manufacture. When plastic technology can replace heavier materials, such as glass, metal or wood, significant environmental benefits can be achieved. If your design needs are open to plastic material options, contact us to help you choose a polymer that can meet your design, performance and sustainability needs.
FAQ's
What is PIR?
PIR stands for “Post-Industrial Recycled,” which refers to resin that is derived from the production process of virgin resins. PIR is an excellent option for applications requiring higher performance over PCR.
What is PCR?
PCR stands for “Post-Consumer Recycled,” which refers to resin that is derived from materials recycled directly from the consumer (e.g., plastic water bottles or store bags). Utilizing PCR resins offers the most significant impact on eliminating plastic waste.
Are PIR and PCR materials certified products?
Entec has a team specifically focused on obtaining certifications for recycled products. We are happy to explore material certification requirements for our customers.
What is Advanced Recycling?
Advanced recycling also known as chemical recycling, breaks down polymer materials into their fundamental building blocks (monomers). This allows for a new polymerization of the recycled material.
What is OBP?
OBP stands for “Ocean Bound Plastic,” which refers to plastic materials that are intercepted in coastal areas before having the opportunity to become marine debris. Capturing and repurposing this plastic waste is critical in stopping plastic pollution in our oceans.
What are Bio-Based Resins?
The term Bio-Based Resins refers to products that primarily consist of substrates derived from living matter, which either occur naturally or are synthesized. Bio-based and compostable polymers are often categorized as biopolymers. However, each product offers different functionality. A bio-based product is not always compostable, and a compostable product is not always bio-based.
What are Compostable Resins?
The term Compostable Resins refers to products that undergo degradation by biological processing during composting to yield carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass. Compostable Resins may be biodegradable under the right conditions, but not every plastic that is biodegradable is compostable.
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