Teknor Apex Studies Feasibility of U.S. Vinyloop (R) Plant for Recovering Reusable Flexible Vinyl from Composites

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Company Wants to Hear from Potential Sources of Scrap Wire and Cable, Home-Furnishing, Automotive, and Other Composites, Particularly Firms that Would Buy Back Recovered Vinyl

PAWTUCKET, RI, U.S.A., June 3, 2004: A study by Teknor Apex could lead to construction of a U.S. plant for recovering high-quality flexible vinyl compound from wire and cable, coated fabric, and other composites that until now have defied efforts to separate and recover the constituent materials economically, it was announced today by Teknor Apex.

The study, to be completed by the end of 2004, will determine if the resource stream of scrap composites and the number of customers for recovered compound are sufficiently great to warrant a U.S. venture to implement Solvay’s Vinyloop (R) technology. This process dissolves the vinyl, separates it from other materials, and precipitates the regenerated compound in the form of micro-granules containing PVC resin and additives like plasticizers and stabilizers. The compound can be pelletized for an added cost.

“Properties of flexible vinyl recovered by the Vinyloop process are nearly identical to those of the original formulation,” said Peter M. Galland, Vinyloop project manager for Teknor Apex. “In addition, the process could be employed to recover and recycle in pure form any non-vinyl substrate that is comprised of only one material and has reuse value.”

Teknor Apex is seeking input from potential participants who could supply annual resource streams in excess of 250,000 pounds of the vinyl component and would buy back the recovered vinyl at 70 to 80% of the original cost. Besides wire and cable companies, likely participants would include manufacturers of products as diverse as automotive instrument panel skins, wall coverings, and flooring.

Interested participating companies should contact Galland at pgalland@teknorapex.com with information on the annual volume of their composite scrap, their interest (if any) in
recovering the non-vinyl substrate, and their willingness to buy back the recovered compound at 70 to 80% of the original cost.

“A Vinyloop plant in the U.S. could solve the scrap-disposal problems faced by many manufacturers of vinyl composite products and do so in a way that actually helps them reduce their raw material costs,” Galland said. “At the same time, it could enable these companies to
address important social concerns about resource conservation and elimination of landfill.”

Solvay developed the Vinyloop process in the 1990s and in 2002 started up the first plant based on the process in Ferrara, Italy. This demonstration facility has a nominal annual capacity to recover approximately 19 million lb. (8,500 metric tons) of vinyl compound from a composite waste stream of 22 million lb. (10,000 tons). Recently Solvay and a venture partner in Japan announced plans to build a commercial-scale Vinyloop plant in that country, with startup planned for 2005.

For more information on the Vinyloop process, visit www.vinyloop.com.