RES acquires PLA production facility

Recupero Etico Sostenibile (RES) has acquired from Petalo Due a business unit comprising a plant for the production of polylactic acid (PLA), together with the related machinery and equipment, contracts, certifications, trademarks, patents and operating permits required for the conduct of the business. The facility is located in Termoli (Campobasso, Italy), and the transaction was completed for a consideration of 2.7 million euros, funded through the company’s internal cash resources.

The plant has an annual production capacity of 5,000 tonnes based on Sulzer technology, one of the world’s leading suppliers of such solutions. According to current projections, it is expected to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2027, creating 20 new jobs. Once fully ramped up, from 2028 onwards it is expected to generate annual revenues of approximately 20-25 million euros.

PLA is the polymer underpinning the production of biodegradable and compostable plastics. It is derivedfrom a range of natural feedstocks, including sugar cane, sugar beet, maize, cassava, cellulose, algae and biomass, and is used in a wide variety of applications such as tableware, flacons, bottles and other items manufactured using the main plastics processing technologies, from injection moulding to extrusion, from blow moulding to thermoforming, through to 3D printing.

The transaction will enable RES to extend its operations across the entire recycling and bioplastics value chain and “forms part of a clearly defined corporate strategy aimed at strengthening RES’s position as a leading industrial player in the circular economy, environmental sustainability and green chemistry sectors, with a high degree of innovation, as a producer of polymers derived from renewable and natural sources,” explained Antonio Lucio Valerio, CEO of RES.