Graft Polymer (UK) PLC has signed a research and development and supply agreement with Empresas Vilher, a Mexican company that specialises in wood plastic composite, plastic recycling and high-performance compounds.
Work has been underway with a technical team from Vilher for several months on a variety of modified polymer projects, Graft Polymer added, and this has led to a formal 12-month R&D and supply agreement.
Wood plastic composite (WPC) is made from waste wood bonded together with a binding agent, where Graft believes its GRAFTABOND product leads the field in trials in several polymer matrices.
The global WPC market is projected to grow from US$6.4 billion in 2022 to US$15.3 billion by 2030, while the plastic recycling market should hit almost US$60 billion by 2026 when high-performance compounds could be worth US$87 billion.
Victor Bolduev, Graft Polymer’s chief executive, said: "The constructive commercial relationship between Graft and Vilher continues to grow.
“The technical teams are working on some exciting projects together which will hopefully lead to firm supply orders for our newly commissioned facility in Borovnica, Slovenia."
Cesar Casillas, Vilher’s MD, added: "Graft's pioneering polymer technology makes them a natural partner for our work in the field of plastic recycling.”