Addiplast: Always at the cutting edge of innovation!

Introduce us to Addiplast ?
We are a group of 160 employees specialising in compounding: development, industrialisation, production and marketing of compounds and masterbatches. Our 3 production sites are all ISO 14001/9001 and IATF 16949 certified: Addiplast and Addikem in Saint-Pal-de-Mons (43), and Addicolor in Villers-St-Paul (60) near Paris. Our expertise in the formulation and manufacture of these products covers a wide range of thermoplastics (polyolefines, polyamides, polyesters, polycarbonates, styrenics and biobased polymers). Our annual production is around 40,000 tonnes. To do this, we have the corotative twin-screw extrusion and comalaxer technologies to meet the needs of the automotive, 4E (electrical, electro-technical, electronics & energy), cosmetics, health, packaging and consumer goods sectors. We add a variety of enhanced properties to base polymers, such as fire resistance, reinforcement, lightweighting, densification, coloration and visual effects. Around 10% of our workforce is dedicated to R&D, and our two research centres(AddiScience) enable us to design our own products, develop new materials and create new applications in co-development with our customers and offer tollcompounding or sub-contracting services. Every year, we develop nearly 300 new formulations and carry out over 800 R&D tests. Addiplast has a strong culture of innovation, which is reflected in its history of participation in ambitious collaborative projects, involving public and private players to develop innovative breakthrough products.

What can you offer the rubber, plastics and composites industries?
We offer them comprehensive expertise in product development. We accompany them through every stage of their projects: from formulation to the development or fiabilization of the extrusion process, from industrialization to scale-up. Our R&D, production, sales and support teams work with our customers to meet their specific needs (compliance with their specifications, technical and economic optimization of their products). We also offer a catalogue range of quality products. We therefore offer both catalog and customized solutions, perfectly suited to all our customers.

You've developed a new life cycle assessment tool. Tell us about it.
The growing demand from our customers for information on LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), i.e. the evaluation of the various environmental impacts of our products (global warming, eutrophication of aquatic environments, soil acidifi cation...) has prompted us to look for the most efficacious ways of calculating and quantifierating them independently. The LCA software available on the market did not satisfy us, as we were looking for a tool totally adapted to the specific cities of our business. To meet these requirements, we worked with a leading company in this field to equip ourselves with a tool capable of managing the variety of formulations while preserving the confidentiality of our production recipes and guaranteeing the fi ability of the results. Our LCA results are then used by our customers who, in turn, integrate the environmental footprint of their transformation phase to arrive at the complete LCA of the final part.

What needs will it meet?
Ecodesign is central to our business, enabling us to develop thermoplastic products with low environmental impact throughout their life cycle, and to promote circular economics. As of fin 2022, as part of the automotive manufacturers' panelization, we have had to submit old and new grades for approval, mentioning the environmental impact of our compounds on global warming (kg CO2 equivalent / kg). We have also collaborated with players in the cosmetics sector to offer them more environmentally-friendly solutions right from the early R&D phases. As part of collaborative projects, we have used this LCA tool to identify compounds with the best environmental compromise. Our aim is to provide our customers with the environmental information they need, and to offer compounds with lower environmental impact. At Addiplast, innovation and the environment go hand in hand for a more sustainable future.

What other issues are you working on?
We are pursuing our R&D projects to maximize the incorporation of recycled raw materials in all sectors of the plastics industry. Our approach is to guarantee the fiables and reproducible properties of our compounds while minimizing their environmental impact. In parallel, we have developed a range of Addibio Renew® compounds incorporating natural fibers to lighten products in the transport sector, while improving their mechanical and environmental properties. In addition, we are working on the development of products for sports and leisure applications. We are also exploring the 3D printing market. In addition, we are proud of providing tailor-made solutions to our customers, while respecting regulatory standards and doing so by investing in cutting-edge tools and technologies. Today, we are ready to respond to new market demands with agility and efficiency. Addiplast Group was also awarded the Ecovadis silver medal for its CSR performance.