With a new extrusion line, Bachmann Forming has been producing PET film from recycled material itself since April 2025. The investment enables a closed cycle and already fulfils the requirements of the EU packaging regulation for 2030.
With the new PETEX extrusion line, the Bachmann Group says it is taking a strategic step towards vertical integration and a circular economy: since April 2025, the packaging specialist has been producing its PET films in-house from recycled materials that come directly from the Swiss collection system.
The total investment of 5.5 million Swiss francs marks a milestone in the company's „future-proof packaging“ strategy.
Technology and process: From flake to food-safe film
The new line consists of several highly developed process steps:
- Crystallisation: Heating the ground material to over 120 °C to increase the viscosity
- Decontamination: Superclean process with up to 99.5 % cleaning performance for food-compliant rPET
- Extrusion: Melting and smoothing into films with thicknesses of 0.15-1.8 mm
The line achieves a production capacity of 1,200 kg/h and processes up to 7,200 tonnes of PET per year.
PAC2PAC: The closed loop becomes visible
The PAC2PAC system, which is based on the recycling of used PET packaging, is the centrepiece of the sustainability strategy. Used packaging is collected, decontaminated, extruded and reprocessed into new, food-safe containers - without downcycling, as they say.
Even the punching grids produced during the process (approx. 30 percent during thermoforming) are recycled internally and reused - around 2,000 tonnes of material per year.
Source: Bachmann Group
