Technical plastics recycling firm Luxus has invested £600,000 to build a research and development facility.
The new 750 sq m laboratory will equip Luxus with the facilities it needs to accelerate its technical development of high performance thermoplastic polymers with a high recycled content, primarily for global automotive needs.
Its customers include Nissan, Ford, Jaguar, BMW and Renault.
Luxus managing director Peter Atterby said: “Our team will be housed in a new state of the art facility that will enable them to continue to undertake thermoplastic polymer testing, development and analysis research work that provides bespoke solutions for niche market needs.
“For example, we are achieving improvements in compound design through a new European collaboration project that focuses on the technical aspects of recycled polymers in car interiors.
“It has recently led to the development of a new lightweight polymer, Hycolene, that reduces interior component weight to enable manufacturers meet tough CO2 targets and its route to market will no doubt be speeded up thanks to the lab.
“Our manufacturing processes will also improve as it will no longer be necessary to take out a production machine to run our on-going development work, such as compatibilisation of polymer alloys and the creation of recycled polymers with a high scratch resistance also demanded by auto manufacturers.”
