Manufacture of polymer products
SERVICE
- Business Activities
- Manufacture of polymer products
What is the manufacture of polymer products?
Synthetic rubbers and plastics are called polymers because of their polymeric structure and are widely used in our daily lives.
The Envipro Group manufactures a wide variety of rubber and plastic products and their intermediate materials using polymer materials as a starting point.
Social issues
It has been pointed out that polymer products have a high environmental impact at the time of disposal due to their persistent nature, and regulations and legal systems for their manufacture and use are being drafted around the world.
In Japan too, the Law for Recycling Plastic Materials has been enacted, and momentum is growing for advanced recycling in society as a whole.
Target market
Since the majority of waste plastics and rubber waste is landfilled or used for heat, there is growing interest in material recycling methods that have a low environmental impact. However, many waste plastics and rubber products that are discharged have to be used thermally due to contamination and composite structure problems, and even if they are recycled, their applications are not expanding due to their low quality (see Figures 1 and 2).
We see the shift from thermal recycling to material recycling as a business opportunity.
Figure 1: Recycling status of plastics
Figure 2: Recycling market for TB tires (truck and bus tires)
Business features
The only vertically integrated rubber value chain company in Japan.
In 2023, NITTO KAKO CO., LTD., which manufactures and sells rubber products, was integrated into the Group, creating an integrated value chain for recycling waste rubber and tires.
Plastic blending and reclamation technologies
We produce high-quality plastic products through plastic blending and reclamation technologies that we have developed over 30 years.
Design and development of recycled products
In the future, companies will be required to develop recycling-conscious products and services. We will work with manufacturers to develop new recycled products using recycled materials.
Service overview
The Group is engaged in material recycling of a wide variety of rubber products by utilizing its distinctive recycling technologies, such as rubber pulverization and desulfurization. We receive waste tires and rubber products (bladders, weatherstrips, etc.) from dischargers, and design and process them into mats, sheets and other recycled products.
The challenge of tire-to-tire horizontal recycling
Currently, about 70% of rubber materials are used for tires. The Group has been making efforts to effectively utilize tires as raw materials, for example, by turning rubber materials obtained by scraping waste tires and converting them into fatigue-reducing mats for use in warehouses and construction sites.
On the other hand, the use of recycled rubber has not progressed in the world of tire manufacturing, where high quality, such as braking force, is required. Aiming for a higher level, the Group is taking on the challenge of realizing a Circular Economy model in which tires are recycled back into tires.
