Shortly before the end of the year, Uwe Fernholz, Managing Partner of Fernholz Verpackungen, offers an initial review for 2025: “Our main focus is on the significantly rising demand for our recycled polystyrene (rPS), which serves as a sustainable basis for innovative packaging solutions, as well as the consistent implementation of our extensive investment programme at the Meinerzhagen and Schkopau sites. At the same time, we continue to face burdens such as high energy costs and increasing bureaucracy, for example from the EWKFondsG (Single-Use Plastics Fund Act).”

The expansion of the Schkopau plant is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025. With this additional production capacity, Fernholz Verpackungen is ideally equipped to reliably meet the growing demand for rPS.

Polystyrene (PS) is a versatile mass plastic. Around 800,000 tonnes of polystyrene are produced in Europe, with a large portion of it being used for food packaging. In light of these quantities, the topic of recycling is moving ever more into the spotlight – both to meet the ambitious sustainability targets in the food industry and to comply with statutory requirements. An additional factor boosting demand is the realisation that recycled materials perform just as well in practice as conventional raw materials and can therefore be seamlessly integrated into existing production processes.

Expanding silo capacity at both sites is another important aspect of the Fernholz investment programme. This significantly increases the company’s delivery reliability and creates scope for a wider variety of material types and grades.

“Our market is demanding and highly competitive: on the producer side, there is immense European competition, while the concentration of buyers and strong retail chains add further pressure. In addition, high energy costs and growing bureaucracy – such as the unilateral financial burden placed on German SMEs by the EWKFondsG (Single-Use Plastics Fund Act) – are making it increasingly difficult to remain competitive. At Fernholz, we face these challenges head on by committing to sustainable and innovative projects. Furthermore, with our new investment programme for 2026, we are also clearly positioning ourselves for a successful future,” concludes Uwe Fernholz in an optimistic review.