One of the largest recycled plastics processors in the country has started up an engineering center in Ohio, where the company will research and test materials for use in its industrial water management products.
Advanced Drainage Systems, which consumed 540 million pounds of post-consumer and post-industrial recycled plastic last year, on Oct. 23 opened the Hilliard facility after more than two years of development.
Carrying a $65 million price tag, the facility will explore new ways of incorporating recycled resin into products, among other research, the company announced in 2022. ADS has been steadily increasing the percentage that recycled resin makes up of its total feedstock, reaching 50% during the 2024 fiscal year that ended in March. The company has a goal to increase its resin use to 1 billion pounds per year by 2030, which means nearly doubling its current resin use by volume.
In statements during a grand opening event, ADS CEO Scott Barbour said the facility will help the company install innovative equipment and attract top engineering experts.
“What really makes the company sing, from a product development standpoint, is material science, product design, tooling design and then the machinery, the manufacturing process,” Barbour said. “We have all of that in this building, all of those talents are now in this building.”
During its most recent fiscal year, recycled HDPE made up 34% of the company’s material use, recycled PP, 12%, and other recycled plastic, 4%. Virgin HDPE was at 30%, virgin PP was at 16% and other materials made up 4%.
