Recell expands to new location in Leek (Groningen)
More Space for Sustainable Impact
Recently, the Groningen branch of Recell relocated to Leek. The new venue is situated at the industrial park Leeksterveld, near the A7 highway from Amsterdam to northern Germany. The company’s growth and increasing number of specializations made moving necessary. The building in Leek has outstanding laboratory facilities and a spacious office floor, both providing ample room for further expansion of activities.
Recell is experiencing considerable growth. Erik Pijlman, CEO of Recell, is proud of this development: “In just over seven years, we have evolved from a startup to pole position in the development of sustainable raw materials for infrastructure, construction, and green chemistry. We recover cellulose from various waste streams that until recently used to be incinerated. With our work we make a vast contribution to circular economy.”
Fibers for Construction and Infrastructure
The recovered cellulose is transformed into ‘fiber specifications’. These fibers are valuable for the construction industry: in biocomposites, they can be used for facade panels, bank revetment, safety barriers, and street furniture. The fibers also serve as a resource for the infrastructure sector – for example, as a functional additive in asphalt – helping the sector to achieve better environmental performance.
Glucose for the Chemical Industry
Through an alternative processing route, Recell converts the recovered cellulose into high-quality sugars for green (sustainable) chemistry. This product adds to the Material Transition and acts as a valuable alternative to virgin and fossil-based raw materials.
Carbon Footprint
In addition to converting cellulosic waste into valuable resources, Recell fiber and glucose contribute positively to the carbon footprint, reducing CO2 emissions. The use of one ton of Recell equals a reduction of two tons of CO2. This environmental performance strongly translates into a green and sustainable end-product, with rapidly increasing demand.
Analytics & Development Center
Pijlman says: “This new location is especially important for our activities in the field of green chemistry. Here, our Analytics & Development Center has the space and equipment at its disposal to meet our research and capacity for both national and international development. Furthermore, our laboratory provides the capacity to subject the growing number of produced raw materials reaching our customers to strict quality controls.”
Continued Growth
With Recell’s increasing activity, the workforce has also expanded significantly. Pijlman: “We expect to have around twenty employees by year-end. With plans for our new factory — called Cellforce 1 — in the northern region, the number of staff will grow even further. This factory will be the larger counterpart to the successful demo installation that has been running for over a year at a water treatment site near our new office. Not only the Dutch are interested. This autumn for example, our demonstration installation will be transported to a water board in the UK as a process validation on foreign ground. We are excited about the international interest, the progress we make, and are more than confident to contributing to sustainable resource growth.”