ELG Carbon Fibre (ECF), based in Coseley, UK has divested its short fibre business to Procotex Corporation, the Belgian of flax and recycled technical fibres.

Meanwhile, Gen 2 Carbon is a new company formed by ELG management to develop the long, recycled carbon fibre business which primarily serves the composites industry with carbon fibre and thermoplastic nonwovens.

In early 2020, the Haniel group announced a strategic review of ELG Haniel, the parent of ECF. This led to a decision to focus on the metals recycling activity – stainless steel and superalloys – and the need to find a new owner for the carbon fibre recycling business that has been grown over the last few years.

After considering a number of options, ECF has sold its short fibre business to Procotex ,which will continue to supply key customers with no interruption to business. Procotex is a global sustainable recycled fibre supplier across diverse applications, markets and materials, and this acquisition complements its existing carbon fibre business in France.

Gen 2 Carbon will build on the capability that has been developed under the stewardship of ELG Haniel and Mitsubishi Corporation, which was a 25% shareholder in the business, and seek to develop next-generation carbon fibre recycling technologies and continue to grow the market for carbon fibre and carbon fibre/thermoplastic nonwovens in the composites industry.

“We worked with Mitsubishi Corporation to find ways to facilitate ECF’s new path into the future,” said Donald Weir, CEO of ELG Haniel. “We are pleased that these solutions give customers continuity and provide a platform for further development. I wish the Gen 2 Carbon team success in developing their range of exciting new solutions in the future.”

“ELG Haniel, on its own at first, and latterly working with Mitsubishi Corporation, has invested in the development of a world leading recycled carbon fibre capability,” added Frazer Barnes, chairman and CTO of Gen 2 Carbon. “We are pleased to be able to continue to build on this, and help our customers in the wind energy, automotive, aerospace and electronics industries reduce their environmental footprints by using these sustainable materials that at the same time reduce the waste impact of the composites industry.”

www.gen2carbon.com