Energy Autonomy and Circular Economy Drive Cortec to Redefine Sustainable Corrosion Protection Packaging Standards in Europe

As European companies push forward with their "net-zero" emissions goals, many are realizing that their biggest carbon footprint comes from their supply chains. EcoCortec, a green corrosion protection packaging producer and European subsidiary of Cortec, has launched a closed-loop recycling system to address this issue. This system not only prevents plastic waste from going to landfills but also enables a complete circular economy.

EcoCortec has taken a major step toward energy self-sufficiency, becoming the first VCI manufacturing plant in Europe to generate its own power with on-site photovoltaic panels.

For many industrial giants, greenhouse gas emissions mostly come from Scope 3 emissions, which are indirect carbon emissions generated during the transportation and production of raw materials. Importing high-performance packaging materials from overseas can add thousands of miles of high-carbon logistics transportation throughout the product's entire life cycle.

Recycling and Energy Autonomy

Relying on local production layout in the EU and launching a dedicated recycling project, EcoCortec has created an alternative short-haul supply chain solution, significantly reducing CO2 emissions in the transportation sector, bringing notable advantages to all companies that calculate their environmental footprint.

In addition to its layout recycling business, EcoCortec has achieved a major breakthrough in energy autonomy, becoming the first VCI factory in Europe to generate electricity independently via photovoltaic panels. This investment enables the factory to power its extrusion production line using renewable energy, directly reducing the carbon emission intensity per roll of protective film.

Affected by the fluctuation of the geopolitical situation and the high energy prices, companies have decided to maximize the development of their own energy resources.

CorteCros is another production base of the group that focuses on renewable energy. Located near a coastal town in Split, Croatia, this logistics and manufacturing center is equipped with an in-house photovoltaic power generation system. With this system, CorteCros achieves an energy cost reduction of up to 97%. The photovoltaic panels can provide stable power supply for various production scenarios, and the renewable energy system can have a service life of more than thirty years with proper maintenance.

Cortec CEO, Croatian-American entrepreneur Boris Miksic said: "From the Baranja region to the Adriatic coast, all of Cortec's business units in Croatia follow a unified green development policy. Its production sites together form a sustainable distribution network for the European market. As a company committed to leading the circular economy model in the corrosion protection industry, we strive for our solutions to be environmentally friendly not only in the formulation materials but also throughout the entire production and logistics process."

Internal Recycling and Application of Recycled Plastic Feedstock

EcoCortec is a leading European manufacturer of VCI/VpCI films, with its own in-house recycling center. The center directly reprocesses production scrap and waste materials into high-quality resin raw materials. The company announced that through this vertical integration model, EcoCortec has significantly reduced its reliance on virgin resin raw materials.

The company incorporates recycled and regenerative raw materials into the research and development of products such as VpCI-126 PCR, effectively reducing the carbon footprint of petroleum-based polymers, while avoiding waste disposal in landfills and transforming waste plastics back into high-performance protective packaging materials.

According to the company, the most representative cooperation case in the Cortec recycling project is the strategic partnership with German distributor Jakob Schober GmbH. This is not an ordinary basic recycling plan, but a truly operational closed-loop recycling system.

Enterprises incorporate recycled and regenerated raw materials into products such as VpCI-126 PCR, effectively reducing the carbon footprint of petroleum-based polymers.

Jakob Schober GmbH utilizes existing freight routes to collect used VpCI film from end customers and transport it back to the EcoCortec production facility. Since the freight trucks would otherwise return empty, the entire recycling process generates virtually no additional transportation-related carbon emissions.

Used film is transported to the factory's internal recycling center, processed and manufactured into high-quality recycled resin, which is then used to produce new protective films.

Compared to producing new plastics from petroleum feedstocks, recycling plastics can save 80% of the energy required for production; this strategic partnership brings significant benefits to ecological and environmental protection efforts.

Leveraging localized production, energy autonomy, and circular economy strategic partnerships, Cortec® provides the corrosion protection industry with a proven solution for implementing sustainable development goals. By deeply integrating green technologies across the entire supply chain, the company is establishing a new industry benchmark for both environmental responsibility and performance.