Cedar Park & Leander - Community Impact Newspaper

K. Jenney
6 | May 2010 Community Impact Newspaper • Cedar Park/Leander Edition
Business Profile | FKuR Plastics Corp. Cedar Park
FKuR Plastics Corp. President Patrick Zimmermann shows off a small sampling of the products created
with his company’s resins.
By K. Jenney
One of the easiest decisions
executives made at Germanbased
FKuR Kunststoff GmbH
was to locate its North America
subsidiary, FKuR Plastics Corp.,
in Cedar Park. Texas’ proximity
to both U.S. coasts and Mexico,
coupled with an abundance of
potential warehouse space in
Central Texas, is positioning the
maker of biodegradable plastics
for a sustainable future, said Patrick
Zimmermann, FKuR Plastics
Corp. president. It also didn’t
hurt that its North America salesperson
resides in Leander.
FKuR’s dedication to sustainability
is making users of plastic
resins take note of FKuR’s products,
Zimmermann said. That
dedication is even reflected in the
company’s name. Pronounced
F-K-u-R, the acronym stands
for the German words “development,”
“plastic,” (“and”) “recycling.”
Its tag line, “plastics—
made by nature,” is a guiding
principle in all it does.
FKuR’s wide range of biodegradable
plastics can be used on
conventional plastics processing
machinery. According to Zimmermann,
FKuR’s bioplastics
are a class of materials based on
renewable resources.
“Our products are compostable
and biodegradable,
according to local standards,”
he said. “When products made
from our resins are discarded,
they will actually break down
into CO 2 , water and biomass.
They are essentially eaten by
microorganisms.”
That process is in contrast to
today’s photodegradable plastics,
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which fall apart as opposed to
being organically eliminated.
FKuR uses renewable resources
like corn and plants to reduce the
content of crude oil in its resins.
The company currently has three
categories of biocompounds
that are used to make products
including flower wrapping,
cosmetic packaging, deep freeze
packaging, fruit netting, shopping
bags, bubble wrap, agricultural
mulch film and furniture.
FKuR has been selling its
biocompounds in Europe since
2003. The company partners
with the Fraunhofer Institute for
Environmental, Safety and Energy
Technology in Oberhausen,
Germany, to create tailor-made
biopolymers.
With a target eventually to
make its resins from 100 percent
renewable resources, Zimmermann
said he is excited about the
possibilities for his company.
“Companies and individuals
have a new green attitude,” he
said, noting sustainability has
been a mind-set in his native
Germany and the rest of Europe
for some time now.
With a staff of only four
employees, Zimmermann said
the task ahead is daunting, but
he is up for the challenge.
FKuR’s claims to resin fame
FKuR hopes to make its presence
known through the following plastics
made from natural resources:
Biograde – designed for injection
molding applications; predominantly
composed of natural resource
materials; properties comparable to
polystyrene; biodegradable certified
Bio-Flex – generally replaces
conventional plastics materials; high
content of natural resource materials;
easily can be colored; biodegradable
and compost certified
Fibrolon – designed for injection
molding and extrusion (shaped
through a dye); outstanding stiffness
and strength; provides a wooden
design appearance; high content
of natural resource materials; fully
biodegradable grades available
FKuR Plastics Corp.
921 W. New Hope Drive, Bldg. 605
971-3581 • www.fkur.com
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Lakeline Blvd.
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Bagdad Rd.
1431
183
Cedar Park
Center