PlasWiki
Company›STARLINGER VISCOTEC

STARLINGER VISCOTEC

The Austrian machinery division supplies complete plant solutions for rPET sheet extrusion, solid-state polycondensation, and melt-phase decontamination of post-consumer plastics. Emphasis is placed on food-contact applications and circular packaging systems that maintain quality and intrinsic viscosity. More than 450 recycling lines support bottle-to-bottle and tray-to-tray recycling loops.

0 views0 mentionsUpdated October 2, 2026

Introduction

Starlinger viscotec is the plastics-recycling and PET-refinement division of Starlinger & Co. Gesellschaft m.b.H., an Austrian machinery manufacturer headquartered in St. Martin im Mühlkreis, Upper Austria, with corporate headquarters in Vienna. The division develops and supplies complete machinery and plant solutions for rPET sheet extrusion, solid-state polycondensation (SSP), and melt-phase decontamination of post-consumer plastics, with a strong emphasis on food-contact applications and circular packaging systems.

Within the global plastics industry, Starlinger viscotec is best known for technologies that convert recycled PET and other thermoplastics into materials suitable for demanding packaging uses, including food-grade pellets and thermoforming sheet made from up to 100% recycled content. The company positions its systems around the circular-economy challenge of maintaining quality, cleanliness, and intrinsic viscosity in recycled polymers, especially where direct food contact is required.

History and Development

Starlinger is a long-established Austrian engineering company founded in 1835, and its recycling-focused business has been developed over several decades as plastics recovery and refinement became more technically and commercially important. The viscotec division itself is described in company materials as having more than 20 years of company experience, and it has been operating from St. Martin in Upper Austria since 2012.

Key development milestones include:

  • In 2012, Starlinger opened a new production site and technical center for viscotec in St. Martin im Mühlkreis, covering about 20,000 m².
  • The company expanded its factory space in 2016 and again in 2020, reflecting growing demand for recycling and refinement systems.
  • By the early 2020s, company materials described more than 450 recycling lines in operation, indicating a substantial installed base in PET recycling and related applications.

Public presentations and trade-fair communications also show continued product development, including the launch of viscoZERO, a melt-phase decontamination platform introduced at K 2022 for food-grade polyolefin, polystyrene, and polyester recycling.

Business Operations and Segments

Starlinger viscotec operates as a specialized division within the broader Starlinger Group, alongside the group’s packaging and recycling-technology businesses. Its business is centered on engineering, building, and servicing complete process lines rather than supplying isolated components.

Its core business areas include:

  • rPET recycling systems for food-safe recycled polyester.
  • PET sheet extrusion lines producing thermoforming sheet from recycled feedstock.
  • Melt-phase decontamination systems for PP, PE, PS, and PET recyclates.
  • SSP and IV-increase systems used to raise intrinsic viscosity and improve polymer performance for higher-value applications.

The company’s public materials indicate a globally oriented export model, with systems supplied to customers worldwide and a presence at major plastics exhibitions such as Chinaplas.

Products and Technologies

Starlinger viscotec’s portfolio focuses on the technical upgrading of recycled plastics so they can be reintroduced into high-performance applications.

Main product and process categories

  • viscoSTAR SSP reactors for solid-state polycondensation and intrinsic-viscosity increase in recycled polyester.
  • deCON decontamination dryers for removing contaminants and supporting food-contact compliance in recycled PET processing.
  • viscoZERO melt-phase decontamination technology for PE, PP, PS, and PET recyclates.
  • rPET sheet extrusion lines** for producing thermoforming sheet from up to **100% rPET.

Technical characteristics

The company describes its systems as designed to deliver:

  • Food-grade output for packaging applications, subject to applicable approvals and customer validation.
  • High cleaning efficiency and contamination control in recycled resin streams.
  • Intrinsic viscosity improvement for PET, which is important for mechanical performance and processability in sheet and packaging conversion.
  • Compatibility with post-consumer feedstocks such as PET flakes**, and, in the case of viscoZERO, also **PP, PE, and PS.

The technical emphasis is on converting lower-value waste into higher-value resin or sheet, rather than simply reprocessing scrap into lower-grade products.

Applications and End Markets

Starlinger viscotec’s systems are used primarily in packaging-related and recycling-value-chain applications.

Major end markets include:

  • Food and beverage packaging, particularly bottle-to-bottle and tray-to-tray recycling loops.
  • Thermoformed packaging, where rPET sheet is used for trays and similar formats.
  • Consumer packaging, including applications requiring food-contact compliance.
  • Industrial recycling and reprocessing, where polyolefins and other thermoplastics are decontaminated and upgraded.

The company’s solutions are often positioned as enablers of closed-loop systems, allowing recyclers and packaging producers to make packaging from recycled feedstock without sacrificing performance or regulatory acceptance.

Global Presence and Market Position

Starlinger viscotec is based in St. Martin im Mühlkreis, Austria, and operates as part of a larger international Starlinger network. Starlinger reports production sites in Austria and China, and sales and service centers across multiple regions including the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Public company materials describe Starlinger as a major supplier of machinery for woven plastic packaging production and plastics recycling, with viscotec serving the recycling and refinement segment. Trade-fair and industry-profile sources also note a substantial international customer base and a large number of installed lines worldwide.

The company maintains a visible presence at major industry events, including Chinaplas, where it has showcased circular-economy packaging and recycling systems and where its products are listed in the exhibition ecosystem.

Sustainability and Environmental Initiatives

Sustainability is central to Starlinger viscotec’s value proposition. The company explicitly promotes “foodgrade without compromise,” framing its technologies as tools for high-quality recycling that can reduce reliance on virgin plastics while preserving technical performance.

Its environmental and circularity focus includes:

  • Enabling closed-loop recycling for PET packaging.
  • Supporting the use of post-consumer plastics in food-contact applications where permitted by law and approved by relevant authorities.
  • Expanding recycling options for PE, PP, PS, and PET, not only PET.
  • Promoting higher-value recycling through decontamination and IV increase, which can improve the usability of recycled polymers.

This approach aligns with broader industry efforts to increase recycled content, improve collection-value economics, and meet packaging sustainability targets.

Financial Performance and Economic Impact

Starlinger is a privately held company, and detailed segment-level financial reporting for viscotec is not publicly disclosed in the provided sources. Available company presentations indicate group-level turnover in the hundreds of millions of euros and a predominantly export-oriented business model.

Economically, Starlinger viscotec contributes to:

  • Capital equipment sales for recycling and packaging infrastructure.
  • Technology transfer for food-grade recycled polymers.
  • Industrial capability-building in regions investing in circular packaging systems, including Europe and Asia.

Leadership and Corporate Governance

Starlinger viscotec is legally part of Starlinger & Co Gesellschaft m.b.H. in Austria. The company materials identify the managing directors of the parent company as Angelika Huemer and DI (FH) Hannes Vorderwinkler.

As a division within a family-owned industrial group, viscotec appears to operate under the group’s broader governance structure rather than as an independently listed subsidiary.

Innovations and Future Outlook

Starlinger viscotec’s innovation pipeline is closely tied to the technical barriers of plastics circularity, especially the need to produce recycled resins that meet demanding performance and hygiene standards. The introduction of viscoZERO broadened its scope beyond PET into polyolefins and polystyrene, suggesting a strategy of applying decontamination expertise across more recycled-polymer streams.

Future development is likely to be shaped by:

  • Rising demand for food-grade recycled content in packaging.
  • Tightening regulatory and brand-owner expectations around recycled materials.
  • Growing investment in mechanical recycling and high-purity decontamination systems.
  • Expansion of circular packaging capacity in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, where Starlinger already maintains a commercial footprint.

At Chinaplas and other industry exhibitions, the company has continued to present itself as a provider of integrated solutions for circular plastic packaging, indicating that innovation and market expansion remain closely linked in its strategy.

Summary

Starlinger viscotec is a specialized Austrian machinery division focused on rPET refinement, decontamination, and sheet extrusion for circular packaging applications. Its significance in the plastics industry lies in turning recycled polymers into technically demanding, food-contact-capable materials, while contributing to the broader shift from linear plastics use toward circular processing systems.

References

  • •

    CPS+ eMarketplace. (n.d.). STARLINGER VISCOTECSTARLINGER VISCOTEC. CPS+ eMarketplace. https://www.chinaplasonline.com/eMarketplace/ExhibitorInfo?CompId=1007360Link