Introduction
Herbold Meckesheim GmbH is a German machinery manufacturer specializing in plastics recycling equipment and systems, with a focus on shredding, size reduction, washing, separating, drying, and agglomeration technologies for plastic waste streams. Headquartered in Meckesheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, the company supplies machinery for clean production scrap as well as used, mixed, and contaminated plastics, positioning it within the mechanical recycling segment of the global plastics industry.
Founded in 1884, Herbold Meckesheim has evolved from a traditional machinery business into a dedicated recycling specialist with a long-standing focus on plastics processing technologies. Since 2022, it has been part of Coperion’s Recycling Business Unit under Hillenbrand Inc., while continuing to operate as an independent legal entity and retaining its own brand and location. This integration broadened its role from a niche equipment supplier to a contributor within a larger portfolio covering mechanical recycling, material handling, dosing, extrusion, compounding, and complete process solutions.
Herbold’s technical reputation rests on modular systems and individual machines such as shredders, granulators, pulverizers, wet shredders, friction washers, swim-sink separation tanks, hydrocyclones, mechanical and thermal dryers, classifiers, and agglomerators. The company states that its recycling lines are tested in an in-house technical center and tailored to customer-specific requirements, reflecting the industry’s demand for flexible systems capable of handling diverse polymer types and contamination levels. Its equipment is used internationally across industrial recycling and plastics-processing applications, with customers in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle and Far East.
History and Development
Herbold Meckesheim traces its origins to 1884, when it was founded as a milling-machine business by Adam Herbold. Over time, the company remained under family control through successive generations, including leadership transitions in 1921 and 1956, before being guided by Karlheinz and Werner Herbold from 1978 onward.
A major strategic milestone came in 2022, when Coperion acquired Herbold Meckesheim and formally integrated it into a new Recycling Business Unit. The company emphasized that the Herbold name, brand, and Meckesheim site would remain in place after the acquisition.
A second development milestone was the deepening of its systems-oriented business model. Rather than supplying only individual machines, Herbold increasingly positioned itself as a provider of complete modular recycling lines for customers dealing with plastics recovery, waste preparation, and process optimization.
A third operational milestone has been the company’s expansion of technical and commercial support capacity. Company materials describe more than 240 employees at headquarters and international agencies supporting design, commissioning, and service activities, underscoring its shift toward lifecycle-oriented engineering support in addition to equipment sales.
Business Operations
Herbold Meckesheim’s core business is the development, manufacture, and sale of machinery and plants for plastic recycling. Its operations are centered on mechanical processing of plastic waste, with the company addressing both clean post-industrial scrap and more difficult feedstocks such as mixed and contaminated post-consumer materials.
Its business model combines:
- Standalone equipment for specific process steps
- Turnkey recycling systems
- Retrofits and optimization of existing recycling plants
- Customer-specific engineering and process configuration
- Spare parts, inspections, and repair services
The company’s integration into Coperion has placed it within a broader industrial ecosystem that links recycling preparation with downstream operations such as conveying, dosing, extrusion, compounding, and granulation. This is significant because modern plastics recycling increasingly requires coordinated process chains rather than isolated machines.
Products and Technologies
Herbold’s product portfolio covers several key process stages in plastics recycling.
| Product / Technology | Function |
|---|---|
| Shredders | Primary size reduction of bulky plastic waste |
| Granulators and mills | Secondary size reduction and particle-size control |
| Pulverizers / fine mills | Fine grinding for specific recycling or reprocessing applications |
| Washing lines | Removal of dirt, labels, residues, and other contaminants |
| Friction washers | Intensive cleaning through mechanical friction |
| Separation tanks / swim-sink systems | Separation based on density differences |
| Hydrocyclones | Separation and purification of material streams |
| Mechanical and thermal dryers | Moisture removal before downstream processing |
| Classifiers and separators | Sorting and material refinement |
| Agglomerators and compactors | Densification of low-bulk-density plastic waste |
The company highlights both size reduction and washing/separation/drying as its main technological strengths. This is especially relevant in plastics recycling because the economics and quality of recycled output depend heavily on contamination control, particle consistency, and moisture reduction.
Herbold also notes that its systems are tested in an own technical center, which suggests a process-development capability that is important in customized recycling projects. In practice, this kind of testing supports machine selection, line design, and process validation for different polymers such as PET and polyolefins, as well as rigid plastics and film waste.
Applications and End Markets
Herbold’s equipment serves customers involved in the collection, sorting, cleaning, reprocessing, and reuse of plastics. Its systems are relevant to several end markets and feedstock categories:
- Industrial plastics processors generating clean production scrap
- Mechanical recyclers handling post-industrial and post-consumer plastic waste
- Packaging recycling operations
- Film and rigid plastics recycling
- Polymer reprocessing facilities seeking improved wash-line performance and densification
- Plant operators upgrading or modernizing existing recycling lines
The company’s technology is particularly important where input quality is inconsistent, because mixed or contaminated waste requires several sequential operations: shredding, washing, density separation, dewatering, and drying before material can be reintroduced into the value chain.
Global Presence and Market Position
Herbold Meckesheim states that its machinery is used worldwide, with sales and support reaching Germany, Europe, North, Central and South America, Africa, and the Middle and Far East. This international footprint reflects the global nature of plastics recycling equipment demand, which is shaped by regional waste regulations, packaging recovery targets, and investment in recycling infrastructure.
The company is described in its own materials and external profiles as a recycling specialist and a producer of machinery for plastics recovery rather than a broad-based general machinery group. Its market role is therefore more specialized than that of diversified industrial equipment firms, with differentiation based on process know-how in recycling lines and waste-stream handling.
The 2022 acquisition by Coperion and Hillenbrand expanded Herbold’s commercial reach by linking it to a larger industrial network with adjacent capabilities in material handling and extrusion systems.
Sustainability and Environmental Initiatives
Herbold’s business is intrinsically linked to plastics circularity, since its equipment is designed to make plastic waste suitable for reuse. The company’s focus on washing, separation, and drying supports the broader industry objective of converting waste streams into usable secondary raw materials.
Its contribution to sustainability is mainly operational and technological:
- improving the quality of mechanically recycled plastics
- enabling recovery from contaminated or mixed waste streams
- supporting higher-value reuse of industrial scrap and post-consumer plastics
- helping extend the service life of plastics through material recovery
At the same time, the company operates in a sector facing persistent environmental and regulatory scrutiny, particularly regarding the limits of mechanical recycling for highly contaminated or multi-material waste. Herbold’s product mix indicates that its technologies are aimed at addressing those technical constraints rather than eliminating them entirely.
Leadership and Corporate Governance
Herbold Meckesheim operates as Herbold Meckesheim GmbH and remains a separate legal entity within the Coperion Group under Hillenbrand Inc.. Company imprint information identifies Thomas Franke and Stefan Lachenmayer as representatives.
Public business listings identify Christian Raiser as CEO, though company-managed sources provide the most reliable basis for governance and organizational details. The company remains headquartered at Industriestraße 33, 74909 Meckesheim, Germany.
Innovations and Future Outlook
Herbold’s future prospects are closely tied to several industry trends. Demand for higher-quality recyclate, tighter packaging waste regulations, and investment in mechanical recycling capacity all favor equipment suppliers with expertise in washing and contamination removal.
The company’s integration with Coperion suggests additional development potential in combined solutions linking recycling preparation with downstream compounding and extrusion. This is strategically important because recyclers increasingly seek integrated lines that can convert waste into specification-grade material with fewer process handoffs.
Looking ahead, Herbold’s competitive position is likely to depend on:
- refining process efficiency for contaminated feedstocks
- improving energy and water performance of wash lines
- integrating recycling equipment into broader plant concepts
- supporting customers with service, commissioning, and retrofit capabilities
- adapting to regional differences in waste composition and recycling standards
Summary
Herbold Meckesheim is a long-established German machinery company focused on plastics recycling systems, especially for shredding, washing, separating, drying, and densifying plastic waste. Its historical continuity, specialized technical portfolio, and 2022 integration into Coperion’s recycling platform place it within the evolving global market for circular plastics technologies.
References
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CPS+ eMarketplace. (n.d.). HERBOLD MECKESHEIM GMBHHERBOLD MECKESHEIM GMBH. CPS+ eMarketplace. https://www.chinaplasonline.com/eMarketplace/ExhibitorInfo?CompId=1026504Link