MAS Tech is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a technology partner for plastics and PET recycling. The company was founded on 24 March 2006 by four founders, one container and a concept that many regarded as unrealistic. Over two decades, this small team has developed into an international supplier of complete, high-quality recycling solutions covering the entire material processing chain.
The foundation of MAS's development was the vision of its founder, recycling pioneer Helmuth Schulz. He developed the concept of a conical co-rotating twin-screw extruder, which was initially considered unfeasible. The resulting solution was patented and set new benchmarks in plastics processing, forming the basis for the further expansion of the company's technology portfolio. As the company emphasises, a key element was the approach summarised in the sentence: "Everyone said it could not be done. Then someone came along and simply did it." This mindset has accompanied MAS from the beginning and continues to shape the way the company operates.
As early as 2008, MAS introduced the first conical co-rotating twin-screw extruder to the market. Since then, the company has consistently developed technologies with a focus on a single objective: enabling economically viable, energy-efficient and future-ready high-quality recycling. Today, MAS Tech offers complete recycling solutions from a single source, covering material preparation, extrusion, filtration and high-quality film recycling. The lines have a modular design, are suitable for upgrades and are engineered with a limited number of interfaces between individual process stages.
Continuation of the vision in the second management generation
Since 2014, MAS Tech has been managed by CEO Martin Schnabl. Under his leadership, the company has evolved into an internationally recognised supplier of comprehensive, forward-looking solutions for plastics recycling. The company headquarters is located in Pucking, Upper Austria, where an interdisciplinary team combines expertise in engineering, process development, machine manufacturing and service.
Development work is supported by an extensive network of international partners and sales representatives. This approach is intended to enable the adaptation of technological solutions to the diverse requirements of markets and plastics waste streams, including post-consumer materials and applications with increased quality demands.
The iQonicTWIN platform and key innovations for recycling
In recent years, MAS has developed the new iQonicTWIN Solution Series technology platform, intended to reflect the company's ambition to redefine recycling processes. The series includes solutions targeted both at food-grade PET recycling and at the processing of demanding post-consumer waste fractions in the form of films, fibres and light fractions.
One of the main solutions is iQonicTWIN HyperPET, a pre-extrusion system designed for food-grade PET recycling. This solution integrates an SSP stage using infrared radiation and vacuum, without the use of nitrogen as a process gas. According to the company, this enables applications such as tray-to-bottle for the first time, thereby expanding the available raw material base for the production of food-contact PET recyclate.
The second element of the platform is iQonicTWIN PreDensifier, developed for processing demanding waste streams, in particular post-consumer films, fibres and light fractions. The system is intended to provide high energy efficiency, stable product quality and maximum process reliability under variable feedstock properties.
The new solutions complement MAS's existing systems for re-compounding and the Twin-Compound line for demanding compounding applications. Together, these technologies illustrate the company's development path over the past 20 years, defined by the slogan Technology – next level, understood as the gradual enhancement of the technical level of plastics recycling processes.
Future directions: digitalisation and process automation
MAS is systematically expanding its offering beyond stand-alone machines, placing emphasis on digital solutions and processes supported by artificial intelligence tools. The objective is to further optimise operating parameters of recycling lines, improve process stability and better match the properties of the final product to application requirements.
The digital tools and decision-support algorithms under development are intended to reflect the direction in which the company is heading and the way in which MAS plans to actively shape the future of plastics recycling. At the core of these activities is the effort to increase the share of recycled material in the economic cycle.
On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, MAS highlights that the company's mission is to help shape the future of the circular economy together with customers and partners worldwide. According to the company, further development stages are already being planned, and the "next chapters of the story" are to include continued improvement of plastics waste processing technologies and the development of systems supporting the closing of the loop for polymer raw materials.
