INTERVIEW Huang Liang Neng, Romcarbon: “The most important project for 2023 is to increase our investment in plastic recycling”

“For 70 years, the manufacturing of the plastic package is the backbone of Romcarbon, now which is facing lots of challenges. Sustainability is regarded as the top priority,” Huang Liang Neng, general manager of Romcarbon told The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“The most important project for 2023 is to increase our investment in plastic recycling, which includes washing / sorting and regranulation. For 2023, under the context of the macro economy, we are cautious. For 2024, however, following the completion of the new investment, we expect to increase our capacity of plastic recycling by 20 percent.”

How would you describe the evolution of Romcarbon in 2022 and the first part of this year?

For 2022, the consolidated operational EBITDA was 47% higher than 2021. For 2023 Q1, affected by the macro economy, Romcarbon’s turnover from the core business is around 13% less than the same period in 2022.

What are the current challenges for Romcarbon?

Transition to circular economy. For 70 years, the manufacturing of the plastic package is the backbone of Romcarbon, now which is facing lots of challenges. Sustainability is regarded as the top priority.    

What are the business objectives for your company in 2023?

We will focus on new investments, at least 2 projects to be implemented in 2023. And optimize the production cost in the context of global inflation.  

What are your most important projects for this year?

The most important project for 2023 is to increase our investment in plastic recycling, which includes washing / sorting and regranulation.  

Which divisions performed best in the first part of the year?

For the result of 2023 Q1, the division that performed best is the PS product, which includes the PS package and flooring underlayment.  

What is the company’s medium-term development strategy?

As mentioned earlier, we will continue to develop the activity of plastic recycling. There are 3 aspects that need to be addressed for this development. First, the new investment in the new technology to improve the quality of the recycled plastic and increase the capacity; 2nd to develop the new compound based on the recycled material with the efforts in R&D; 3rd to reintroduce more recycled plastic into our plastic packing product so that we can provide the product that is more sustainable.   

What to expect from your industry in 2023-2024 in terms of development, how much room is for improvement?

For 2023, under the context of the macro economy, we are cautious. For 2024, however, following the completion of the new investment, we expect to increase our capacity of plastic recycling by 20 percent.