California recycling company moving HQ, building new plant near Greenville

Listen to this article

A company that recycles material commonly referred to as plastic packaging is moving its headquarters to the Upstate, where it will open an innovation center and its third manufacturing operation.

Verdeco takes products branded with a PET symbol and makes rPET solutions. PET is polyethylene terephthalate — usually denoted with the familiar recycling triangle and a number 1 — and rPET is recycled PET.

The new facilities will be at 464 Augusta Arbor Way in Piedmont and will mean more jobs for the area and for the company, according to Frances A. Rizzo, Verdeco’s director of marketing. The cost of the investment was not disclosed.

“We will be increasing our employee count by 50-60 by the end of the year, which includes corporate and plant specific roles,” he said in an email. The company has been headquartered in South Gate, Calif., with manufacturing facilities there and in Terre Haute, Ind.

Verdeco said in a news release that operations will begin this summer. The milestone is a major move for Verdeco following their 2020 acquisition by EU-based private equity firm CUDOS Group, the news release said.

Planting new roots in South Carolina will align Verdeco effectively with strategic partners and suppliers, the company said, with the expansion increasing Verdeco's momentum as they continue their work in the sustainable rPET economy through material science and process innovation.

"Verdeco is excited to share our expansion plans with the opening of our new manufacturing and R&D innovation center of excellence in Greenville, South Carolina, which is targeted to be operational in June 2023,” Verdeco CEO Rob Bindner said in the release. “Our innovation center will provide our strategic partners with the opportunity to explore custom formulations, performance attributes and aesthetic inspirations to fulfill their sustainability vision.”

Related content: Boyd Cycling to open new Greenville manufacturing facility

Related content: BorgWarner plans $43M expansion in Seneca — what it will manufacture

Related content: Company will build $33 million small arms plant near Liberty

The company recycles plastics into rPET pellets from post-consumer hot washed flake, Rizzo said. The pellets are sold and then converted into end-use products such as water bottles or other household or personal care products.

The plant will be capable of crafting complex formulations of rPET and the location will enhance Verdeco's ability to solve customers' supply chain challenges, the release said.

“The new Verdeco facility will initially add an additional 90 million pounds of rPET capacity to the recently completed new equipment upgrades at our current locations in California and Indiana, which combined are designed to deliver 120 million pounds of capacity,” Bindner said in the release.

Verdeco is a leader in using advanced technology to innovate and customize rPET solutions for

According to Verdeco’s website, PET is a polymer of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. The most common plastic resin, virgin PET, is created from crude oil and natural gas extracted from the Earth. PET, including recycled PET, can be recycled repeatedly.