Werner & Mertz invests in the production of packaging from 100 percent recycled plastic

Reinhard Schneider, owner of Werner & Mertz and Günther Lehner, owner of ALPLA Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Co KG, hit the button to start up production in the new building "L8". Photo: Werner & Mertz

The German company Werner & Mertz has invested 30 million euro in its new production building in Rheinallee, the largest single investment in the history of the Mainz-based cleaning products company. In keeping with the integrally sustainable corporate philosophy, the new construction is distinguished by its ambitious sustainability concept. Speakers at the official dedication included Rhineland-Palatinate Minister President Malu Dreyer, Mainz Mayor Michael Ebling and the Federal Chairman of the Bündnis 90/die Grünen Robert Habeck.

Production can be doubled

Sustainable cleaning products from the Mainz company are in greater demand than ever. From 2016 to 2018, revenue for the Frosch brand grew by 21 percent and its market share by 14 percent. In 2018 total revenue for the entire Werner & Mertz Group was 399 million euro. With the investment in the new production center, Werner & Mertz can keep up with the growing demands. One of the first new production lines valued at 4.5 million euro is already in operation. In the final expansion stage, Frosch production can be doubled. Packaging manufacturer ALPLA, which for years has produced the transparent Frosch bottles of 100 percent recycled plastic on the Werner & Mertz premises, is also moving into the new building. In the future the packaging company won't be manufacturing on site, but rather in-house. "With the construction of the new production center, we are creating the world's largest recyclate bottle production," said Werner & Mertz owner Reinhard Schneider. To date, 266 million PET bottles of 100 percent recycled plastic from post-consumer waste collection have been manufactured and filled in Mainz (as of May 2019).

Gunther Lehner, owner of ALPLA Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Co. KG, said, "We are very pleased about the many years of close cooperation with Werner & Mertz. For ultra-modern and efficient packaging manufacturing in the new production center, we have invested 13 million euro."

Sustainable and energy-efficient construction

Sustainability had high priority in the new construction. General contractor Karl Gemünden GmbH & Co. KG put to use the greatest amount of recycled concrete that is legally permitted. Two-thirds of the 4,000-square-meter rooftop area is covered by 455 photovoltaic modules which supply power for the cooling units. Heat recovery and district heating, among other things, are used to heat the building. The entire building is equipped with LED lighting which is controlled in restrooms, hallways and changing rooms by presence sensors. Architect Holger Ries, who was responsible for the construction, explained, "The foundation for sustainable planning is a continuous and long-term factory structure planning. Werner & Mertz has pursued this goal for the past 30 years. With the construction of building L8, the company documents its attitude to resource-conserving and environmentally responsible land use."