An Italian ODM profile manufacturer that supplies roughly 90% of the domestic market is developing dedicated HDPE product lines alongside its core PVC business, as greenhouse constructors begin requesting materials that align more cleanly with green economy commitments.

RECAR has been producing profiles for glass and plastic-film greenhouses for 50 years. The company holds private-label agreements with several major greenhouse companies, drawing to customer-specified dies and treating its compound formula as proprietary. Bruno Savoldelli, owner of RECAR, produces the PVC granules in-house rather than sourcing from the open market, a decision he has built the company's competitive position around. "We don't take PVC granules from the market. Our formulation has been developed to satisfy both the cost targets of greenhouse builders and the ease of installation for fitters. If you give the formula away, the next day you find it on the market from a competitor," Bruno explains.

That control over the compound extends to private-label arrangements with greenhouse constructors who supply their own dies. RECAR draws to spec and the formula stays inside the building. The market position that comes with it is close to absolute domestically. "90% of the profile in Italy is produced by RECAR," Bruno says.

Bruno Salvodelli, owner of RECAR

The company has clients in France, Hungary, Croatia, Spain, and Mexico, but the depth of those relationships is thin relative to the domestic share. GreenTech marks its first appearance at the trade event, with a very specific goal. "We decided to participate in GreenTech as part of a vision to conquer the international market ." says Fabrizio Sappa, general manager at RECAR.

PVC remains the dominant material in production. The high-density polyethylene push is a parallel development, not a replacement, and the company acknowledges that raw material price increases have made it harder to position HDPE as the cheaper option it once was. Some greenhouse constructors have begun requesting the switch; others remain committed to PVC. "PVC has a Vicat softening point around 70 to 75 degrees Celsius," says Fabrizio. "Once it reaches that threshold, it loses mechanical consistency and can slide out of its seat."

High-density polyethylene does not reach its softening point until past 100 degrees Celsius, which is crucial in markets where summer temperatures inside closed greenhouse structures push well beyond PVC's ceiling, particularly during inter-crop cleaning cycles when ventilation is off and passive cooling is absent. "In countries where temperatures climb high, polyethylene becomes the interesting choice. Especially if there is a cleaning cycle, a period without cultivation, without cooling. That is when the profile is most at risk ," Fabrizio explains.

The recyclability aspect runs separately from the thermal one. PVC is recyclable but the process is more complex than polyethylene, which is chemically stable and does not polymerize over time. PVC profiles contain stabilizers and impact modifiers that degrade as the material ages. European manufacturers have eliminated lead-based stabilizers, a standard that does not apply in every market. "Outside Europe, those issues are not seen as problems," Bruno says. "But if you are installing profiles that come from those latitudes, the lead-based stabilizer question is still there."

On top of its standard product range, RECAR offers co-development services for greenhouse builders working on new clamping profiles, testing compatibility between custom dies and standard components before committing to production runs.
 

Source: www.floraldaily.com