Kevin Barthomeuf

Kevin Barthomeuf is a Materials Science Engineer with nearly 20 years of experience in polymer chemistry, formulation, additive technology, and advanced twin-screw compounding processes. As Chief Technology Officer at Bjørn Thorsen, Kevin oversees the Plastics Applications Lab in Lyon, France, which is responsible for all new TPE developments, and brings his extensive expertise in elastomers to support Bjørn Thorsen customers across Europe.

Title: The hidden value in scrap: How redistribution can add value to your business

Synopsis: Even high-value engineering materials have a strange habit of turning worthless the moment they leave the production line as scrap. Often there is nothing wrong with them. They just cannot easily go back into your process, so you end up paying to get rid of something you paid good money for. Recycling, transport, and distribution all add cost, so scrap will never be worth the same as virgin material. But instead of paying for disposal, you could be compensated for what it is still worth.

At Bjørn Thorsen, we believe in adding value. For us, distribution has never been only about delivering a truckload of product. Redistribution follows the same idea: we aim to compensate you for valuable scrap, even when it is already combined with other polymers in finished products. Scrap you cannot reuse yourself becomes part of our portfolio of recycled grades, so the material goes back to work.

Our distribution focus is thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), and we want to make recycled elastomers as easy to use as virgin. Our recycled grades meet three conditions: virgin-level pricing, consistent batch-to-batch quality, and virgin-equivalent properties. The portfolio is based mainly on our customers’ post-industrial waste, and we are moving towards valuable post-consumer streams.

If your products contain valuable materials, this talk is for you.