65 years MKV

MKV celebrates its anniversary!

MKV celebrated its anniversary on July 4th in a beautiful marquee on the company premises, accompanied by bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures.

The company, founded in 1960 by Heinz Zies in the city of Eschborn, has been in existence for 65 years. The original name was SKV – Scrap and Plastics Recycling. However, this was changed shortly afterwards to MKV – Metal and Plastics Recycling to better reflect the company's business activities and avoid any negative associations with the term "scrap."

MKV's success story, like so many others, began in a garage. However, new premises in Eschborn were quickly needed. From grinding Plexiglas dashboard panels, which were already being exported to the USA at the time, to grinding and granulating PP film, the company's focus from the very beginning was on processing plastic waste. Metal trading was still part of the company's operations in the early years, but was quickly abandoned as plastics grew in importance.

Lack of space has been a guiding theme throughout MKV's history. Just five years after its founding, the company relocated to Kelkheim (Taunus) in 1965 and built its own production facility with an office building, production hall, and warehouse.

MKV was based in Kelkheim for several decades and, just like today, produced high-quality regranulates and compounds based on recycled materials. Mechanical recycling and sustainability, topics of today, were already part of MKV's daily business back then.

Two other notable events in the company's history, which were and remain crucial for the company's future development and direction, occurred in the early 1980s. Renate Zies, an active shareholder and managing director, and the longest-serving employee, joined MKV in 1980, and Rainer Zies, also a shareholder and managing director, joined in 1984.

At the end of the 1980s, MKV's guiding theme "lack of space" became relevant again, and in 1988, construction began on a new production and warehouse facility, which was put into operation in 1989.

Over the next few years, MKV founder Heinz Zies retired from the company, and in 1994, Rainer Zies took over full management. In the same year, MKV also received its current name to better emphasize its connection to plastics: MKV GmbH Kunststoffgranulate.

For 30 years, the company's existence has been closely linked to the Beselich location. Again, a lack of space led to the purchase of the Beselich site, the current company headquarters, in 1995. Mechanical processing, i.e., grinding, dedusting, and demetallization, was relocated to Beselich.

In 1997, MKV and other partners founded PKR – PET – Kunststoffrecycling at its Beselich site. Upon commissioning, PKR had the first facility to meet FDA-approved PET recycling requirements. PET is the prime example of recycling and is now common practice. MKV also played a key role in the early stages of its introduction.

In 1998, Renate Zies was appointed Managing Director.

Before the turn of the millennium, MKV received its first certification according to DIN ISO 9001 and validation according to EMAS, marking a milestone in the development of MKV's quality management system. To this day, MKV is certified according to DIN/ISO 9001 and 14001.

Unfortunately, MKV founder Heinz Zies passed away that same year on September 2, 1999. The celebration in 2000, marking the company's 40th anniversary, honored his wish, as he had originally conceived it.

MKV continues to grow steadily, and so it's no surprise that in 2008, an additional 1,500 m² warehouse and an equally large outdoor storage area were built in Beselich.

The period of the financial crisis was also difficult for MKV, but it was successfully overcome.

The last celebration up to the current anniversary was in 2010 for the 50th anniversary of the MKV, which was celebrated in Kelkheim at that time.

What the events described in the first 50 years of the company's history do not reflect is the constant development and specialization in the field of plastics processing. While initially PP, PE, and PS were processed, today it comprises essentially all engineering plastics, such as PA 6 or PA 6.6 with glass fiber and other additives, as well as high-performance plastics such as PESU or PPS. For the latter, MKV has a cooperation with the Japanese company Toray for the Ecouse TORELINA product line, which contains 50% recycled material.

Not only the materials, but also the components themselves have changed over time. While initially, it was PS deep-drawn parts or Tupperware, today MKV reprocesses sprues and missing parts from complex technical components. All of this has always been accompanied by the desire to drive development forward and, above all, to invest in new machines and its own facilities. Especially regarding machines, MKV is continuously updating its production equipment.

As has happened so often in the company's history, it was the lack of space to expand its business activities that led MKV to abandon its Kelkheim location in 2019 and relocate all activities to Beselich.

This also marked the end of the MKV's long-standing membership in the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce and Industry. However, Managing Director Rainer Zies remains closely connected and active with the Chamber through a management company based in Eschborn, and currently serving as its Vice President. The MKV was delighted to hear Chamber of Commerce President Ulrich Caspar's speech on the company's anniversary.

The Limburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry was also represented and, following Chamber of Commerce President Caspar's speech, addressed the assembled guests through its Managing Director Monika Sommer, who then presented a certificate of honor commemorating the company's anniversary.

Since 2021, the family-run MKV has been strengthened by the third generation of management, with Kai Zies, the founder's grandson. A fact which cannot be taken for granted these days. Independent, family-run companies in plastics recycling are now rare.

MKV is therefore well positioned for the future.

The company history of MKV is significantly more extensive and includes many more facts and figures than those described here, such as its involvement in clubs and associations, which cannot be covered in this article. Furthermore, it is constantly being written. But it is always the people who shape this history and make it possible. In his celebratory speech, Managing Director Rainer Zies specifically mentioned six employees by name, all of whom have been with the company for between 26 and 36 years.

MKV would like to sincerely thank all employees, friends, and business partners for their attendance, congratulations, and gifts on the company's 65th anniversary.

See you at the 75th anniversary!