Muldenhütten Recycling und Umwelttechnik GmbH

Muldenhütten Recycling und Umwelttechnik GmbH (MRU) is the third largest lead smelter in Germany. The smelter, founded in the 14th century, was converted to a smelter for secondary materials in 1969, and then modernised between 1993 and 1994 to conform to most modern Standards. MRU is continuously expanding and improving its facility to maintain the highest possible operational standards. Today, MRU employs 155 staff to process around 55,000 tonnes of lead and lead alloys, including tin and antimony master alloys.

Since 2012, MRU is the second Polypropylene reground producer in the ECOBAT group with an annual quantity of 15,000 tonnes. The Polypropylene, obtained as a by-product of the pre-treatment process, is refined to Polypropylene compounds - a material much in demand by the international automotive industry for manufacturing external plastic linings for their newer car models. The product, marketed under the trade name Seculene® PP, is highly regarded in this market.

The plant also produces sodium sulphate. MRU is unique among the lead smelters worldwide, in that it has its own integrated incinerator for hazardous wastes. This enables the recovery of hazardous non-recyclable plastic wastes, which are produced during the pre-treatment of accumulators.