Sicut Enterprises (
www.sicut.co.uk)is about to begin manufacturing Ecotrax recycled-plastic composite sleepers — an alternative to traditional wooden sleepers — in the UK.
The company is one of two licensees of this technology, which was developed at Rutgers University in New Jersey. It will source local scrap plastic to make the sleepers.
Chief executive William Mainwaring said: “With the rising UK and European demand for Ecotrax and other products using Sicut’s licensed technology, local manufacture is the only way to achieve the lead times, volumes and pricing that customers expect.
“The UK has the raw material and the manufacturing capability to meet local demand, and the manufacture of Ecotrax in the UK will provide a much-sought-after boost to the embattled plastic-recycling industry, which in some areas is seemingly on the verge of collapse.
“Ecotrax manufacture will bring inward investment to the UK, new advanced manufacturing, ‘green’ jobs and local regeneration. It is clearly wrong that high-quality hardwood is still being used in rail infrastructure when a proven alternative — made from plastic waste — offers a better-value alternative.
“I hope that bringing the manufacture of Ecotrax to the UK from the USA will remove the final obstacle to this technology’s widespread adoption across Europe.”