Bertelsmann Marketing Services | Gütersloh, 10/30/2023

The Material ‘Eco Records’ Are Made Of

Sonopress has agreed on a cooperation with SK Chemicals. The South Korean company supplies 100% recycled PET (CR-PET), which clearly reduces CO₂ emissions, for the production of Sonopress’ new “Eco Record”.

The storage media manufacturer Sonopress has developed a new form of long-playing record that dramatically reduces the environmental impact of the manufacturing process: the “Eco Record”.  Neither natural gas nor steam are needed to press the discs, and in test operations, the energy savings was as high as 85 percent compared to the conventional process. For the production of the novel “EcoRecord” LP, recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is used as the base material instead of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which can also be 100 percent recycled PET from the new Sonopress partner SK Chemicals, a leading manufacturer of chemicals and life science products headquartered in South Korea. This allows a significant reduction in carbon emissions while ensuring the same physical properties and safety as existing PET.

Sonopress and SK Chemicals are thus actively leading the way in reducing carbon emissions by closely cooperating in the production of long-playing records made from 100 percent recycled materials. SK Chemicals announced that it has used 100 percent of its recycled PET (CR-PET) for Sonopress' new “Eco Record” long-playing records. The term CR refers to “Circular Recycling” or "Chemical Recycling" technology, which enables infinite reuse by breaking down plastic waste to the molecular level and reprocessing it back into raw materials. Compared to "mechanical recycling," in which plastic waste is cleaned or shredded for reuse (in flake form), it has the advantage of maintaining high-value physical properties and safety. Sonopress’ “Eco Records”, which can be made of 100 percent recycled PET-CR, was jointly developed by SK Chemicals and its long-term strategic international Distribution Partner Biesterfeld Plastic, after signing a memorandum of understanding with Sonopress.

Extensive investment at Sonopress

By using PET-CR in Sonopress' “Eco Record” music records, greenhouse gas emissions can be significantly reduced compared to the previous petroleum-based PET, and meets the needs of consumers who prefer environmentally friendly products. Accordingly, Sonopress plans to expand the use of SK Chemicals' PET-CR to other product groups, starting with this mass produced packaging.

Sven Deutschmann, CEO of Sonopress, explained: “The test series was so encouraging that we have given the green light for extensive investment in the construction of an initial pilot line in the twelve-inch LP format. Life cycle analyses have shown that we can significantly reduce emissions of climate-damaging CO₂ with our new process. The cooperation with SK Chemicals and Biesterfeld has brought us a decisive step forward in development, and we are now preparing to expand our production capacity.”

No compromise on high quality sound

Eung-soo Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of SK Chemicals’ Green Material Business, said: “In March, we acquired assets related to the recyclable recycled PET raw materials business in Shuye, China, and established SK Shantou to lay the foundation for a stable supply of recycled plastic raw materials. Based on this, SK Chemicals plans to expand its recyclable recycled product groups to various industrial materials in the future.” Daniel Fischer, Product Manager at Biesterfeld, commented: “We are very proud that we could assist Sonopress on behalf of SK, introducing PET-CR for their ‘Eco Record’ LP and bringing in our technical expertise to meet the complex technical requirements without compromising on high quality sound and, in addition, supporting Sonopress in establishing a new standard for a more environmentally friendly LP.”

The “Eco Record” LP is produced on a new injection molding machine with a contact pressure of up to 300 tons. Together with special molds and additional equipment, all developed entirely by Sonopress, the production line was completed in just a few months. It uses the same injection molding process that has been used for decades to produce LaserDiscs, CDs, DVDs and other digital storage media. Following a test series last year, Sonopress is now bringing online its first production line for the novel “Eco Records” LPs. The market launch of the “Eco Record” comes at a time when the global vinyl market continues to grow, as Sonopress announced. Sales increased 17.1% in 2022, the third consecutive year of double-digit growth.