Stadler integrates textile sorting line for IGERS

Stadler Group has acted as technology partner to IGERS s.r.l. in the development of a textile recycling plant in San Pietro Mosezzo, in the province of Novara, Piedmont. The German company, which specializes in the planning, production and assembly of turnkey sorting plants, supported IGERS from the initial discussions on process requirements through to a layout adapted to the existing building. Stadler integrated key treatment equipment purchased by IGERS, enabling the individual process steps to operate as a single system, and designed and supplied the fully automated sorting line.

"Stadler worked with us not simply as a supplier, but as a technology partner, understanding the specific requirements of a project that is both new and ambitious within the Italian context," says Gian Luca Miceli, CEO of IGERS.

The San Pietro Mosezzo facility is described as the first plant in Italy to include all treatment phases of textile recycling. It processes post-consumer and post-industrial textile waste into high-quality flakes and frayed material suitable for the spinning industry, with traceability throughout the process. The plant has a capacity of 4 t/h and is authorized to process up to 19,200 tonnes of textile waste per year.

The total investment amounts to approximately €8 million, including €1.3 million in co-financing from Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, PNRR. The project addresses growing demand for industrial systems capable of sorting and preparing textile waste for high-quality recycling as separate textile collection and Extended Producer Responsibility requirements develop across Europe.

A patented process for a heterogeneous waste stream

Textile waste combines different fibers, composite materials, accessories and contamination, and its quality can vary considerably. At the same time, recyclers need transparency regarding how material is sorted and where each fraction is sent. IGERS has addressed these requirements through its own process, patented in Italy, covering the entire sequence from the initial buffer through sanitizing, sorting and tearing to the final output.

"The distinctive value of our process lies in the integration of impurity separation, technology-based material sorting, mechanical regeneration and digital traceability," explains Miceli. "We do not consider these stages as isolated activities: they are parts of a single system that enables more accurate decisions to be made about the destination of each material stream."

"The opening of the San Pietro Mosezzo plant represents IGERS' transition from vision to industrial capability," he adds.

Engineering and integration for an emerging sector

Industrial textile recycling is still at an early stage, with limited operational experience available compared with more established waste streams. Developing a suitable system therefore requires sorting technology as well as expertise in plant engineering, material handling and the integration of equipment from different suppliers.

"We chose Stadler because we were looking for a partner with international experience and a proven ability to translate complex requirements into a reliable engineering solution," says Miceli. "In a project like this, technology is fundamental, but technology alone is not enough: you also need a structured approach, responsiveness, rigorous interface management and attention to detail."

The project required coordination between the suppliers involved, the harmonization of existing components and a plant design providing flexibility in sorting operations.

"IGERS approached us looking for a reliable partner who could turn their ideas into a real, scalable industrial solution," says Matteo Zaninelli, Project Manager at Stadler. "At the beginning, we focused mainly on the process: what IGERS wanted to achieve, the characteristics of the material and the required outputs. From there, we started developing the flow diagrams, selecting the most suitable equipment and finally, designing the complete layout around the available building. It was very much a step-by-step development, with IGERS bringing its knowledge of textile recycling and Stadler contributing its experience in plant engineering, material handling and sorting."

Handling tests for variable textile materials

Textiles create specific handling difficulties because they are soft, flexible and supplied in many shapes and sizes. They can also fold, overlap or become entangled during transport and sorting.

"Textiles present very specific handling challenges," explains Zaninelli. "They are soft and flexible; they come in many different shapes and sizes; and they can fold, overlap or become entangled."

Stadler carried out extensive trials at its Test Center, while IGERS conducted its own tests and contributed practical knowledge of textile recycling. The findings were used to define the configurations for feeding, dosing, conveying and distributing the material throughout the plant. In particular, the positioning of the dosing units and the design of their distribution hoppers were adapted to the behavior of textile waste.

"These may seem like relatively small details, but they have a significant impact on the stability of the material flow and therefore on the performance of the entire sorting process," Zaninelli notes.

Two-stage NIR sorting in an automated line

The Stadler sorting line consists of two dosing units, two Tomra near-infrared, NIR, optical sorters and 16 conveyors. Its principal function is to prepare textile material for subsequent recycling stages. Separation quality is important because the textile fractions can have different destinations and may require different downstream treatments. The line also maintains a continuous, homogeneous flow, providing stable operating conditions for downstream equipment and supporting process efficiency and final fraction quality.

During the initial sorting stage, the first NIR sorter separates pure textiles, including 100% cotton or 100% wool, from blended textiles and impurities. The higher-value pure fractions are placed in a buffer. The second NIR sorter then separates the mixed textile stream from impurities and non-conforming materials, including pieces of hangers and leather.

In the second stage, material held in the buffer is recirculated through the same sorting equipment. The NIR sorters are then configured to separate the textiles according to fiber type.

Flexibility was included in the design from the outset. The facility can handle different incoming textile streams and throughputs, while IGERS can determine the destination of each output fraction. Depending on the selected sorting strategy, material can be directed to the baler, several storage containers, a recirculation buffer or the fiber-opening process.

"This gives IGERS the possibility to adapt the plant to different materials and sorting strategies, which is particularly important in a market that is still evolving rapidly," says Zaninelli.

The line is fully automated and requires one plant manager to start and stop the system and adjust the NIR sorter settings as required.

Plans for further textile recycling hubs

IGERS intends to use the San Pietro Mosezzo facility as the basis for further development. "Our objective is to consolidate San Pietro Mosezzo as a leading industrial and technological platform," says Miceli. "Building on this foundation, we intend to progressively develop additional recycling hubs, in line with the availability of material streams, regional requirements and demand for high-quality recovered materials."

For Stadler, the IGERS project combines experience from previous textile sorting projects with its plant engineering and system integration capabilities. According to the company, the project expands its expertise in integrated textile sorting and recycling systems.

"The plant built for IGERS demonstrates that textile recycling requires not only high-performance machinery, but also a strong ability to integrate different technologies, specialized engineering expertise, and a plant design capable of adapting to complex and variable material flows," says Zaninelli. "In this sense, the project is a concrete example of how we can support the development of industrial infrastructure for a sector that is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years."

"We expect textile sorting and recycling to become increasingly industrialized," he concludes. "Sorting technology has to develop together with the recycling processes it is feeding. Ultimately, our job is not simply to separate textiles, but to provide downstream processes with the right material, at the right quality, and in a consistent way."