STADLER opens new testing centre in Germany during 2026 Summit
Recyclers can evaluate their own materials while optimizing processing parameters across various machines
STADLER welcomed recyclers and industry journalists to its headquarters in Altshausen for its Summit 2026, where visitors were shown the future of sorting and recycling, along with the inauguration of the new Test Center. The event also offered practical insight into how STADLER Group combines engineering, production, digital technologies, and lifecycle services to address different operational and market requirements.
The event began with presentations on the new Air Drum Sifter, digital solutions for optimized plant performance, technical innovations for next-generation sorting plants, and the company's comprehensive service offering, followed by a tour of STADLER's production facilities.
Julia and Willi Stadler led the official inauguration of STADLER's new Test Center, followed by a live demonstration showcasing selected STADLERconnect modules. HDPE, PET and film were processed to demonstrate the facility's ability to test different plastic fractions under realistic operating conditions.
"The Summit was conceived as much more than a company presentation. It was an opportunity to listen to our customers, exchange experiences and discuss how the recycling industry is evolving," says Julia Stadler, co-CEO of the STADLER Group. "By bringing together engineering, manufacturing, digitalization and service, we can support our customers throughout the entire lifecycle of their plants and help them respond to their individual operational and market requirements."
Take a look inside STADLER's manufacturing process
Guests were given a behind-the-scenes tour of STADLER's headquarters in Altshausen, where more than 350 employees work across over 20,000 square metres of production and logistics space. The visit covered storage and logistics, sheet metal processing, robotic welding, powder coating, and final assembly.
The site produces equipment and components for custom sorting plants, including conveyor systems, ballistic separators, air drum sifters, dosing systems, and sorting cabins. Recent investments in new welding robots and a vertical CNC machining centre have further strengthened its capabilities. Keeping these processes in-house gives STADLER direct control over quality, precision, and delivery, while enabling close cooperation between engineering, manufacturing, and assembly.
The new test centre reassures recyclers that STADLER equipment is the right choice
STADLER's new Test Center was also inaugurated at the event. The space spans approximately 2,160 square metres across several halls, with 726 square metres dedicated to the test installation and equipment. Developed for the Engineering Department, it will support fundamental trials, prototype development, and the optimization of machines, components, and digital solutions.
The Test Center incorporates examples of every type of equipment manufactured at the Altshausen site, together with digital solutions such as AI Material Compass, volume flow sensors, and STADLERconnect. It will be used to test plastic fractions and textiles and evaluate new machine concepts, including different air classifier models.
Customers will be able to test their own materials, optimize processing parameters, and compare different machine configurations, reducing investment risk through validated test results. The facility will also provide hands-on training for operators and service personnel, helping customers achieve consistent throughput, high plant availability, and the best possible recovery and purity levels.
The new Test Center complements STADLER's other facilities
The new Altshausen facility complements STADLER's Test & Innovation Center in Krško, Slovenia. Krško is also home to STADLER's second production site, where trommel screens, label removers, and the electrical components for the STADLER sorting plants are manufactured. While the Test Center in Altshausen focuses on STADLER's own technologies and testing recycler materials, the Krško facility combines STADLER equipment with additional technologies, including shredding, magnetic and eddy current separation, and NIR sorting, for larger-scale material trials and comprehensive process validation.
"The new Test Center creates a direct link between our engineering expertise, practical testing and the real needs of our customers," says Willi Stadler, co-CEO of the STADLER Group. "Waste composition, collection systems, legislation and output requirements vary from one project to another, so we engineer the mechanical, electrical and digital components as an integrated system. The facility enables us to evaluate and refine that interaction under realistic conditions."
