Romi participates in the manufacture of Brazil's Formula 1 Grand Prix trophies

Trophies were produced with recycled plastic during the Brazilian Grand prix; a world first!

Romi participated in the production of Brazil's Formula 1 Grand Prix trophies, which were made with recycled plastic during the grand Prix, on October 18 2009 at Interlagos (São Paulo, Brazil). The trophies were made with recycled material from recycled mineral water bottles and caps, collected during the event. The original project was developed in cooperation with Braskem, Latin America's leader in thermoplastic resins and the third largest in the Americas; Fortymil, a leading distributor of resins, and plastic recycling company Plastivida, The Social-Environmental Institute of Plastic; and Coopercaps, The Cooperative and Selective Collection of Capela do Socorro (specialized in collecting recyclable materials).

The following steps were all completed during the race; waste collection, sorting, milling, drying, extrusion, pressing a plate using the recycled material and it's machining. Romi were responsible for the machining process, and used the newly launched vertical machining center ‘Romi D 800AP’. Hiroshi Assada, Romi's Machine Tools Sales Engineering Manager said "That was the most suitable machine due to its high speed and feed rate, and ability to machine the part with precision and outstanding surface finish".

To produce the trophies, which were designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, the partners set up a recycling facility at the Interlagos Circuit, and turned discarded plastic into coveted prizes.