Shark Solutions announces pioneering partnership with Tapibel

Circularity Capital portfolio company Shark Solutions, a global leader in advanced recycled polyvinyl butyral (PVB) products, has partnered with Belgian manufacturer Tapibel to launch a sustainable range of commercial carpets.

The agreement will see 100% post-consumer rPVB pellets and dispersions, supplied by Shark Solutions, used in precoat and secondary backing applications for Tapibel’s ‘Ecofuse’ range. Replacing more traditional oil-based latex binders, the range offers outstanding performance and durability, while simultaneously helping end users to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

With manufacturing operations across both Europe and the United States, Shark Solutions separates the valuable PVB layers from broken windshields and architectural glass and transforms it into non-toxic, sustainable, recyclable and price-competitive binders for use in paints, coatings, adhesives and flooring products.

Thanks to a lower carbon footprint than more traditional binders, technical properties exceeding customer requirements and a cost-comparable price point, the company is seeing strong interest from companies worldwide. This includes for use in a number of Cradle-to-Cradle Certified products.

Andrew Shannon, Partner at Circularity Capital, said: “It’s positive news indeed to see Shark Solutions agree yet another high-profile partnership to offset the use of virgin latex through the adoption of recycled post-consumer PVB. The company is continuing to increase its global customer base, thanks to increasing demand for more sustainable, more circular binding solutions from leading manufacturers.

“Disrupting the dated take-make-dispose methods of production and consumption, Shark Solutions is a great fit for our focus on European growth stage businesses enabling the circular economy. We’re committed to supporting the senior leadership team as Shark Solutions accelerates the roll out of its proven rPVB products to meet rising global customer demand.”