STADLER brought together 50 participants from 10 countries, including representatives of leading recycling companies and international industry media, at its headquarters in Altshausen, Germany, for the STADLER Summit 2026.

The Summit focused on the operational and strategic challenges facing recycling companies and the future of sorting. The programme covered the new Air Drum Sifter, digital solutions for plant performance, technical innovations for next-generation sorting plants and lifecycle services, followed by a tour of STADLER’s production facilities.

New Test Center

The event culminated in the inauguration of STADLER’s new 2,160 m² Test Center, including 726 m² dedicated to test installations and equipment.

During a live demonstration, HDPE, PET and film were processed under realistic operating conditions using selected STADLERconnect modules.

The facility will support fundamental trials, prototype development and optimisation of machines, components and digital solutions. It includes examples of equipment manufactured at Altshausen, as well as digital technologies including AI Material Compass, volume flow sensors and STADLERconnect.

Customers will be able to test their own materials, optimise processing parameters and compare machine configurations. The facility will also be used to test plastics and textiles and evaluate new machine concepts, including different air classifier models.

“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.

Engineering and production in Altshausen

More than 350 employees work across over 20,000 m² of production and logistics space at the Altshausen site. STADLER manufactures conveyors, ballistic separators, air drum sifters, dosing systems and sorting cabins there. Recent investments include new welding robots and a vertical CNC machining centre.

Complementary testing network

The new Test Center complements STADLER’s Test & Innovation Center in Krško, Slovenia, where larger-scale trials can combine STADLER equipment with shredding, magnetic and eddy current separation, and NIR sorting.

“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.”