Petkus Sorting Summit
Sorting as a key competence of the circular economy 18.06.2026Specialist event hosted by Circular Valley partner Petkus brings together around 40 companies in Thuringia. Circular Valley and partners are developing cross-industry collaboration.
Separating the wheat from the chaff has been essential in agriculture for centuries. The same principle applies to the circular economy: without precise sorting, materials cannot be returned to high-quality circular systems. The Circular Valley Foundation and its partners identified sorting technology early on as a cross-industry key topic – and have already initiated initial collaborations demonstrating the potential of this field.
Around 40 companies gathered at the Petkus Sorting Summit to discuss different approaches and application cases related to industrial sorting processes
© Circular Valley
Joint discussions among several partners had already taken place
A clear indication of growing business interest was provided by the specialist event “Material and Process Efficiency: Innovation, Regional Cooperation & Value Creation,” organized on May 20 by Circular Valley partner Petkus Technology GmbH together with the Wartburg district, the Hersfeld-Rotenburg Economic Development Agency, the Thuringian State Development Agency (ThEGA), and Röber Institut GmbH. Around 40 companies gathered at the Petkus site in Eisenach, Thuringia, to discuss different approaches and application cases related to industrial sorting processes. The broad participation from various industries underlines how relevant the topic has become for the practical implementation of the circular economy.
The starting point for the activities in this area was a series of joint discussions and initial pilot projects initiated by Circular Valley together with Petkus, automotive supplier Aptiv, and plastics recycler Energenta. The results achieved so far are promising and are now set to be further developed. The topic combines two fields of expertise that rarely come together: optical recognition technology and industrial mechanical engineering – a combination where cross-industry networking delivers particularly strong value.
Key question of the event: How can materials be sorted precisely enough to return them to high-quality circular systems?
© Circular Valley
Cross-industry collaboration as the key
Petkus Technologie GmbH, headquartered in Eisenach, Thuringia, and specializing in sorting technology since 1852, contributes optical recognition systems and mechanical engineering expertise originally developed for seed processing. Aptiv, a global automotive supplier with a site in Wuppertal, faces the challenge of reliably sorting small-scale production waste. Energenta, based in Ochtrup (North Rhine-Westphalia), processes mixed plastic waste and must separate heterogeneous material streams into pure fractions. Three companies, three industries – and one common question: how can materials be sorted precisely enough to return them to high-quality circular systems?
“Sorting is a crucial success factor in determining whether circular systems actually work in practice,” says Dr. Carsten Gerhardt, Chairman of the Circular Valley Foundation. “We recognized this as a core capability of the circular economy and brought together companies that otherwise might never have met. The fact that this is now producing tangible results and generating such strong interest shows that this is exactly where real innovation potential lies.”
