Recycling Powerhouse Ltd. Launches in Switzerland to Expand Industrial Textile Recycling Through Franchise Model
New venture backed by Rieter Group, Säntis Textiles and Valvan plans first franchise recycling facility in Qatar in early 2027
Recycling Powerhouse Ltd. was established in July 2026 with the objective of industrializing, standardizing and scaling textile recycling through a franchise-driven business model. Headquartered in Switzerland, the company plans to support textile recycling operations that produce certified recycled yarns, with its first blueprint franchise facility scheduled to begin operations in early 2027 in partnership with Suhail Industrial Holding Group in Qatar.
Recycling Powerhouse Ltd. has been established to develop a standardized approach to textile recycling by creating a global network of franchise-operated recycling plants. The company will focus on converting post- and pre-consumer textile waste into certified recycled yarns at industrial scale.
The venture is supported by Rieter Group, Säntis Textiles, and Valvan. According to the company, the initiative is intended to address increasing textile waste, evolving regulatory requirements and demand for sustainable textile products.
Although textile-to-textile recycling has existed for years, the release states that less than 1% of used textiles are recycled back into new ones. It attributes this to technological complexity, the availability of low-cost virgin materials and fragmented, difficult-to-verify recycling claims.
Franchise-Based Operating Model
Recycling Powerhouse will operate as a global integrator and franchisor across the textile recycling value chain.
The company will provide franchise partners with:
- Standardized recycling concepts
- Recycling technologies
- Operating procedures
- Digital solutions
- Audit services
- Technical support
- Engineering expertise
- Training programs
- Operational support systems
Yarns produced by franchise partners will be marketed under an established brand. The company will oversee quality through auditing, certification and end-to-end traceability across the value chain.
Technology Contributions from Industry Partners
As part of the venture, Rieter will contribute tearing and spinning technology for short-staple fibers.
According to the release, Rieter's tearing machine converts fabric clips into fibers while preserving fiber quality more effectively than conventional technologies. The tearing system complements the company's end-to-end spinning systems technology.
Valvan will provide textile sorting technologies, including:
- Fibersort, an automated AI-based textile sorting machine
- Trimclean, a system designed to prepare fabric clips for tearing
First Franchise Facility Planned for Qatar
The first blueprint recycling facility and franchise operation is scheduled to launch in early 2027 in Qatar in cooperation with Suhail Industrial Holding Group.
According to the release, Suhail Industrial Holding Group currently operates in the recycling of metals, steel and plastic across the Middle East and other regions and is expanding into textile recycling through this project.
The facility is intended to serve as a reference model for industrial-scale textile recycling. The release also states that Suhail Industrial Holding Group is planning additional plants worldwide.
Statements from Company Representatives
Noel Norking, Managing Director of Recycling Powerhouse:
“Our mission is to make textile recycling simple, scalable and accessible to investors, so they can turn the textile industry’s tectonic shifts into monumental opportunity while helping to solve the world’s growing textile waste problem.”
Thomas Oetterli, CEO of Rieter Group:
“With Recycling Powerhouse Ltd., we are bringing our greatest strengths to one of the world’s most pressing issues: textile waste. By combining leading-edge spinning technology, decades of recycling expertise and advanced traceability solutions, the venture creates a strategic platform to unlock new growth opportunities across machinery sales, engineering services, recycling technologies and recycled yarn markets.”
Stefan Hutter, owner of Säntis Textiles:
“Yarn manufacturing is fundamental to successful textile-to-textile recycling. We will bring together the full know-how of Rieter’s systems technology to create a powerful yarn brand with real potential to transform textile recycling.”
Frank Vandeputte, owner of the Valvan Group:
“At the heart of any effective recycling system is the ability to separate pure fractions from waste streams. We are proud to bring our advanced and specialized sorting technology to the textile industry and help pave the way to solving the global challenge of textile waste.”
Sheikh Khalid Ahmed Mubarak Al Thani, Chairman of Suhail Industrial Holding Group in Qatar:
“Recycling Powerhouse brings together deep textile expertise and cutting-edge engineering to help us realize our vision of a sustainable, competitive and resilient future where there is no textile waste.”