PELLENC Selective Technologies

About PELLENC Selective Technologies

Pellenc Selective Technologies (Pellenc ST) operates as a key equipment manufacturer within the global waste management and recycling sector. Founded in 2001, the company emerged from Pellenc SA, a French agricultural machinery group established by Roger Pellenc in 1973. The technological pivot occurred when the expertise used in fruit-harvesting machines was adapted to develop waste sorting equipment, leading to the formal launch of Pellenc ST and its first optical sorter. Since 2013, Jean Henin has been the majority shareholder and President, steering the company's growth and international expansion.

The company's core business is the design, production, and sale of intelligent optical sorting machines and connected services for recycling facilities and waste treatment plants. Its clients include municipalities, private waste operators, and recyclers who require precise material separation to enhance the value of recovered commodities. Pellenc ST's business model centers on selling high-performance sorting equipment, with an emphasis on research and development, to which it dedicates 10% of its annual turnover. The firm operates in over 40 countries, with subsidiaries in the US and Japan, and a significant market share in France.

Pellenc ST's product line, primarily the Mistral+ and Mistral Compact sorters, utilizes a combination of advanced sensor technologies to identify and separate materials. These technologies include near-infrared (NIR) and visible spectrometry to determine material composition and color, induction for metals, and X-ray for density-based separation. This allows for the sorting of a wide range of materials such as different types of plastics (e.g., PET bottles from PET trays), paper from cardboard, metals, and organic waste. A key feature is the Central Nervous System (CNS) platform, a software architecture that integrates artificial intelligence and deep learning to tackle complex sorting tasks, like identifying black plastics or separating food-grade from non-food-grade packaging. The company also offers connected services for remote monitoring and data reporting, helping clients optimize sorting line efficiency.