IRM recovers, compounds, and supplies advanced engineering polymers that most recyclers cannot process — Aromatics, Semi-Aromatics, Fluoropolymers, HT Nylons, Long Chain Nylons, Specialty Polyesters, + — delivering qualified materials to global manufacturers and converters.
International Resources Manufacturing LLC (IRM) is a US-based specialist in Ultra High-Performance Polymer compounding, precision technical fibre processing, and closed-loop polymer recycling.
Together with Global Consulting & Manufacturing Group (GCMG) — our holding and international operating arm — we form a vertically integrated platform with nine facilities and offices across four continents: collection, qualification, fibre processing, compounding, and certified sales of UHPP materials including PEEK, PEKK, PEI, PAI, PBI, PPS, polysulfones, fluoropolymers, and LCP.
Our model pairs fibre operations (sizing, chopping, pulping, powder production) with polymer compounding (twin-screw and reactive extrusion) in matched sister plants — one fibre, one compound — across the USA, Croatia, and India. This vertical integration allows us to control sizing chemistry, fibre length, and matrix formulation in a single supply chain — something virtually no other recycler in our space can offer.
Materials not suited for in-house compounding are traded internationally to qualified reclaimers under documented chain of custody — supported by our global collection network in Brazil, China, Japan, and South Korea.
Every family below is a core operation — sourced, qualified, and compounded in-house. Select a chemistry class, then expand any family for properties and grades. The comprehensive grade-by-grade simulator (300+ grades, real-time modelling) is available in our UHPP Compound Simulator.
Technical fibres are the differentiating capability that distinguishes IRM. Operating dedicated fibre plants in South Jordan UT, Croatia, and Rajkot India, we produce precision-cut, pulped, and powdered fibres — with proprietary UHPP-compatible matrix sizings (PI, PA, phenolic) — for our own compound formulations.
Distinct from our UHPP compounding operation, IRM trades a defined portfolio of engineering thermoplastics and engineering blends — sourced as post-industrial scrap and traded to qualified reclaimers under documented chain of custody. These materials are not used in our internal compounding — they fill the trading book that complements our core activities.
Different polymers and waste forms require different recovery routes. Choosing the correct route is the first and most critical decision in any UHPP recycling workflow — and one that broker-driven recycling chains routinely get wrong.
IRM (USA) and GCMG (international) operate paired fibre-and-compounding plants across the USA, Croatia, and India, supported by a global collection and sales network in Brazil, China, Japan, and South Korea.
Common questions on UHPP recycling, compounding, and supply.
Regrind is mechanically granulated polymer from scrap — the raw output of a granulator processing runners, off-cuts, or rejected parts. Particles are irregular in shape and size distribution. Typically blended with virgin material at controlled ratios (≤30% regrind / 70% virgin for structural injection moulding).
Regranulate is regrind that has been melted, extruded, and re-cut into uniform pellets. Regranulation homogenises the material and allows full quality characterisation (MFI, DSC) before use. We produce certified regranulate pellets from qualified UHPP regrind streams under defined quality tiers.
Melt extrusion route (preferred): the polymer can be melted and reprocessed through a twin-screw extruder. Applies to PEEK, PEI, PPS, LCP, PA-HT, polysulfones, fluoropolymers (PFA, FEP, PVDF, ETFE), and uncured PAI injection scrap. Produces pellets that re-enter the moulding supply chain. MW degradation per cycle is monitored via MFI.
Powder route (required for non-melt materials): the polymer cannot flow — thermosets (Vespel, Kapton, P84 EOL), fully post-cured PAI, sintered-only materials (PTFE, PBI), and elastomers (FKM, FFKM). The grinding process is selected by polymer state, not by family: ambient mechanical milling for glassy/brittle materials, ambient jet milling with prior MW reduction for PTFE, cryogenic embrittlement for elastomers and tough drawn polymers. Output is fine powder (5–50 µm) used as a functional filler in reactive extrusion compounds.
Cryogenic grinding uses liquid nitrogen to cool material below its effective brittleness threshold during grinding. It is genuinely necessary for two specific material categories:
Elastomers (FKM, FFKM, NBR, EPDM, silicone) — these are rubbery at room temperature (Tg around –20 to –40 °C for fluoroelastomers). At ambient temperature they smear and gum the mill rather than fracture. Cooling to –80 to –120 °C makes them glassy and they fracture cleanly.
Tough drawn polymers (UHMWPE, para-aramid) — although technically glassy at RT, the high crystallinity and drawn molecular orientation give exceptional impact toughness that ambient mills cannot overcome. Cryogenic embrittlement enables clean fracture; alternatively these fibres are processed via pulping or precision cutting rather than ground.
For everything else, ambient grinding is preferred and far more energy-efficient. Glassy thermosets (Vespel TS-PI, post-cured PAI, PBI, phenolic) are already brittle at room temperature and grind cleanly via hammer or attrition mills. PTFE has low cohesive strength and is jet-milled at ambient — usually after electron-beam or thermal MW reduction — to produce micropowder. Using cryogenic grinding on these materials wastes liquid nitrogen and adds cost without benefit.
The high-temperature imide-bearing polymers form a related chemistry family with three distinct groups, each with different processing characteristics.
Polyimides (PI) include PEI (Ultem, melt-processable, Tg 217°C), TPI (Aurum/Matrimid, melt-processable thermoplastic, Tg 250°C), and Thermoset PI (Vespel, Meldin, Kapton — non-melt-processable, compression-sintered).
PAI (Torlon) is polyamide-imide — a copolymer combining amide and imide linkages. Melt-processable in the uncured form; requires a post-cure programme (168→220°C ramp over several days) to develop full imidisation and properties.
PBI (Celazole) is polybenzimidazole — built on benzimidazole rings. The highest-Tg commercial polymer (427°C), compression-sintered only.
Carbon fibre and other technical fibres are coated with a "sizing" agent during manufacture — typically epoxy-based, designed for compatibility with epoxy resin matrices in standard composites. When recycled CF is used in a UHPP compound matrix (PEEK, PEI, PAI, PPS), the epoxy sizing is incompatible: it degrades at processing temperature and creates poor fibre-matrix bonding.
Our fibre plants in South Jordan UT, Croatia, and Rajkot India apply UHPP-compatible matrix sizings (PI, PA, phenolic, PEEK-compatible). This is the technical capability that distinguishes our compounds from competitors using off-the-shelf recycled CF: our compounds achieve 85–95% of virgin CF compound mechanical properties because the fibre-matrix interface is right.
Every shipment includes:
Certificate of Analysis (CoA) — DSC results (Tg, Tm, crystallinity), MFI, density, ash content, mechanical spot-check where applicable, lot traceability to source stream and processing run.
Material Analysis Record — for higher-tier qualified materials, a full physics-validated report including filler content via TGA, morphological assessment, and MW estimation.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS), customs codes, EWC/WSR codes for cross-border shipments, and chain-of-custody documentation. AS9100/ITAR-compatible documentation available where required.
Yes — for UHPP materials our minimum economically viable lot size depends on the polymer. PEEK, PEKK, and other high-value PAEKs: down to 50–100 kg per lot. Polyimides and fluoropolymers: typically 100–200 kg minimum. Lower-value HT-polyamides and polysulfones: 500 kg or more, depending on geography.
If you have a small but recurring stream, we can structure a regular collection arrangement that aggregates over time. Contact us with details and we will assess.
UHPP scrap moves under EWC (European Waste Catalogue) and WSR (Waste Shipment Regulation) classifications. Most thermoplastic UHPP scrap qualifies under EWC 07 02 13 / WSR Annex III B3011 — green-list, non-notified shipments between OECD countries.
Our Croatian operation holds oporabitelj (recovery operator) registration under Croatian waste law, with the financial guarantee provisioned per the regulatory coefficient. This enables direct EU import. Our US, Indian, and Brazilian operations handle equivalent regional registrations.
Whether you have a scrap stream to sell, a compound specification to meet, or a sourcing requirement for UHPP materials — we want to hear from you. Direct communication, no requests too large or small, fast responses.