FANTOPLAST: Recycled design solutions take the Gewerbehof Seestadt by storm

When it comes to reusing plastic waste in an environmentally sound way, look no further than FANTOPLAST Circular Design, which transforms locally-sourced plastic waste into universal panels for the design and architecture sector. At the Gewerbehof Seestadt, the young team has established a creative oasis for the astoundingly rapid launch of their independent enterprise. 

The basic concept of FANTOPLAST Circular Design is recycling and reusing materials to minimise their environmental impact. The team came up with this idea a long time ago. Back in 2018, Managing Director Raphael Volkmer first began experimenting with making Precious Plastic Vienna panels out of plastic waste. From there, the idea of creating something new from old material took off. As a natural consequence of the steadily growing demand for higher quality, larger projects and bigger panel formats, a team of keen employees was quickly assembled, and voilá, FANTOPLAST was founded!

FANTOPLAST set out to shake up the design and architecture sector by offering the local market an alternative to less sustainable materials. Rather than seeing the properties of recycled materials as a limitation, the company makes the most of the versatility and endless possibilities of locally-sourced plastic waste. As part of its holistic production process, FANTOPLAST exclusively sources material from recycling companies within a 50 km radius, before processing this waste into end products in Seestadt. This results in 200 x 100-cm panels in a wide variety of colours and patterns for an array of applications, including cabinetry, interior fittings and façade cladding. In keeping with the company’s circular economy ethos, the panels can be reprocessed or completely recycled after use. 

Behind the glorious array of FANTOPLAST panels stands an equally diverse and multidisciplinary team. The five-person group covers a vast range of key expertise, including designers, researchers, artists and business experts united in their ambition to give plastic a new lease of life as a circular resource. What they all have in common is their love of research and goal of developing high-quality products through recycling. 

The founders never imagined that the journey from innovative idea to their own company would be so quick. “We’re all relatively young, and we weren’t planning on getting into business quite so soon,” says Alessia Scuderie, co-founder of FANTOPLAST, “so we had little time to locate the necessary resources.” But recycling favours the brave, and the company overcame all obstacles to create an optimal environment for its innovative idea.  

“We were looking for a location large enough to accommodate a production facility without having to move out of Vienna, where most industries are based,” says Alessia Scuderie. The vertical workshops at the Gewerbehof Seestatd proved the perfect fit, offering a large production facility located close to the city and the company’s partners and customers. This pairing is a prime example of how production and urban infrastructure can (and should) be considered in tandem. Since December 2023, the FANTOPLAST team has been working towards a sustainable future in design and architecture from the heart of the vibrant and ever-growing Seestadt development. 

As one of the first companies to move into the Gewerbehof Seestadt, FANTOPLAST is currently enjoying the calm before the storm. At the same time, the team is looking forward to having new neighbours, experiencing a growing sense of community and welcoming a colourful mix of industries to this oasis of creativity in the city.