July, 14, 2025 - Stadler Anlagenbau GmbH, the globally active German company specialized in the planning, production, and assembly of turnkey recycling and sorting plants, has appointed Julia Stadler (photo, left) as Co-Chief Executive Officer, effective June 1, 2025. This step reinforces Stadler’s long-standing tradition of family leadership. The leadership team now consists of two Co-CEOs, Willi Stadler (photo, right) and Julia Stadler, and CFO Claus Maier.

Brazilianplastics.com interviewed Julia Stadler who talked about her plans for the future at the helm of Stadler.

BP - As the eighth generation leading a family-owned company with over 230 years of history, what does it mean to you to take on this leadership role alongside your father in this new phase of Stadler?

JS - Taking on the Co-CEO role as 8th generation in our family business comes with many emotions: pride, humility, and gratitude. It’s both a commitment to carry forward this company and a unique opportunity to shape where we’re going. Also, I am very happy to take on this role alongside my father. Our inter-generational exchange focuses on trust and long-term thinking rather than quarterly cycles, ensuring continuity for our teams and our customers.”

BP - How has your previous experience as Chief Digital Officer contributed to reinforcing Stadler’s sustainability and circular economy goals?

JS - In my time as CDO we launched Stadlerconnect, our cloud platform that turns machine and material data into actionable insights. Modules such as Predictive Maintenance, Downtime Tracker or Blockage Detection reduce unplanned downtimes, and this way improve sustainability. Our patented Material Split Control optimizes the distribution of material streams, so a larger share can be recycled. By replacing reactive processes with data-driven operation, our customers are already seeing higher uptime, lower CO2 emissions and significantly better recycling yields.

BP - Stadler offers tailored solutions for many types of waste. What role does technology – such as artificial intelligence and data analytics – play in enabling a more efficient circular economy?

JS - Technology is the catalyst for a more efficient circular economy: It improves plant uptime, process efficiency, as well as qualities. At the same time, technology allows for a multi-site oversight and the right strategic decisions.

BP - How can the plastics recycling industry benefit from the increasing digitalization and use of AI in sorting equipment and plants?

JS - Digitalization and AI are transforming the plastics recycling industry by enabling a more precise, efficient, and resilient sorting process. Through Stadlerconnect, our cloud-based digital platform, we help operators unlock real-time data from both machine and material streams. Modules like Predictive Maintenance recognize wear or belt misalignment weeks in advance, avoiding costly emergency repairs and long downtimes. Blockage Detection also uses AI to prevent unplanned downtimes, while our BaleCheck tools enables transparency in terms of product qualities.

This directly supports improved operational performance and lowers costs by reducing manual checks and ensuring high recovery rates. In addition, our AI-driven systems empower recyclers to make data-informed decisions, which is increasingly essential in a landscape of growing regulatory complexity.

BP - Which industries are leading the transition towards more sustainable and automated plants, and how is Stadler supporting this transformation?

JS - If you think about highly digital machines, one industry that comes to mind is the car industry. This industry is automated in two ways: in terms of use of industrial robots for production and in terms of digital solutions within the car itself. 

 Talking about the waste industries, especially high-throughput light packaging plants have very high automation rates. Stadler is supporting this transformation by offering and building more and more of such plants for the recycling industry. Besides, as we are increasingly selling digital solutions as add-ons to our plants, we are further strengthening the transition towards more automated plants.

BP -Sustainability is a core part of Stadler’s DNA. What will be your key priorities in the coming years to further strengthen this commitment?

JS -There are many topics, and I want to highlight three main priorities for the upcoming years:

• Scale digital services: rolling out Stadlerconnect to new turnkey plants and retrofitting most of the installed base for improved plant performance.
• Use AI and automate processes: making our sorting plants even smarter with AI and using new technologies within our internal processes.
• Design for circularity: continuing our work in research projects and partnering with packaging brands early in the product-design stage so materials enter the waste stream ‘sorting-ready’.

BP - Does Stadler have plans to integrate Digital Passports and Codes into its process or equipment to help track the life cycle of products and optimize the sorting process?

JS - At Stadler, we are closely monitoring the developments around Digital Product Passports and similar initiatives within the European Union and globally. While these standards are still in the process of being defined and adopted industry-wide, we are preparing our systems and digital architecture—particularly Stadlerconnect—to be compatible with such identifiers. As a technology leader in the recycling sector, we are committed to ensuring our plants remain future-ready and aligned with emerging digital infrastructure and sustainability frameworks.

BP - What are your plans to expand Stadler's activities overseas? Any specific plans for Latin America and Brazil, in particular?

JS - As a globally active company, Stadler has successfully delivered projects in over 50 countries, and we continue to see strong international demand for advanced sorting and recycling technologies. Latin America—and Brazil in particular—are key growth markets for us. We already have a strong team in Brazil since 2014 as well as in Mexico since 2021, which we aim to further strengthen in the future. The region's increasing regulatory momentum toward circular economy policies, combined with a need for modern waste management infrastructure, presents a significant opportunity.