
Reusing plastic waste in a meaningful way? The company FANTOPLAST Circular Design makes it possible, transforming regional plastic waste into universally applicable panels for design and architecture. At the Gewerbehof Seestadt of the Wirtschaftsagentur Wien, the young team has created a creative oasis for their surprisingly rapid start into entrepreneurship.
Recycling and reusing materials to minimize environmental impact – this is the core principle of FANTOPLAST Circular Design. The idea had been around for some time. As early as 2018, Managing Director Raphael Volkmer was experimenting with plastic waste and its potential uses as panels at the association Precious Plastic Vienna. From there, the idea of creating something new from the old gained momentum. As a natural result of steadily increasing demand for higher quality, larger projects, and panel formats, an interested team quickly came together and, voilà, FANTOPLAST was founded!
One Product, Countless Possibilities
FANTOPLAST aims to offer the regional market an alternative to less sustainable materials for design and architecture, shaking up the industry with this idea. Instead of being limited by the characteristics of recycled materials, the company leverages the versatility and endless possibilities of regional plastic waste. Through a holistic production process, FANTOPLAST sources material exclusively from local recyclers within a 50 km radius and processes it in Seestadt into the final product. The result: panels measuring 200 x 100 cm in a wide range of colors and patterns for diverse applications—whether for furniture construction, interior design, or façade cladding. In line with the principles of the circular economy, the panels can be reprocessed or fully recycled after their usage cycle.
Im Gewerbehof können wir problemlos unsere Produkte herstellen und versenden, mit dem Vorteil, dass wir bei Bedarf flexibel weitere Flächen anmieten können. Die Skalierbarkeit und ideale Infrastruktur machen es für uns zum perfekten Standort.
Alessia Scuderi
Mitbegründerin von FANTOPLAST
Bundled Expertise
Behind the diverse panels from FANTOPLAST is an equally colorful and multidisciplinary team. The five-member working group covers a broad spectrum of essential skills. Designers, researchers, artists, and business economists have joined forces to give plastic a second life as a circular resource. Their common denominator: a drive for research and a commitment to developing high-quality products through recycling.
The founders themselves never expected the journey from innovative idea to their own company to happen so quickly. “We are all still quite 'young' and did not plan to enter business so soon, which of course meant we had very little time to secure the necessary resources,” says Alessia Scuderi, co-founder of FANTOPLAST. However, as fate in recycling would have it, the company has now overcome all the initial hurdles and created an optimal environment for their innovative idea.
The Gewerbehof as a Creative Incubator
“We were looking for a place large enough to house a production facility without having to move out of the city, where most industries were located,” says Alessia Scuderi. With the vertical workshops at the Gewerbehof in Seestadt, the company found the perfect match for their Vienna-based production: a large workshop space close to the city, partners, and clients. A prime example that production and urbanity can (and should) be considered together! Since December 2023, the team has been working in the heart of the vibrant and ever-growing Seestadt for a sustainable future in the design and architecture scene.
We couldn't wish for anything else, we love the atmosphere here and are already looking forward to a few summer jumps into the asperner See, which is just a few steps from our front door.
Alessia Scuderi
Mitbegründerin von FANTOPLAST
As one of the first tenants in the Gewerbehof in Seestadt, the FANTOPLAST team is currently still enjoying the calm before the storm, but is already looking forward to new neighbors who will bring a growing sense of community and a vibrant industry mix to the creative oasis in the Gewerbehof.