Manufacturing Today Issue 190 July 2021

Manufacturing www.manufacturing-today.com

BEST PRACTICES FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS

Issue 190 2021

today

Sustainable success in every fiber An $18 billion organization that produces millions of packages and boxes every single year, WestRock is determined to deliver a more sustainable future Hot spots: In the critical re-opening phase, warehouse and factory managers need to protect their businesses against Covid-19, and temperature screening can help Missing the point: The partnership between quality and revenue growth cannot be separated and there are inexpensive methods of increasing quality across the board Critical roles: Why a key to success on the Industry 4.0 journey is a holistic Manufacturing Execution System that embraces the key elements of digital innovation

Chairman Andrew Schofield

Editor’s Letter

Managing Director Joe Woolsgrove Editor Libbie Hammond Assistant Editor Will Daynes Staff Writers Alex McDonald • Danielle Champ Production Manager / Art Editor Fleur Daniels Art Editor David Howard Advertising Designer Rebecca Side Sales Director Alasdair Gamble Operations Director Philip Monument Operations Manager Natalie Griffiths Research Managers Jo-Ann Jeffery • Ben Richell Kieran Shukri Editorial Researchers Adam Blanch • Mark Cowles Tarjinder Kaur-D’Silva • Jeff Goldenberg Mark Kafourous • James Page Wendy Russell • Richard Saunders Sales Director Alasdair Gamble Advertising Sales Johanna Bailey • Mike Berger Jessica Eglington • Alex Hartley Theresa McDonald • Reid Lingle Ibby Mundhir • Sam Surrell Office Administrator Jessica Olley

Hello and welcome to the July issue of Manufacturing Today.

With so many people self-isolating in the UK at the time I write this, our feature on maintaining the well-being of staff in a manufacturing organization seems more apt than ever.

Our author Grainne Elliott explains how to create a culture of well-being, and she believes a holistic approach is key. ‘Workplace injuries or physical illnesses are often the top concern when we think about well-being …. But there’s more to it than that. Employees need support in all areas: physical, emotional, and mental.’ For any businesses thinking that they could do more for well-being there is technology to help. ‘Putting your employees’ well-being first creates a culture of connection, and when people feel connected and valued, they in turn feel motivated and more driven, resulting in a better bottom line for business,’ says Grainne.

Doesn’t that sound worthwhile?

Libbie Hammond EDITOR

libbie@schofieldpublishing.com

Web Sales web@schofieldpublishing.com Subscriptions i.kidd@schofieldpublishing.com

ON THE COVER

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Our cover story this issue shines the spotlight on the activities of WestRock - the second-largest packaging company in the United States. We were lucky enough to talk to both Senior Vice President of Science and Innovation Rajiv Banavali and Director of Fiber Sustainability George D’Urso, and they explained how the company is working towards a more circular economy for, and with, its customers, as well as how its new innovations are targeted to address sustainability problems at large.

It’s an optimistic and exciting story about how a more sustainable future can be delivered – visit page 24 to read more.

Issue 190 2021

today

Sustainable success in every fiber An $18 billion organization that produces millions of packages and boxes every single year, WestRock is determined to deliver a more sustainable future Hot spots: In the critical re-opening phase, warehouse and factory managers need to protect their businesses against Covid-19, and temperature screening can help Missing the point: The partnership between quality and revenue growth cannot be separated and there are inexpensive methods of increasing quality across the board Critical roles: Why a key to success on the Industry 4.0 journey is a holistic Manufacturing Execution System that embraces the key elements of digital innovation

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207 E. Ohio Street, Suite 351, Chicago, IL 60611 T: (312) 854-0123 © 2021 Schofield Publishing Ltd

Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and adver tisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effor t is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, and correct at time of writing, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the proper ty of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Contents INSIDE THIS

ISSUE

22

FEATURES 6 Packaging

As we move further into the decade, significant progress in the digitalization realm is being made in the papermaking industry

8 Quality

There has never been a more critical time to ensure your production line is better than that of the competition and that means prioritizing quality

10 Well-being

Covid-19 has changed the way we work and employers should adapt to new ways of working that support their teams

Teguar

36

16 Safety

In the critical re-opening stage, warehouse and factory managers need to protect their businesses, and temperature screening technology can help

18 Manufacturing Execution Systems

Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all method for embarking on the Industry 4.0 journey, but there are common in-roads that promote sustained success

14 Manufacturing news

Excool

54

Updates and announcements from the manufacturing arena

14

Plastic Molding Manufacturing 2 l www.manufacturing-today.com

COMPANY PROFILES COVER STORY

24

WestRock

42

48

Welbilt - Merrychef

Crystal Doors

60

66

Moonpig Group

Hubbard Products Ltd www.manufacturing-today.com l 3

Contents

72

76

Madison-Kipp Corporation

G&H Group

90

96

Johnson Tiles

Stretchline

108

112

Parkway Products LLC

Bunkabin

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COMPANY PROFILES

82

86

Guardian

Polar Technology Management Group

100

104

Texas Injection Molding

Simworx

Please contact us for your own feature article www.manufacturing-today.com l 5

Modernizing the paper industry Guy Lacey says it starts and ends with people, not machines

S

ince the first industrial revolution, manufacturing has continuously adapted and evolved, but for most people, paper as a material hasn’t seemed to change that much. Yet in the last decade, there’s been a new revolution under way with one of the oldest manufacturing processes in the world going digital - but what does that mean for the people working within the paper profession?

It starts with our people

At DS Smith, there is little area where digitalization would not apply and we’re seeing it play a role in every facet of our business. We’re facing this challenge head on by taking the opportunity to play a powerful, leading role in our industry. For example, we’re boosting our use of

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smart and autonomous systems, fueled by data and machine learning, and this is transforming the way we work. Especially when it comes to harboring innovation to help modernize legacy processes and delivering solutions that are connected, digital, intelligent, autonomous and responsive.

Most importantly however, we’re doing with our people in mind first.

The human impact of digitalization cannot be ignored, especially as it rapidly changes the skill set required of our workforce day in and day out. We’ve worked closely with our team to develop their expertise and be part of our future – and in return they’re working to grow the business and are now moving into increasingly influential positions within DS Smith.

Packaging For example, our team members have developed real-time tracking of all paper reels through blockchain technology and have created their own unique code to reduce process variability and make an improved product. We are also using AI to link paper mills to corrugators to better understand the relationship between the two. Smart packaging has been developed which allows us to communicate and track product journeys, and lastly, on a more personal level, we’ve utilized VR to allow new recruits to step onto the shop floor remotely as working from home becomes more common.

Using digitalization to drive sustainability further

We know that being a sustainable company, driven by purpose, helps to engage and motivate our colleagues. It’s always been vital that we prioritize our investment in solutions that further encourages colleagues to deliver our purpose. By implementing digitalization as part of a detailed plan and vision, we are structuring a way forward that changes the organization but still maintains a continual focus on sustainability and a stellar customer experience, especially during challenging times such as Covid-19.

Digital solutions are already helping us to reduce power consumption, reduce contamination in raw materials and increase the overall quality.

We’re also gaining data from areas of our supply chain and processes that were previously considered blind-spots and vast amounts of data now allow us to improve key quality and sustainability drivers.

These key quality drivers include: supplier quality improvement, process optimization, improved traceability, root cause solving and improved customer performance. Currently, we are working towards a goal of making key quality drivers identifiable by a connected end-toend supply chain. This will provide 100 percent visibility in real-time, creating an integrated view across the enterprise for our employees and allowing them to better provide proactive solution management.

A paper mill, but not as we know it

The ability to empower our colleagues, to be able to identify, measure and better meet and exceed our customers’ needs, is where we strongly believe the benefits of digitalization lie for us. Now, as we see it implemented with great acceleration into our processes and operating environments, managing that change and coordinating its organizational impact with our people will be critical if we are to keep it aligned with our vision and customers’ and wider stakeholders needs.

As we move further into the decade, significant progress in the digitalization realm is being made in the papermaking industry, with employees reaping the rewards as a result. The industry has shown such resilience and adaptation already, and seeing innovative ideas come from within our business come to life, is really paving the way for a step change in operations and efficiencies within the industry going forward. v This is resulting in a new-found confidence in factory employees, where they’re making use of digital technology that is user friendly and that drastically increases engagement and employee and stakeholder experience. New starters, who may assume our industry relies on paper-based systems and a perceived lack of data, instead now thrive in a workplace that has the tools to allow them to innovate and capture their own digital visions for the future of the business.

Indeed, our approach to digitalization has seen the company become more and more pragmatic in its approach, allowing our people the freedom to be entrepreneurial and giving them the investment they need to develop clever tools.

Guy Lacey Guy Lacey is Next Generation Technology Director, at DS Smith, a leading provider of sustainable fiber-based packaging worldwide, which is supported by recycling and papermaking operations. DS Smith is committed to leading the transition to the circular economy, while delivering more circular solutions for its customers and wider society – replacing problem plastics, taking carbon out of supply chains and providing innovative recycling solutions. www.dssmith.com

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Missing the point Ensuring quality management objectives are met.

By Eric Stoop

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eglecting quality can have a huge effect on manufacturers, especially when it comes to meeting quality management objectives. And what many leaders fail to realize is that quality could cost them greatly both in terms of stunting revenue growth and their ability to lower the costs associated with raising quality levels.

An LNS Research repor t, which sur veyed more than 500 manufacturing executives, investigated which financial and quality management objectives were most impor tant to business strategies. Unsurprisingly, growing revenue was identified as the top financial aim for execs with the goal of growing their businesses, whilst cutting costs associated with quality was top of the list when it came to quality management objectives. This highlights manufacturers’ increasing desire to cut costs, while continuing to increase revenue through providing exceptional products.

One surprising insight, however, was that few executives selected both reducing cost of quality and revenue growth as their most impor tant goals. Instead, the sur vey revealed: • Those who said revenue growth was most impor tant put other quality management objectives above cost of quality • Those whose top-quality management objective was reducing cost of quality put other financial objectives above revenue growth This point reveals a fundamental error in thinking on the par t of manufacturing leaders - one that may actually prevent them from achieving their quality management goals. For example, with manufacturers that are looking to cut costs on their quality management may end up paying more as objectives aren’t enforced and defunct products are put on the production line than require remakes and recalls. Here we look at the true connection between cost of quality and revenue, and how manufacturers can leverage the 1-10-100 rule to improve performance.

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Going hand in hand: the links between quality and revenue Every pound saved on the cost of poor quality adds directly to bottomline profits. What is also true is that reducing cost of poor quality also enables revenue growth.

The reason is that when you’re making fewer bad products, you’re wasting fewer resources on scrap and rework. Those resources shift from producing defective products to manufacturing additional good products that are able to increase your growth.

For instance, let’s look at what happens if a company is able to reduce production defects by even a modest amount - say ten percent.

Not only are there direct savings from reducing cost of quality, which can run into the millions or more for the average company, there are indirect benefits that unlock revenue growth, including: • Increasing productivity by manufacturing more units at the same cost, freeing up time for operators to make good product as opposed to reworking defectives • Increasing production capacity by manufacturing more good product with the same materials and equipment • Higher sales due to improved customer satisfaction and reduced customer churn These improvements represent the flip side of opportunity costs of poor quality - they’re the opportunities you could be capturing when you don’t pay to produce or fix defects.

Upping quality doesn’t always mean putting hands in pockets

According to experts at McKinsey, only a small number of companies ever reach the level of maturity where they can truly say quality is the basis for their reputation. One interesting point they note, however, is that organizations with the most advanced quality practices aren’t necessarily spending the most on quality.

Quality

As it turns out, the key to making the right investments is to prioritize those actions that are most effective at reducing quality problems. From a strategic standpoint, there’s no question that those actions should focus on defect prevention. In turn, reducing defects in products is ultimately going to up reputations, thus increasing revenue.

The 1-10-100 Rule: How to make it work for everyone

The 1-10-100 Rule can provide a helpful guidepost when it comes to measuring the effectiveness of quality enhancing processes. A concept that is central to the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy, this rule shows that quality costs increase in order of magnitude as you move from prevention to detection to correction (and beyond).

The key take-away here is that prevention is a relatively lowcost, high-impact way to reduce quality costs, and ensure optimum production capacity. Companies that understand this front-load their investment in high-leverage activities such as: • Assessing potential failures in product design or manufacturing processes with failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and process failure mode and effects analysis (PFMEAs) • Using a layered process audit platform to verify that controls are in place for high-risk PFMEA items • Implementing process improvement programs that help build a culture of quality The partnership between quality and revenue growth is one that cannot be separated. And whilst on first glace it may seem like you need to make large investments in order to improve quality, in reality

there are a few, inexpensive methods of increasing quality across the board. By making the right investments and focusing on those towards the top of the 1-10-100 Rule pyramid, it is possible to increase quality levels, and brand reputation, as well as reducing the opportunities for recalls and defective products.

It is clear that companies can either prioritize quality from the very beginning or be forced to pay for it later down the line. What is more, not paying for quality essentially hands your competitors an advantage.

And with the sector now gaining momentum after multiple Covid shutdowns, there has never been a more critical time to ensure your production line is better than the competition’s. So, by making the right choice you can stay ahead of the competition whilst making sure your reputation continues to grow. v

Eric Stoop Eric Stoop is CEO at EASE, the innovative mobile platform that helps manufacturers simplify how they administer, conduct and respond to plant floor audits. With best-in-class support for layered process audits, safety, 5S and more – EASE drastically reduces labor costs and delivers insights that ensure audit programs drive real business value.

Leading automotive, aerospace and manufacturing organizations around the globe depend on EASE’s enterprise scale, expertise and customer-centricity. www.ease.io

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How are you feeling?

Grainne Elliott advises on how to create a culture of well-being in your manufacturing organization

W

e recently passed the year mark of the coronavirus pandemic. Do you know how your employees are feeling?

Those employed in the manufacturing and logistics sectors have done quite a bit of heavy lifting in the past year, and even prior to the pandemic, as the industry has experienced massive growth and change. To name a few of the stressors: • Concerns about Brexit’s effect on hauling and transport on the roads and railways and at the ports

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•

Dealing with increased pressures to be ever more efficient and cost-effective in the fiercely competitive market • Managing timely, accurate delivery of exploding e-commerce orders (accounting for more than 30 percent of total retail sales in 2020, up from 21.8 percent the year prior) While Covid-19 showed how vital the manufacturing, logistics, distribution and storage industry is to the wider public, those on the inside have dealt with growing pains and pandemic pressures:

Well-being

uncertainty, staff shortages, long hours, shifts in company culture due to market consolidation, and feeling disconnected and undervalued.

In fact, 71 percent of 2,600 surveyed workers in this sector indicated they would consider searching for new employment. Part of that is that 39 percent are unhappy with how their employer has handled the pandemic. This is a blow, considering that good workers are already hard to come by.

Needed: A new emphasis on physical, emotional and mental well-being It can be so easy for organizations to slip into an emphasis on metrics having to do with production or speed of delivery. But without an equal focus on the well-being of the individuals responsible for those metrics, everyone is set up to fail. An approach to well-being within the workplace should be at the cultural level, not a one-off, knee-jerk reaction to circumstances.

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Well-being Just as key: a holistic approach to well-being. Workplace injuries or physical illnesses are often the top concern when we think about well-being in the context of the logistics sector. But there’s more to it than that. Employees need support in all areas: physical, emotional, and mental. That support is best delivered and felt when it’s made available to deskless workers, who are digesting a steady stream of company information out in the field and on-the-go.

Here are some ways that manufacturing and logistics organizations can better integrate well-being into the organizational culture.

Prioritize safety by personalizing it

Physical well-being can be promoted by making sure safety updates are available and actionable immediately. Communicating safety updates via email or newsletter is often too slow, and that doesn’t take into account the needs of logistics workers, who are rarely sitting at desks reading their email or have access to email.

Urgent safety news can instead be pushed out via a communications app or otherwise made available on the employee’s handheld device. Using an app means messages can even be personalized and targeted to specific employees, roles and locations.

Some employee apps like Thrive.App have features built in to include Health and Safety videos, policies and procedure that employees can read and acknowledge they have read and understood with a press of a button; this can then be pulled into a report for auditing purposes.

Also important: creating safe, easily accessible spaces where employees can feel comfortable getting needed support resources and counselling services. Digital guides can offer resources for managing well-being, and anonymous chat portals can allow a team member to talk through a problem or blow off steam with a health professional.

Promote physical health

Whether your employees are lifting and standing all day, or spending time sitting in the driver’s seat of a lorry, they need to stay physically healthy to perform their best.

Help hardworking employees prevent injury and show them you care about their physical health by providing short pre-work and intra-work stretching exercise videos or diagrams in your employee communications app. You can even target routines to specific roles or work requirements.

As well, allow ample rest breaks and time off. Push out in-app badges or other rewards to employees who go for a walk or do a virtual yoga class. Employees who work long shifts need to know that an employer is advocating for their downtime.

Take their pulse

To really understand how your employees are doing, you need them to tell you. A sit-down heart-to-heart may not be an option, but you can still get a read using frequent pulse surveys or implementing other easy, quick ways for employees to provide feedback.

These can be used to assess employee well-being overall, and to ask specific questions, the answers to which can help you know where changes need to be made. Collecting this data can help you spot trends and even see red flags.

Make sure your employees know that they are being listened to.

Communication should be two-way, so open up the channels of communication even further where you can and encourage your employees to be part of the conversation with one-on-one or group sessions.

Facilitate connection, community and purpose

In response to the pandemic, 81 percent of employees working in logistics said they would like to move to a position that gives them a greater sense of purpose, and 85 percent want their work to have meaning. Perhaps this change in priorities can be supported without those employees feeling they have to leave their current roles.

Look for in-person and digital ways to foster a sense of connectedness for employees, who want to feel connection to their role and to the big picture of the organization, as well as to other team members. Inspire purpose by ensuring employees understand the organization’s vision and goals and work with them to set their own goals that feed into the big picture.

Encourage them to take ownership of their work by giving them independence to do their work, while also giving them meaningful and timely feedback on their progress. Provide educational opportunities that give employees a chance to grow and learn, rather than just punch a time clock.

Celebrate people, not productivity

Extrinsic rewards are no longer the only way to motivate employees, and in fact, won’t even hold the same appeal in a post-pandemic world as they did previously. Find other ways to rally teams and recognize a job well done or contributions that reflect that greater purpose, rather than focusing purely on tactical success.

Sure, hitting certain production goals should be recognized, but so should smaller daily acts of kindness, courage, and integrity. In other words, create a culture wherein employees know that they are valued beyond their ability to do their jobs.

Take time to acknowledge employees’ successes, whether they’re work or personal accomplishments. Thanking and congratulating them on their achievements makes them feel valued and appreciated, which can massively boost employee morale.

Prioritize health & well-being for a happier workforce

Covid-19 has inevitably changed the way we work and employers should adapt to new ways of working that support their teams during both good and challenging times. Putting your employees’ well-being first creates a culture of connection, and when people feel connected and valued, they in turn feel motivated and more driven, resulting in a better bottom line for business. v

Grainne Elliott Grainne Elliott is Chief Marketing Officer at Thrive. Thrive provides the technology and support to assist organizations in igniting their internal communications through the successful launch of employee apps. With the Thrive app, every employee can easily access real-time information they need to support their role, organizational updates across all areas of the business and feel supported and recognized as they carry out their duties.

This software as a service solution enables HR, Marketing, Internal Comms, Corporate Comms, IT, Operations and other professionals to create and promote important, relevant, timely and customized information. www.thrive.app

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NEWS IN BRIEF €30m funding WeMaintain, the fast-growing PropTech company based in Paris and London, has raised €30 million in Series B funding.

The raise follows WeMaintain’s acquisition of fire alarm solutions company Shokly, and allows WeMaintain to accelerate its international expansion and extend its state-of-the-art proprietary technology across the built environment.

Benoît Dupont, WeMaintain’s co-founder and CEO said: “This raise is a step towards realising our aim to expand globally, including Asia and North America and deliver smart buildings everywhere, using our end-to-end approach to shape the way people live and work. We combine hardware, software and people and bring it to the heart of the built environment.

We are delighted to have the support of our existing and new investors, which reflects the strong market interest in our solutions.”

Mars landing Ewellix has developed and manufactured a planetary roller screw that recently landed on Mars as part of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission. Ewellix engineers worked in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology to develop the roller screw component.

Ewellix’s planetary roller screw is housed inside the sealing station on the base of the Perseverance Rover and will generate the high force required to hermetically seal the 43 sample tubes on board.

It was critical to save mass on the Rover and Ewellix’s roller screw provided a tremendous amount of force load in a small mechanism, making it an ideal rover component for load rating and weight.

Other benefits are long service life by design, high reliability and the ability to withstand frequent changes of loading direction, high linear speed and some amount of contamination.

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Major investment Smurfit Kappa is to invest €24 million to expand its corrugated plant in Rethel, North-East France, demonstrating the company’s continued commitment to its French customer market. The new investment will facilitate the consolidation of two existing facilities at that plant and the installation of a new state-of-the-art corrugator and conversion equipment.

This investment will result in environmental improvements at the plant including a reduction in CO2 emissions, with a saving of at least 150 tonnes annually.

Phase one of the project, including installation of the new corrugator, is due to be completed in the first half of 2022, with full completion of the investment project expected in 2023. The investment will help to modernise and expand the plant, which will include a new 8200m2 building designed specifically for the installation of the new high-tech corrugator.

Commenting on the announcement, Edwin Goffard, COO of Smurfit Kappa Europe – Corrugated and Converting, said: “Smurfit Kappa’s ambition to strengthen its position in France continues with this significant new investment. This investment will allow us to grow further and improve our quality of service to the food and industrial markets that we serve.”

Jean-Christophe Bugeon, CEO of Smurfit Kappa France, added: “This investment will not only expand the capacity at our site, but it will also help us to tackle the ever-growing environmental issues our planet faces by significantly reducing the plant’s carbon footprint.”

Large defense contract Sparrows Group (Sparrows) has secured a contract to support a dockyard in the south west of England, marking the company’s first large project in the defense sector. The deal will see Sparrows design, code, install, and test control system upgrades for seven dock cranes, which will significantly futureproof the assets, ensuring the reliability and safety of operations at the base.

As part of the scope of work, the Programmable Logic Controller and Human Machine Interfaces software will be upgraded and all Variable Speed Drives will be replaced to address obsolescence issues. In addition, three of the cranes will also be given brand new crane cabs.

“We see great potential in the defense sector, where lifting operations are a safety critical element of any facility. Our latest technology and reliable systems can successfully extend the lifespan of a crane which is vital for ensuring defense lifting operations run smoothly without any costly delays,” said Stewart Mitchell, Sparrows CEO. “The defense industry demands high standards of safety and reliability and we’ve already been working in the sector offering lifting and rigging related training to companies that are committed to ensuring the competency of their people.”

Manufacturing News New center for South Carolina Rolls-Royce is to invest $17.4m at its mtu Aiken manufacturing facility in Graniteville, S.C. for the addition of a new Remanufacturing and Overhaul Regional Center. The planned 109,000-sq-ft expansion project will provide dedicated and streamlined remanufacturing and overhaul operations to support growth based on customer demand. It will also result in the addition of about 20 new jobs.

To be built next to the mtu Aiken plant’s existing engine manufacturing operations, the new center will bring currently outsourced workshop and warehouse operations in-house and expand them to provide remanufacturing of mtu Series 2000 and 4000 engines and components, the overhaul of mtu brand and customer owned engines, plus internal and external rework services to help customers and distributors fine-tune maintenance and performance metrics.

“Investing in a remanufacturing and overhaul center in the United States is the next milestone in implementing our global strategy to optimize the value of our installed base, with regional centers and supporting workshops offering the best support for our customers,” said Dr. Otto Preiss, Chief Operating Officer at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

“The new center will fulfill regional and local customer needs using the global network and processes, following the remanufacturing and overhaul Lead Plant located in Magdeburg, Germany,” added Marc Goldschmidt, Global Vice President Remanufacturing and Overhaul.

The facility at Aiken will feature distinct work areas to carry out the remanufacturing and overhaul process: core management; cleaning and disassembly; measuring and inspection; rework; reassembly; test; painting and packaging.

Flagship for Nissan On 1st July 2021, Nissan unveiled Nissan EV36Zero, a £1bn flagship Electric Vehicle (EV) Hub creating a world-first EV manufacturing ecosystem. Centered around the record-breaking plant in Sunderland, UK, Nissan EV36Zero will supercharge the company’s drive to carbon neutrality and establish a new 360-degree solution for zero-emission motoring.

The transformational project has been launched with an initial £1bn investment

by Nissan and its partners Envision AESC, a global player in world-leading battery technology, and Sunderland City Council. Comprised of three interconnected initiatives, Nissan EV36Zero brings together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production, setting a blueprint for the future of the automotive industry.

Commenting at its launch event, Nissan President and Chief Executive Officer, Makoto Uchida said: “This project comes as part of Nissan’s pioneering efforts to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the entire lifecycle of our products. Our comprehensive approach includes not only the development and production of EVs, but also the use of on-board batteries as energy storage and their reuse for secondary purposes.

“Our announcement today comes out of lengthy discussions held within our teams, and will greatly accelerate our efforts in Europe to achieve carbon neutrality. The experience and know-how gained through the project announced today will be shared globally, enhancing Nissan’s global competitiveness.

“Nissan will continue to leverage its strengths in electrification to become a company that continues to provide value to its customers and society.”

Building on Nissan’s historic 35 years of manufacturing excellence in Sunderland, the projects announced represent 6,200 jobs at Nissan and its UK suppliers, including more than 900 new Nissan jobs and 750 new Envision AESC jobs at its new smart, low-carbon battery plant. Longer-term, the transformational project modernizes and expands Nissan’s EV production capability in the UK.

Robots on order

Automation specialist and world-leading industrial robot manufacturer FANUC has received another major order in the field of e-mobility. Scheduled for delivery in 2022, the company will supply the Cologne plant of Ford with around 500 robots to assist in the construction of electric car bodies.

The Ford manufacturing facility in Cologne is currently undergoing transition into the Ford Cologne Electrification Center, a development and production site for electric vehicles that will serve the entire European market. In 2023, the carmaker expects its first purely electric high-volume passenger model to roll off the plant’s production line. Ford has also announced that it will only offer battery-electric passenger cars in Europe from 2030.

“FANUC has a lot of experience in robotics for e-mobility applications,” said Ralf Winkelmann, Managing Director of FANUC Germany. “We are very pleased that we can accompany Ford in this forward-looking transformation. In the USA, FANUC has been working closely with Ford for many years,” added Winkelmann. “We are now expanding this successful cooperation to Europe.”

Shinichi Tanzawa, CEO & President of FANUC Europe Corporation is also pleased about this progressive collaboration in the field of e-mobility: “Our robots are known for their reliability and durability. Therefore, we are convinced that they will contribute to low downtime and maintenance costs at Ford’s Cologne plant.”

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Hot spots How temperature screening can help factories and warehouses recover.

By Chad Rissanen

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s quarantine restrictions are slowly being lifted, workplaces are looking to move from reduced capacity operations to fully fledged business as usual.

Despite being no stranger to risk assessments and safety protocols, factories and warehouses are having to meet unprecedented compliance standards as they get back up to full operations.

In a 12-month cycle of relentless bad news, the most dreaded headlines broke stories surrounding warehouse Covid breakouts. As crucial pain points in national and global supply chains, factories and warehouses have a responsibility to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

This comes in light of unequivocal reports showing that factories and warehouses have been hotspots for Covid-19 infections. A Health Science Journal study, which looked into workplace Covid-19 breakouts, found that 80 percent of cases belonged to manufacturing and warehouse spaces. In recent news, a major Amazon warehouse in Ontario had to shut up shop owing to a serious outbreak. Clearly, there’s an increased need on the part of facilities to prioritize occupational safety.

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Whilst no two companies are run the same way, there are a number of common methods that can be used across facilities to improve hygiene standards across the board. Chief among these is the deployment of temperature screening technology.

The fight against Covid-19 starts with targeting viral symptoms.

By doing this, infectious staff members can be separated before they can transmit the virus, which is a key risk in enclosed spaces such as factories and warehouses. The principal symptom of Covid-19 is fever, which manifests in high facial temperatures. WebMD ranks fever as the single biggest indicator of Coronavirus by a large margin (99 percent). It is obvious that workplace hygiene schemes should, therefore, screen for fever before all else.

Thanks to breakthroughs in thermal scanning technology, it is possible to home in on the areas of the face that act as the greatest indicators of fever. Chief among these are the tear ducts - otherwise known as the canthus - which can be captured by modern thermal scanners. With an increased ability to monitor small scale body features, such as canthus temperature, thermal scanning technology can hit a niche indicator of the virus. When dealing with a sizeable

Safety

labor pool in a constricted area, such as a warehouse, screening out potential infections with accuracy and rapidity is an absolute must.

Plus, with add-ons found on modern temperature screening devices, such technology can support wider protocols. This includes reminding employees to wear masks, tracking numbers of workers at a location and measuring temperatures without human contact.

These measures combine to create a truly safe space within an organization’s four walls.

What’s more are the increased capabilities afforded by digital interfaces that can aggregate data on the job. Cleanliness operations can now be given a quantifiable edge by incorporating the data generated by hygiene technology. With the ability to drill down into data and create reports, managers can have available insights for Work Safe or weekly meetings.

Despite encouraging signs of recovery in recent months, factories and similar facilities remain vulnerable, especially given that they generate a great deal of physical contact between workers. And with a vaccine shortfall affecting various areas, factories are at exceptional risk of a viral breakout, owing to the nature of their operations, which

put them at a disadvantage compared to other sectors.

In the critical re-opening phase, warehouse and factory managers need to protect their businesses against a catastrophic resurgence of Covid-19. One bad breakout, and months of recovery work could go to waste. By remaining vigilant and sustaining occupational safety, with the aid of the right technology, facilities can stand a fighting chance of getting back to normal for good. v

Chad Rissanen Chad Rissanen is Chief Revenue Officer at Tevano, the developer of Health Shield™, an innovative, AI-driven, electronic device that provides instant body temperature scanning and notifies users if they need to wear a face mask. Health Shield™ devices can be placed at all entrances that patrons and/or employees use to gain access to buildings. The Health Shield™ device is supported by a cloud software solution that can be used to manage multiple devices and provide detailed reporting and analysis. www.tevano.com

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Critical roles The Industry 4.0 journey is only possible with MES empowerment. By Jason Spera

M

ES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) empowers operators to leverage specialized manufacturing insight without taking excessive time for cross-training, quickly establishing a high level of team-wide flexibility. When surveyed, more than 90 percent of leading manufacturers said that cross-trained operators were instrumental in achieving flexibility.

Regardless of the area in which a manufacturer chooses to begin the Industry 4.0 journey, each key element of digital innovation - IIoT connectivity, smart applications, and advanced analytics - have a critical role to play.

Fast track Industry 4.0 journey with MES

A key to success on the Industry 4.0 journey is a holistic MES. When deployed, MES shares critical data between operational factory floor processes and higher-level business systems such as ERP, effectively converging IT/OT and becoming synonymous with the IIoT platform powering Industry 4.0 capabilities.

The benefits of MES are often apparent from the start. Eighty-two percent of manufacturers who adopted MES saw reduced cycle times and lead times within 12 months. While MES capabilities differ from provider to provider, modern MES platforms include the ability to:

the full benefits of the Connected Factory, it is critical that today’s manufacturers approach Industry 4.0 as a journey.

Valuable tools, next-generation optimization systems, sensor devices, or manufacturing applications alone will not instantaneously allow manufacturers to achieve Industry 4.0 benefits. Industry 4.0 must be embraced as a long-term, strategic mindset of digital transformation that dynamically alters manufacturers’ entire operational perspective.

The capabilities which empower unparalleled advancements in smart, connected manufacturing, requires an enterprise-wide effort and leadership from CEOs and COOs as well as IT/OT practitioners on the factory floor.

For manufacturers to overcome the obstacles of achieving digital transformation, appropriate routes to full IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) optimization are necessary; combined with fast track success using MES the Industry 4.0 journey begins.

Revolutionizing the manufacturing process

Revolutionizing the manufacturing process is accomplished by bridging the gap between high-level Information Technology (IT) and floor-level Operational Technology (OT). It requires leveraging intelligent data insights to power factory-wide innovative adaptability.

With digitized, cyber-physical systems for automated data collection and autonomous intelligent decision making, Industry 4.0 enables mass customization at high volume production rates with minimal levels of human intervention.

Automatically controlling material flow to eliminate downtime and operate at the lowest level of inventory possible is the promise of Industry 4.0. The ultimate goal is to transform manufacturing into an environment that is adaptive and customer-centric, capable of generating new business models and revenue sources.

Lean material management

Without MES, factories are left with a gap that inhibits Industry 4.0 innovation. Project management and engineering will lack crucial insight into equipment and process productivity, leaving the factory disconnected. According to an LNS Research survey, only 20 percent of manufacturers properly fill the MES gap. For many manufacturers, instituting MES applications is the ideal starting point on an Industry 4.0 journey.

Connected factory momentum

As momentum around the Connected Factory continues to build, manufacturers are intently focused on reaching Industry 4.0. To reap

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Capabilities can shift operations on a dime, flexibly adapting to meet changing customer demands, enhance productivity, reduce waste, and accelerate production. This is achieved primarily through a decentralized production system, in which production plants can maintain closer contact with customers and supply chain partners and achieve an agile, flexible model for mass customization.

Successful decentralization requires advanced data-sharing between locations, which not only consolidates and provides intelligent insights into day-

Manufacturing Execution Systems

to-day operations across sites, but also enhances communications between people, machines, and customers.

Only when a factory can support a ‘single piece flow,’ will it automatically adapt to a new product configuration or an entirely new product as each unit comes down the line. Manufacturers should be able to automatically adapt to line conditions, down conditions, material supply, and other variables without customization. When companies have reached a stage that supports a level of innovative adaptability, they become disruptive.

Choosing an Industry 4.0 starting point

Every successful Industry 4.0 journey needs a strong starting point.

Choosing a pilot project requires that leaders consider the following: • What does the company want to achieve?

• What’s coming up next?

• Is this project too ambitious? Too simple?

Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all method for embarking on the Industry 4.0 journey, but there are common in-roads that promote sustained success.

Intelligent insights

Manufacturers often collect descriptive data (‘What happened?’) and diagnostic data (‘Why did it happen?’) about machines and devices, but with Industry 4.0’s end-to-end digitization, they can also gain predictive (‘What will happen?’) and prescriptive (‘What action should I take?’) insights into the status of operations. With multidirectional data synthesized from ever-changing sources, analytics can be communicated in real-time via operational dashboards. These data insights drive progress, quality, compliance, and innovation enterprise-wide, while also radically simplifying decision-making processes on a daily basis. Industry 4.0, which connects Big Data and Machine Learning analytics, delivers this intelligent data 24/7 for constant insight into current and future operational performance.

User adoption/change management Digital transformation process

C-Level executives need to understand the vision for Industry 4.0 and how the approach will shift the company’s business processes.

Strategic objectives must be developed to guide and monitor the implementation process. Without an agreed-upon strategy and C-Level sponsorship of the plan, enterprise-wide transformation cannot occur.

A component that is often overlooked is the challenge of change and the ‘people piece.’ Change management in conjunction with hiring talent and upskilling are enablers for Industry 4.0 adoption.

By deploying a solution that has a positive user experience, is easy to configure, yet offers robust capabilities, companies can transform employees’ experience as well as retention rates, satisfaction levels, and productivity. v

Select a solution: business IT/OT practitioners key decision-makers

Relevant solutions are selected for the projects outlined in the operational architecture. Each provider should be properly vetted and able to offer ongoing support and resources for your Industry 4.0 solutions and tools.

Top digital transformation challenges Even for industry-leading manufacturers, the digital transformation process is not without challenges. All manufacturing companies must overcome obstacles in their Industry 4.0 journey as they make the significant transition to converged technologies.

Jason Spera Spera is a leader in MES/MOM software platforms for discrete manufacturers with particular expertise in electronics manufacturing. Founded in 1997, today more than 2,200 factory sites worldwide use some form of Aegis software to improve productivity and quality while meeting regulatory, compliance and traceability challenges. Spera’s background as a manufacturing engineer in an electronics manufacturing company and the needs he saw in that role led to the creation of the original software products, and continue to inform the vision that drives Aegis solutions today.

He regularly speaks on topics surrounding factory digitization, IIoT, and Industry 4.0 and is a member of the Forbes Technology Council. www.aiscorp.com

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Rugged ingenuity Following its recent relocation to a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility, Teguar is set to build on its position as a leading provider of advanced industrial and medical computer solutions

Richard Pikul - Teguar Technical Services Manager

Teguar’s new inventory space is 3,810 sq ft - four times larger than their former location

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A

company with a reputation for putting its customers first, the name Teguar has been synonymous with excellence for 11 years now. After identifying a niche in the market for affordable, aesthetically pleasing, industrial-grade computers, CEO Jonathan Staub founded the business in 2010. Just over a decade later, Teguar is one of the fastest growing companies in North Carolina.

Vastly different from regular consumer PCs, Teguar’s industrial and medical computers are specially designed to provide reliable performance in the most demanding environments and applications. Built with premium components to ensure reliable operation, the company’s units routinely include features like fanless cooling systems, IP/NEMA-rated waterproof housings, and extended operating temperature ranges. An ISO 9001:2015 certified business, Teguar’s commitment to quality not only makes for lower total cost of ownership, but also helps to create a faster return on investment.

“In general, companies that use regular, consumer-grade computer systems on their production lines suffer a high likelihood of having to replace those units quite frequently, which causes an increased cost over time,” reports Technical Services Manager Richard Pikul.

“Conversely, the computer solutions we deliver have a very low total cost of ownership because we are very good at creating longevity and keeping units up and running for long periods of time. Some Teguar customers have been using

the same unit for up to a decade and it still runs reliably, even in harsh environments.”

Supported by a product management team always active in its search for the latest consumer needs and demands, Teguar regularly releases new, advanced solutions. Among the company’s most recent product launches is a rugged tablet built to withstand rigorous, longterm operation in the toughest environments.

Running on an Intel Kabylake or Skylake Dual Core processer, the tablet’s IP65 rated housing protects it from water, humidity, dust and dirt, as well as accidental drops, shocks and falls.

“Our rugged tablets are becoming increasingly popular across the board,” Richard says. “We are currently supplying a business that sells rugged tablets to consumers who use them for viewing sporting events. It’s the kind of customer that would have settled for a consumer-grade tablet in the past, but now wants to convert over to something that can take a little bit more abuse.”

At the end of 2020, for the second year in a row, Teguar was named on the Charlotte Business Journal’s Fast 50 – a list ranking Charlotte area companies based on percentage growth over a three-year period. One hundred and eleven percent growth since 2017 also earned Teguar a spot on the renowned Inc. 5000 list.

“Demand for industrial-grade computers is increasing and I think that demand will be here for years to come,” Richard asserts. “The medical sector’s desire for more medical-grade computers has been one of the biggest factors behind our growth. Similarly, rugged tablets

Teguar

Before...

are really starting to live up to their potential as a portable solution for remote applications, capable of taking on harsher environments than an iPad or a Samsung device.”

“Our previous site was a 6500-square-foot office, warehouse and production space, but we outgrew it years ago,” Richard reveals. “We have now moved into a newly remodeled, 25,000-square-foot building, which has around 10,000 square feet of office and conference areas, and 15,000 square feet of production and stock room space.

“Aware that our future will require more electronic infrastructure, we have also installed wireless access points throughout the building, as well as fiber optics for our production lines, which will speed up our imaging process from 45 minutes to five minutes,” he adds.

“Strengthened by this new equipment, we are starting to become more efficient when it comes to implementing a 5S type environment where everything has its place and we know where everything is at all times.”

As we move into the second half of 2021, Teguar’s main focus is to manage its supply chain effectively, navigating issues triggered by Covid-19 and ensuring that all the company’s customers receive products quickly and efficiently. In the longer term, Richard is determined to see the company grow further, so that by 2028, Teguar is a bigger and better force

in the industrial and medical rugged computer and tablet market.

“We are well on our way to fulfilling our ambitions and I think there is a very bright future ahead,” Richard declares. “2020 put a bit of a roadblock in our path, as it did for many firms, but we made it through and we are going to come out of that period stronger than ever.

“Having laid out a framework for success over the last 18 months, it is now time to act.

In order to achieve our goals, we must remain collaborative – a key tenet of our organization since the very start. There is a lot of vital teamwork that goes on behind the scenes at Teguar and our highly-engaged workforce guarantee that our clients are taken care of every day. The needs of our customers are our highest priority and, in keeping with a culture that filters down from our Founder and CEO Jonathan Staub, we strive, every day, to deliver a customer experience that is second-to-none.” v

Teguar www.teguar.com Services: Advanced industrial and medical computer solutions

Customer focus

On the customer side of the business, Teguar’s success has been fueled by the company’s ability to establish and maintain long-lasting relationships that see its clients return time and time again. According to Richard, it’s this customer focus that elevates Teguar above the industry and helps to transform it into a market leader.

“Putting the customer first is the number one priority in everybody’s mind here,” Richard states. “Unlike some competitors, we are not just here to sell products; we are also here to support customers after the sale. We have a lot of positive feedback from our clients telling us that this portion of the business is what keeps them coming back. That commitment to the customer after the sale was certainly an instrumental factor in 2020 when, as many of our industry peers lost around 30 per cent of their revenue, we actually remained revenue positive.”

With one eye on the future, and in order to facilitate its continuing growth, in early 2021, Teguar relocated to a larger facility in Charlotte’s Olde Whitehall district. The new site will now act as the company’s headquarters, offering Teguar more room to expand in the years ahead, particularly in terms of its service department and warehouse space.

Teguar takes advantage of their newfound space to create areas that allow employees to collaborate and be creative

Through Teguar’s move they’ve continued to offer high-quality industrial computers, box PCs, and tablets just as before

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Sustainable success

in every fiber A valued partner to major organizations around the globe, WestRock is a leader in the delivery of differentiated, sustainable, fiber-based packaging solutions

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WestRock

We are a ‘forest positive’ organization, meaning we help to sustain and grow more trees than we use. Forests are a vital part of the fight against climate change as they sequester carbon, while providing clean water and maintaining the diversity of plant and animal life. Healthy, working forests are also a consistent source of renewable wood fiber to ensure we can provide sustainable packaging for essential items like food, medicines, and home deliveries

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WestRock

A

s the second-largest packaging company in the United States, WestRock is proud of the millions of packages and boxes it produces every single year. More than this though, the company is proud of what each of these products represents: connections.

“WestRock connects people to products, helping customers increase their sales, lower their total cost, minimize risk and improve their sustainability profile,” states Senior Vice President of Science and Innovation Rajiv Banavali. “We are an essential part of the economy, making the packaging that enables products to get where they need to be, including shipping boxes for e-commerce, folding cartons that package food and beverages for grocery stores, and containers that move critical medical supplies.”

Formed in July 2015 after a merger between MeadWestvaco and RockTenn, WestRock has grown into an $18 billion organization with 50,000 people operating across more than 300 locations in 30 countries. Serving a wide range of sectors and implementations, including corrugated and consumer mills, protective packaging, merchandising displays, labels and literature, the company is supported by regular investment in state-of-the-art equipment and processes.

“At our facility in Florence, South Carolina, we recently introduced an advanced paper machine that produces high-performance containerboard grades at low basis weights,” Rajiv reveals. “The investment makes Florence one of the lowest-cost virgin containerboard mills in North America.

In packaging, a combination of recycled fiber and virgin fiber is the ideal mix for sustainable packaging, and we use both in our operations. The reality is that 100 per cent recycled content is not a sustainable option on its own

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“Well-positioned to serve a diverse set of customers seeking these low basis weights to drive more sustainable packaging solutions, the Florence mill is a great example of a strategic capital investment that improves our capabilities and lowers our costs. We expect the mill to be at full production levels by the end of September 2021.”

Customized solutions

Backed by its substantial production capabilities, and an active program of investment, WestRock is constantly looking for ways to innovate and improve. Through a process that is highly collaborative, and far from linear, the company develops practical packaging solutions that protect both products and the environment.

“We are working towards a more circular economy for, and with, our customers,” Rajiv states. “Our innovations are targeted to address sustainability problems at large - fiber-based alternatives to less sustainable materials - as well as specific sustainability challenges our customers face.

“Built into this process is a strong respect for customization,” Rajiv adds. “We know that solutions are not one-size-fits-all, and we are committed to tailoring our fiber-based products to meet the unique needs of various customers and applications.”

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WestRock Leading the market by example, WestRock is constantly exploring potential new products to add to its portfolio. By brainstorming novel ideas, creating prototypes, testing those prototypes in real conditions, making adjustments with customer feedback, and continuing to refine the products, the business aims to anticipate its customers’ sustainability challenges and proactively solve them.

“Data from a recent Pulse Packaging survey tells us that consumers are demanding more sustainable packaging solutions than ever.

In fact, 82 percent of consumers expect brands to balance safety and concern for the environment when designing product packaging,” says George D’Urso, WestRock’s Director of Fiber Sustainability. “Therefore, we are pursuing innovation that helps our customers meet this consumer demand, with fiber-based packaging solutions that are recyclable, right-sized and made from renewable resources.

“WestRock’s fiber-based packaging is a sustainable alternative to any customer

seeking ways to reduce plastic usage, while extending the life cycle of their products,” he adds. “We are completely reimagining sustainable packaging.”

Client collaboration

Among WestRock’s most recent major projects is a partnership with Heinz that has led to the development of Cluster-Wing - a paperboard multipack product designed to help remove single-use plastic packaging from

supermarket shelves. Heinz is the first company to market with the new packaging innovation, which offers a more sustainable, robust and convenient alternative to single-use plastic shrink-wrap packaging.

“The move advances Heinz’s sustainability credentials and is set to eliminate 550 tons of plastic packaging from its supply chain,” George reports. “Cluster-Wing’s innovative glue-free design uses 50 percent less paperboard material than a fully enclosed box, and ten percent less material than a traditional sleeve design.

“Made with WestRock’s PEFC-certified CarrierKote paperboard, the new sleeve comes from sustainably managed forests and is recyclable. Available now across Heinz Soups as part of the ‘winter bundle’ on Heinz to Home, these innovative Cluster-Wing sleeve multipacks will be launching across all Heinz’s canned products in major UK retailers from the fall of 2021.”

WestRock’s work with Heinz follows a partnership with Domino’s Pizza, which began

National Boiler Service, Inc. National Boiler Service, Inc. (NBS) was incorporated in 1989 and has developed into a national leader in boiler installation and outage services.

National Boiler Service, Inc. has served the boiler maintenance needs of WestRock since their founding in 2015. NBS regularly provides annual inspect and repair outage services for WestRock’s power and recovery boilers as well as capital improvement projects both large and small at numerous WestRock locations throughout the US. NBS understands the technical and financial needs of WestRock and strives to serve those needs by completing outages with quality work delivered safely and on schedule. NBS also assists WestRock through project planning and constructability assistance as required. NBS understands the importance of developing close relationships with clients like WestRock and keeps open lines of communication with all involved parties to constantly improve and strengthen these bonds. NBS is committed to WestRock’s success.

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WestRock

back in 2019 and concerned the recyclability of pizza boxes. More than simply creating a product for the pizza chain, WestRock conducted a multi-phase grease study to determine what the company originally suspected – grease and residual cheese do not affect the ability of a pizza box to be recycled, or WestRock’s ability to create new packaging from that recycled material.

“Sometimes innovation brings something entirely novel to the marketplace, and sometimes it is incremental, a small improvement,” Rajiv remarks. “With

Domino’s Pizza, we challenged a false conception many people held and managed to set the record straight - corrugated pizza boxes are recyclable - and we are very thankful to Domino’s for helping us prove that.”

Innovative options

Elsewhere, WestRock has launched CanCollar (a glue-free paperboard multipack design for standard, sleek and slim cans) with CocaCola Spain in an attempt to realize the beverage firm’s vision of a ‘World Without

Waste’. Most recently though, with third-party food delivery on the rise as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, WestRock partnered with foodservice operators to develop a solution called Bio-Pak Protect.

“Consumer expectations of freshness and security, along with convenience, continue to grow,” Rajiv comments. “To support this shift, operators are demanding foodservice packaging that meets new performance requirements, including temperature control, leak resistance and tamper-evidence, all while maintaining a strong sustainability profile, ideally

Sulzer Your trusted partner Sulzer is the world leader in innovative and proven pumping, agitation, mixing and aeration solutions for the pulp, paper and board industry. These segments offer a very interesting scope, together with new wood, raw material and recycling based products.

Intensive research and development work, alongside full-scale test facilities and partnerships with end customers and research institutes, has boosted our development programs in order to create totally new and innovative processing equipment. We have a proven track record and excellent references in developing high-efficiency products for a wide range of pulp, paper and board processes; this enables us to co-operate closely with WestRock for the delivery of critical equipment, suitable for their demanding applications.

Sulzer’s extensive product portfolio is designed to meet the most challenging hydraulic coverage requirements for all types of liquids. As a full-line supplier we also provide energy-efficient products for water and effluent treatment, as well as power plant applications.

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Join us in engineering a smarter future for wood-based processes

Fluid engineering makes the difference.

In the pulp and paper industry, innovation only matters at scale. That’s why our full-line pumping, mixing and agitation solutions are continuously optimized through strategic collaboration with leading producers and research institutes worldwide. Whether it’s pulp, paper, board, high-value fibers or new cellulose materials, we bring decades of innovation and application knowledge together with the industry’s strongest pilot and full-scale testing facilities to ensure highperformance process flows for even the most challenging suspensions. All to enhance your long-term development from initial concept to full-scale success.

Find out how our expertise in wood-based process solutions can make a lasting difference for your operations at www.sulzer.com.

Sulzer Pumps Solutions Inc. Phone 864-855-9090, info.industry.us@sulzer.com, www.sulzer.com

Learn how our deep hydraulic expertise can strengthen your competitive edge.

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WestRock reducing plastic consumption and preferably curbside recyclability.

“Bio-Pak Protect ensures food safety throughout the third-party delivery process and acts as a replacement for single-use plastics.

Additionally, it is a paper-based solution, which reduces the use of fossil fuel material, and is not manufactured with any fluorine-based grease-treatment chemicals.”

Sustainable forestry

As the company’s modern portfolio of products and solutions suggests, WestRock continues to fulfil the pledge set out in its vision for sustainability by ‘Imagining and Delivering on the Promise of a Sustainable Future’.

Determined to see fiber-based packaging take on a more prominent role in the creation of a circular economy, and committed to bettering the planet, the company is furthering its 100year relationship with sustainable forestry.

“We are a ‘forest positive’ organization, meaning we help to sustain and grow more trees than we use,” George notes. “Forests are a vital part of the fight against climate change

as they sequester carbon, while providing clean water and maintaining the diversity of plant and animal life. Healthy, working forests are also a consistent source of renewable wood fiber to ensure we can provide sustainable packaging for essential items like food, medicines, and home deliveries.”

Over the last five years, WestRock foresters have directly helped small private landowners certify more than 500,000 acres of thirdparty land management standards. This direct engagement is a core part of the company’s ongoing sustainability platform and promotes the continued health of the forests upon which we all depend.

“In packaging, a combination of recycled

fiber and virgin fiber is the ideal mix for sustainable packaging, and we use both in our operations. The reality is that 100 per cent recycled content is not a sustainable option on its own,” George points out. “As virgin fiber is recycled multiple times over, the fibers become weaker and eventually filter out of the papermaking process. A mix of recycled and virgin fiber is needed to ensure the integrity of our packaging, as well as keep the cycle going and provide balance in supply.

“The use of virgin fiber requires healthy forests, so we purchase our virgin fiber through a responsible procurement process with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the

KURZ As a worldwide leader in hot stamping and thin-film technology, KURZ develops and produces decorative and functional coatings for the highest demands. KURZ transfer products are used in many industries. They decorate products, enhance brands, label goods, protect surfaces, and prevent counterfeiting. Driven by a spirit of innovation, KURZ continuously invests in new technologies, helping customers meet their challenges.

So KURZ is proud to stand at WestRock’s side across all product areas. As a reliable partner, KURZ looks forward to contributing with all its sustainable and decorative products to the diverse and impressive projects that WestRock realizes, to drive its customers’ business growth.

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WestRock

Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). We are proud of our longstanding role in ensuring that forests are managed sustainably, which not only helps us to deliver products that represent our customers’ brands, but also ensures forestland is available for generations to come.”

Aware that its aspirations surrounding circularity and sustainability are part of an ongoing journey, in June 2021, WestRock announced its commitment to setting a new greenhouse gas emissions reduction target that is aligned with current climate science. The company has confirmed its commitment with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and will develop, validate and publish a sciencebased target within 24 months.

Active involvement with associations like the SBTi is an indicator that WestRock and its workforce, strengthened by a common set of core values and a shared desire to connect people to products, will continue to make a positive impact in the world. The opportunities that lie ahead, Rajiv asserts, make for an exciting future.

“As detailed by our new CEO David Sewell in our latest earnings call, we believe WestRock is in line for a very bright decade of growth,” he says. “Our portfolio of products is uniquely positioned to meet our customers’ needs, so we hope to expand the business and provide even more value to our customers, our teammates, and our shareholders.”

Perhaps most significantly, WestRock intends to deliver on its promise of a more sustainable future. Working in partnership with customers to achieve mutual sustainability goals, the organization will focus on accelerating innovation, creating greener products with enhanced performance, and remaining disciplined in its capital allocation strategy. For George, WestRock’s current position, and

its plans for the future, are a source of great optimism.

“I’m so grateful to work in an industry that is centered around renewable materials, and whose success contributes to the adoption of a more circular economy,” he proclaims. “What an exciting time we live in that we can stop, take stock of the current solutions we have in place, and ask ourselves: ‘Could we do that, just as successfully, with fiber?’ In so many cases, the answer at WestRock is a resounding ‘yes!’” v

WestRock www.westrock.com Services: Differentiated, sustainable, fiber-based packaging solutions

DREWSEN SPEZIALPAPIERE GmbH & Co. KG The DREWSEN mill in Lachendorf, Germany started trading with Multi Packaging Solutions in 2014. We had developed a thin printing paper for leaflet production and wanted to work in close partnership with a market leader and respected organization to establish ourselves in the market. The integrity and professionalism of the procurement and production teams gave us the support we needed, enabling us to realize this goal.

We have continued to work in close partnership with Westrock Consumer Packaging, gaining a strong understanding of each other’s business which in turn has helped to consolidate a mutually beneficial relationship.

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Data,data cool After a decade of rapid growth, Excool is expanding into the United States thanks to the popularity of its innovative, energy-efficient cooling solutions for data centers

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onsuming between two per cent and three per cent of the world’s total power, the data center industry is an energy-hungry beast.

As the sector boomed in the early 2000s and more data centers appeared around the world, it became increasingly clear that the cooling systems in use at many sites were highly

Excool

“It was a disruptive technology in the marketplace as it moved away from traditional, power-hungry, compressor-based cooling technologies and relied, instead, on adiabatic cooling methods to reduce overall energy consumption within the data center.

“The ‘indirect’ part of indirect evaporative cooling is key because it means the outside air and the inside air are kept completely separate, the air streams never mix, and so the interior of a data center stays incredibly clean. Excool technology prevents outside contaminants that could cause damage to a data center, including pollution, sandstorms, or even smoke from fires, from ever entering a site, thus preserving incredibly high levels of integrity for data center white space.”

Landmark clients

inefficient. Something had to be done, and in 2010, Duncan Williams established Excool, a company with the answer.

“Created around the need for energy-

efficient data center cooling solutions, Excool approached the market with a brand-new technology – indirect evaporative cooling,” Chief Commercial Officer Jon Pettitt explains.

Operating, predominantly, from its Headquarters in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, Excool has performed projects all over the world. Among its landmark clients, the organization counts Telehouse – a company that, thanks to Excool, lays claim to having the world’s first multi-story data center with indirect evaporative cooling that was completed in 2017.

“Traditionally, multi-story data centers like Telehouse’s London site were cooled using chillers and computer room air conditioners, so our indirect evaporative solution was a world first,” Jon reveals. “There are in excess of 50 units on that site now. A typical project for us is somewhere in the region of 30 to 50 units, but we have supplied projects with everything from

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three units up to more than 100 on a single development.

“Alongside Telehouse, we have also worked on significant projects for Digital Realty, one of the world’s largest co-location clients.

As a colocation provider, they have one of largest global data center footprints. We did our first project with them back in 2014, in Dublin, where we were able to provide all the cooling for their data center without using any compressors. It meant their energy consumption dropped drastically, winning us an Uptime Institute Award for Product Solutions in the process.”

New facility

Excool’s rise to prominence over the last five years has been the result of both external and internal factors. Externally, as data centers have become more popular, they have also increased in size. While a two-megawatt data center might have been considered a large project for Excool back in 2011, the company now regularly tackles 25-megawatt and 35-megawatt sites on data centers that can reach over a square kilometer in size.

“These enormous data centers have brought with them all the challenges of building to scale,” Jon says. “In response, one of the things we have been able to do internally is increase our manufacturing capabilities from two or three units a week to 20 or 30 units a week, with possible scope for 40 units a week should we wish. Clients are realizing that Excool solutions not only cost less than the market average on day one, but that indirect evaporative cooling can lead to lower operating costs for the entire data center throughout the life of the product.”

With well-respected clients like Digital Realty and CyrusOne boosting its credibility, Excool continues to attract new customers. In order to service this soaring demand, the business recently opened a new 60,000-square-foot facility in Bromsgrove. The new factory, and the additional capacity it boasts, has allowed Excool to produce Excool Zero, the company’s most advanced solution to date.

“In establishing a new site at Bromsgrove, we have been able to move from a build-onstation manufacturing process to more of a production line system,” Jon reports. “This, backed by some very clever innovation and design from our R&D team, has led to Excool Zero, which is now our mainstream solution.

“As effective and efficient as our unit was five years ago, it was still fairly large. Now though, we have been able to shrink the unit down by about 40 per cent, whilst still

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Excool providing exactly the same capacity and efficiency, and using considerably less water.

This evolved unit - Excool Zero - is especially important today, in 2021, as water conservation is becoming a huge factor for people all over the world. With Excool Zero technology, we have gone from using swimming pools of water for cooling to just a bucketful for the same job.

“Managing our supply chain and working closely with our prime component suppliers has been key in enabling us to grow,” he continued.

“CAREL our controls partner has played a significant part of our evolution, assisting with the controls strategy of the equipment, and working closely with our supply chain management. ZiehlAbegg our fans supplier is one of the leading

As we prepare to perform our first project in Phoenix, Arizona, we are well supported internationally by offices in the UK, the US. In the longer term, launching a manufacturing facility in the United States will be key to our success in that region, and we also have bigger plans for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, regions experiencing a 20 per cent annual increase in data center construction global companies in the field of ventilation, control and drive. We are proud that all our supply chain partners follow our values towards innovation and sustainability goals.”

4D Coils 4D Coils have proudly been an integral part of Excool’s supply chain for over five years, during which we are often called upon in the early stages of design to ensure optimal performance of heat exchangers and ultimately our client’s product. Our proprietary selection software tools have been made available to Excool, which allows their design team to model the heat exchanger capabilities and performance at varying conditions. Furthermore, 3D drawings for each heat exchanger are issued at design stage enabling Excool’s design team to model physical attributes and fitment within their product prior to manufacture.

The added sustainability benefits of Excool’s new unit - sustainability has, incidentally, always been an innate part of the company’s work - are likely to open endless doors for the business in the years ahead, as more and more clients search for greener ways of working.

“Everything we do, everything we build our units to be, is geared around sustainability,” Jon declares. “Conserving water and using less energy seems quite a small statement, but it comes with massive implications. It means power stations don’t have to work so hard and we are not using so much fossil fuel. If you have

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wind power or solar power, these things can be used in collaboration with Excool technology, so we are really built for the future in that sense.”

US expansion

Having performed projects across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, Excool is now looking to establish itself in the United States. After years of planning, in 2020, the company opened the doors of its inaugural US site, in Greer, South Carolina. Benefitting from the firm’s largest investment in five years, the 18,000-square-foot showroom, training center, stocking facility and export office is set to springboard Excool’s efforts stateside.

“For years, our global clients had said they would consider using us in North America if we had a presence on that side of the world,” Jon reveals. “We finally made the move in 2020 and invested heavily in establishing Excool in the US - not just for our existing client base, but also to look for new customers.

“The North American market is probably three times that of our market in Europe, so there is absolutely enormous potential for us

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Excool there. Our next steps involve looking for a North American manufacturing facility for our products and, longer term, we plan to find a facility on the West Coast in order to better serve Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas and Texas.”

In just over ten years, Excool has grown from a small start-up business to a £30 million organization with more than 150 employees and a global reach. In 2020, the firm sold its milestone 1000th unit, taking its cooling total to 250 megawatts of white space and making the company one of the world’s largest suppliers of indirect cooling solutions for data centers.

While Europe and North America remain the company’s current focus, Jon believes that Excool and its proprietary technology has the potential to forge a recognizable presence the world over.

“As we prepare to perform our first project in Phoenix, Arizona, we are well supported internationally by offices in the UK, the US,” Jon remarks. “In the longer term, launching a manufacturing facility in the United States will be key to our success in that region, and we

also have bigger plans for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, regions experiencing a 20 per cent annual increase in data center construction.

“Most importantly, we want to see continuous innovation in our technology,” Jon asserts. “We are, I suppose, first and foremost, an innovation company. We do things differently - we build differently, we create differently - and we are fairly disruptive in the market. At Excool, we offer something so different and so much better in lots of different ways, including price, efficiency, size, and water conservation.” v

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www.manufacturing-today.com l 41

Bringing innovation to the kitchen A

Colin Lacey

An important part of the Welbilt family of brands, Merrychef’s accelerated cooking solutions are designed to increase speed of service and streamline workflow, but never at the expense of quality or reliability 42 l www.manufacturing-today.com

n award-winning, global leader in the manufacture and supply of professional catering equipment, Welbilt’s heritage spans more than eight decades in the field of foodservice.

With business operations in the United States (it is headquartered in New Port Richey, Florida), Europe and Asia, the company boasts 20 manufacturing facilities throughout the world, and it sells through a global network of over 5000 distributors and dealers, in over 100 countries. Welbilt’s portfolio of leading brands includes Cleveland, Convotherm, Crem, Delfield, Frymaster, Garland, Kolpak, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Merco, Multiplex, and Merrychef.

Colin Lacey has been with Welbilt for over 15 years, in which time he has filled various senior management positions. In 2019, Colin was appointed as Vice President and Managing Director of Merrychef, and tasked with further developing the brand, leading the product

line globally, and managing its manufacturing operations.

“A single entity within the Welbilt portfolio, Merrychef designed its first accelerated cooking oven in 1950, and now it leads the way in high speed cooking technology, being a premier designer, manufacturer and supplier of accelerated cooking systems,” Colin explains.

Merrychef ’s accelerated cooking technology makes use of a combination of convected hot air, microwaves and rapid heat impingement to cook products up to 20 times faster than conventional methods, thereby increasing the speed of service and reducing wait times.

Merrychef ’s products have gone on to become staples of a number of large chains, including the likes of Subway® and Marks & Spencer.

“Our typical clientele is made up of what we would refer to as ‘Quick-Service Restaurants’ as well as pubs, bars, cafés, coffee shops, and petrol stations, so essentially any business that

Welbilt - Merrychef

has a need to cook food quickly, guaranteeing speed of service,” Colin adds.

Seamless process

A UK headquartered company, Merrychef runs an R&D center in Guildford, Surrey, and manufacturing facilities in both Sheffield and in China. “Our main factory in Sheffield is a 100,000-square foot, vertically integrated facility,” Colin continues. “Typically, when it comes to the building of our products, we will take steel and other materials and load them into an automated stockyard. From here it passes through a series of lasers, laser punches, and robotic bending, welding and sealing processes, before then being manually assembled and tested, ahead of final inspection and lastly distribution.

“So, what we have developed is an extremely seamless process, one that makes sensible use of automation, and we continue to make ongoing investments across the board.

This includes the recent purchase of a new AMADA EML-AJ fibre laser/punch combination machine. We have also invested in several new pieces of bending equipment, which is also helping to further improve upon the flexibility and efficiency of the manufacturing process and allowing us to respond quickly and effectively to the demands of our customers.”

Of course, as Colin goes on to document, there are a number of other important contributing factors that support Merrychef ’s

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ongoing growth and level of performance.

“The first thing it comes down to is, without question, our people. We have a very experienced and stable management team and work force, which is quite entrepreneurial in its own right, and that is something we definitely encourage!

“Clearly, we have a fantastic product range, which is best-in-class in terms of not only speed, but also ease of use, cleaning, and energy efficiency, but in order to promote and sell this range you also need a great network of established dealers and distributors, and ours stretches all over the world. Connected to this, we have fantastic aftersales service suppor t functions. These include carefully selected stocks of spare par ts that our experienced technicians carry around with them in their vans, and we make a point of the fact that these exper ts can be in and out of a customer’s store in a shor t space of time, during which they are able to fix a problem 95 per cent of the time there and then. Our customers cannot afford equipment downtime and repeat visits are frustrating and inefficient. We also produce a lot of marketing and training materials and videos that our customers can access in order to carry out simple repairs or identify specific fault codes that they can repor t to us. This ability to remotely access

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Welbilt - Merrychef this information is becoming even more impor tant, given that we continue to expor t around 90 per cent of the products that we build.”

Customer benefits

Turning the conversation back to the wider Welbilt group, Colin is able to highlight some of the immeasurable benefits that Merrychef and its other brands receive from being associated with the organization. “I would say that Welbilt is a great example of a horizontally integrated business, one in which the cross-pollination of ideas is encouraged, and a great deal of best practice is shared across businesses and between a centralized team of experts,” he enthuses. “One of the things that Welbilt has Aperam Thanks to its corrosion and temperature resistance, cleanability, durability and aesthetic appeal, Aperam stainless steel is the material of choice for Welbilt’s catering and kitchen products. Aperam has been providing stainless flat products to Welbilt’s UK, German, and Spanish plants for over a decade. In recognition of its outstanding customer management and flawless supply, Welbilt named Aperam Raw Material Supplier of the Year in 2014. Aperam is also widely regarded for its commitment to sustainability.

recently embarked upon, for instance, is a big program of standardizing common user controls that make up the interface of many of the machines produced by its various brands. This is likely to be of huge benefit for customers, particularly when it comes to staff training and ease of use.”

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“As a group, we are also extremely cognisant of the need to achieve greater connectivity and make the best possible use of the Internet of Things. The ability to connect our customers and their products to a shared online platform gives them the chance to monitor equipment in real time, as well as analyse performance data.”

Strategic plan

In the time since Colin took on his role with Merrychef, the brand has experienced a period of exceptional growth, something that it continued to achieve despite the Covid-19 crisis. As a matter of fact, Colin believes that the brand has come out of it stronger than ever before. “A key reason for this is the fact that we have an established strategic plan, which we have continued to execute throughout the pandemic,” he adds. “We are also fortunate that – as a predominantly export-driven business – the world didn’t stop all at once, with different regions emerging from lockdowns and restrictions at different times. This meant

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Welbilt - Merrychef that we were never reliant on one particular market, and this helped to keep the business rolling.”

Since around June 2020, Colin and his team have been almost consistently working at pace to fulfil orders and service both new and existing customers as more and more countries reopen. In addition to its major markets of the United States and Europe, the Middle East has rapidly become a strong source of orders, with growing investment in infrastructure such as gas stations and the introduction of more branches of quickservice chains leading to a steep rise in demand for Merrychef ’s industry-leading solutions.

“The outlook for the future is very good for us, and we are still going to be investing into our Sheffield facility, but we are also starting to examine whether our existing capacity of 100,000-square feet is enough to accommodate the needs of our customers,” Colin reveals. “We are presently looking at ways to achieve maximum utilization of the facility, and also examining how achieving greater levels of vertical integration can support our activities. This could include taking some of the pressed parts that until now we have purchased from third parties and manufacturing those onsite ourselves. This could have the potential to not only reduce our own lead times, but also alleviate some of the challenges the industry currently faces when sourcing components from far afield.”

Colin admits that both Merrychef and Welbilt are bullish about how bright the future looks, and as such there is not expected to be any let up in the executing of its respective strategies. “In the months and years to come, we will continue to introduce more new products in response to customer demand, while also embracing the reality that increased connectivity will drive a lot of elements of the business, from new technology advances all the way through to how products are ordered and placed.

“All the while that this is happening, the level of competition in the market is only going to heat up more and more, and we welcome that! After all, we believe that healthy competition improves us all, and considering the success of our products, Merrychef has nothing to fear from it whatsoever.” v

Welbilt - Merrychef www.welbilt.com www.merrychef.com

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Products: Professional catering equipment www.manufacturing-today.com l 47

The time

is now Rochdale manufacturer Crystal Doors leads the way with the Green agenda

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Crystal Doors

Richard Hagan

E

stablished 27 years ago, Crystal Doors, based in Rochdale, started out providing vinyl-wrapped door units for kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. Today, the company has diversified into a range of vinyl-wrapped products for other markets including becoming a critical supplier to the NHS. Richard Hagan, the company’s Managing Director is recognised as one of the most ethical manufacturers in the country winning The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) - Carbon and energy reduction 2020, Edie.net SME winner 2021 and Made in the North West sustainable manufacturer 2020. Most recently the company received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development. The company was just one of 17 organisations in the UK to win this award.

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Crystal Doors

Richard’s journey began a few years ago when he needed to upgrade an old biomass burner; the planning application was denied because of air quality concerns. Undeterred he contacted the Business Growth Hub in Manchester and started looking at how he could ensure environmental compliance.

Making changes

“Our advisor at the Hub gave us a 26-point environment plan and that was a lightbulb moment, I started to realise how much of an impact Crystal Doors had on the environment. We had our carbon footprint calculated, which allowed us to set our stake in the ground and see where we were, and then we started making improvements.”

Crystal Doors, has completely transformed its factory in response to the climate emergency.

Richard highlights that in the first year they started with easy wins such as replacing

We’re proud of our industrial heritage in Rochdale and the wider North. It’s even more important we kick start the transition to a green economy in economically deprived areas like ours where we can create high quality green jobs for local communities lighting which achieved a 50 percent saving, repaired compressed air leaks and found a free collection for waste materials rather than it going to landfill.

“The key thing that we did in the early days,” says Richard, “was to measure, then monitor, then manage.”

It was only a year later that it got a little bit more difficult. “We really had to start

investing, but all the while we were making significant energy savings. The new biomass burner provided all of our heating, we had 100 percent sensor-lit LEDs throughout the factory and had solar PV installed on the roof. Our building’s EPC rating jumped from a D to an A+. We’re one of just over 500 non-domestic buildings in the country to have a negative rating for energy use. That’s what

Rochdale Development Agency The RDA have strong links with both the council and the commercial sector and have helped many businesses relocate to the area including Dachser, JD Sports, ASDA (Wincanton), Takeuchi and Nobilia. We actively encouraging and assist investment and promote the borough as one of the most business-friendly locations in the UK. To make your business relocation as smooth as possible, the RDA are able to assist your business in many areas including commercial property searches, advice and guidance on expansion and relocation, financial assistance and support with recruitment and training.

There is a rapid response to all investor enquiries and we allocate a single point of contact within the team to co-ordinate all aspects of your investment enquiry.

Once a business has located to Rochdale we have a dedicated aftercare service. This ensures businesses here thrive. Research undertaken by the ONS, showed that business survival rates in Rochdale have consistently been higher than for Greater Manchester as a whole.

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being carbon neutral is about; it’s not about buying carbon offset credits from the other side of the world, it’s about investing money directly and making changes yourself. Being able to say I’m potentially putting 200kW an hour of renewable energy into the grid is a positive statement that shows we mean business.

“Everything we’ve invested so far has been cash flow neutral. Our solar panels are on a six-year loan that’s being paid back with the energy savings. Our biomass burner earns £80,000 a year in Renewable Heat Incentive subsidy and that money is all earmarked for further investment.”

Reducing emissions

The next stage in Crystal Doors plan is to reach carbon neutrality in its manufacturing.

This will require local offsetting measures, one of the reasons it has become a member of the 100 Tree Club, with City of Trees, and it is also looking at opportunities to join up with others to fund a large solar farm or tree-planting exercise in its home town of Rochdale.

Following this it will look at scope 3 emissions, the carbon it is indirectly responsible for through things like travel and the supply chain.

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Crystal Doors This is where Richard really shows his passion. “Our biggest impact at the moment is transport. We have taken the radical decision to only recruit anyone who lives less than a three-mile radius from the factory. If you live more than three miles away, we won’t employ you. Simple as that. Every single one of our 34 staff are local, including me. We also have one 100 percent electric company car and going forward any new cars we purchase will be electric. We will be looking at electric vans as well once a suitable model comes onto the market. We have a policy of no company flights.”

Energy transition

The supply chain has implications for Crystal Doors and they’re tackling this too.

“We’re trying to get more and more local with our suppliers and we’ve started sending out questionnaires to find out how sustainable they are. Just like the big boys, we have a responsibility to encourage others to reduce their own environmental impact. We’re also doing a lot of R&D into the circular economy and we’re looking to engage with suppliers to make that happen.

“The next thing we’re going to attempt is to engage with our customers. This year we’ve launched a new website and we’ll be using that to show our customers what we’ve done and start a conversation about what they’re doing. In two years’ time, if we think customers aren’t making progress, we won’t sell to them.

“We’re basically creating our own tribe around us. We’re very fortunate that Crystal Doors is held in high regard, and because of that I feel that we can be a bit more visionary and work with companies, individuals and organisations who share our understanding of what sustainability is about.

“The science says we only have a few years of inaction left before achieving our global agreements on greenhouse gas emissions become impossible. It is our collective responsibility as businesses to show that even smaller organisations with tight purse strings can play their part.

“We’re proud of our industrial heritage in Rochdale and the wider North,” Richard added. “It’s even more important we kick start the transition to a green economy in economically deprived areas like ours where we can create high quality green jobs for local communities.”

Richard is resolute in his beliefs. “Our journey may sound radical, but we’re showing that size or lack of money is not a reason to

wait. When stronger government policies are brought in that force companies to invest in sustainability, we’ll already be well ahead.

But ultimately this isn’t about making profit.

We need to be in business for the next generation, and the next generation after that, so that they can be better off. This is a climate emergency and the time to act is now; I’m living proof that you can do it.”

These actions have reduced Crystal Doors’ direct carbon footprint by nearly 80 percent in less than five years and the measures are also saving nearly £200,000 a year in energy and material savings, showing that it is both possible and desirable for businesses to take

action on their climate impact.

This is an incredible achievement given that environmental concerns nearly closed the factory in 2015.

Please contact the growth hub to get help with your journey to sustainability. https:// www.thegrowthhub.biz/ In Richard’s own words ‘The time is now’. v

Crystal Doors www.crystaldoors.co.uk www.investinrochdale.co.uk Products: Vinyl wrapped products www.manufacturing-today.com l 53

George E. Danis

T 54 l www.manufacturing-today.com

he US economy is difficult to predict at the moment, owing to the far-reaching consequences that Covid-19 has inflicted across

all markets. A particular sector experiencing the backlash is the manufacturing industry, and Plastic Molding Manufacturing (PMM) is gearing up to rectify what it can for its sector.

Plastic Molding Manufacturing

Mold rush As many businesses begin to find their feet in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis, Plastic Molding Manufacturing (PMM) is responding to the urgent need to fill the labor gap by keeping its operations local

The business services the medical, industrial, defense, transportation, electronics, consumer and connectors industries, and works closely with a variety of customers to produce

bespoke components and molds of polymerbased products. Most recently, PMM and its medical manufacturing customers have come together to create disposable products and

equipment, owing to the increased demand caused by the pandemic. With an ISO certified clean room in one of its facilities, the company now produces numerous parts – both small

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We will strive to invest in technology and automation. There are exciting times ahead that include setting up a prototype laboratory for the clients who are developing new products. Our plan is to increase the number of our plants with two or three more additions in locations like the mid-Atlantic and Midwest, doubling our business capacity and revenue, especially in the medical industry and large – to provide for the healthcare sector.

The PMM timeline extends as far back as the 60s. In 1968, George E. Danis, an American citizen of Greek descent, had a goal to make his mark on the plastics market by serving Massachusetts’ emerging high-tech industries.

George, who is now the CEO of the company, speaks about the uniqueness the business possesses to make it a leading contender in the plastics sector. “PMM provides contract manufacturing for plastic injection molding and PC board assembly. Since its establishment, our team has pushed itself to provide America with plastic molding manufacturing solutions,” he says.

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As the company worked to gain notoriety in the manufacturing industry, it was able to increase its capabilities through acquisitions of other like-minded companies. In 2010, the business acquired Res-Tech Corporation, a younger company founded in 1976, which led to PMM becoming a major plastic molding manufacturer in Massachusetts. Res-Tech Corporation was then rebranded to Res-Tech Plastic Molding and three years later, PMM added yet another plastic injection molder,Tech Atlantic Inc, which provided a supplementary location for the business to offer a wider range of services.

The following year proved to be a significant milestone for the business with two more

acquisitions taking place. PMM brought on board Northeast Mold, a two-shot injection molding expert. After this purchase, the company amalgamated Tech Atlantic with Northeast Mold to establish its Connecticut operation. PMM’s fourth acquisition of True Precision Plastics occurred towards the end of 2014. The Pennsylvania-based business became the third manufacturing facility under PMM’s belt.

Its next acquisition of Aucilla Plastics allowed the business to press into the Midwest, opening up opportunities for greater expansions. The company’s fourth facility, which is located in Indiana, put PMM in a strong position to acquire its latest business: Phillips-Moldex Company. The new member to the family was then consolidated with PMM’s Hudson facility in Massachusetts.

Growth opportunities

Now, with locations across four states, PMM is passionate about supporting local communities by becoming a national manufacturer of plastic injection molding products. Considering these expansions, George is proud of the company’s progress over the past 50 years. However, he is also determined to reinvest in the US economy by encouraging local development.

“After growing our company to be a nationwide business, we decided to include in our name ‘America’s Technology Molder’, because

Plastic Molding Manufacturing

through technology, equipment and automation upgrades that will help better support clients timeously and cost effectively.

The business’s expertise in molding services, engineering, design and tooling join together to provide it with the capabilities to specialize

this felt more encompassing of our vision,” he says. “Our platform aims to bring manufacturing back to the US and if we’ve learned anything from the 2020 pandemic, it is that we cannot depend on other countries.”

According to George, his team’s consistent hard work, dedication, and focus to serve PMM’s customers has provided it with ample opportunities to grow organically. “Because of how we partner with our clients to develop a strong working relationship, they have a good experience with us and entrust us to both help them design their new products and bring products back to the US from overseas. This is how we were able to acquire companies in different national locations; the goal has always been to service our customers locally. Our intention behind this was to eliminate travel costs and transportation delays completely.

In addition, we have developed a system where our customers are able to review their machine-produced products in real time, and they can inspect their parts with our microscope camera system that we have installed across our plants,” he explains.

“We brought our infrastructure near to our customers’ facilities with the best equipment, technology, and engineering support. This strategy has created an efficiency for them in parts, services and communication.” George claims that this approach is a result of PMM’s commitment to investing in its companies

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in plastics molding development, thin and thick wall molding, tight tolerance molding, part joining, and assembly.

When it comes to molding, PMM collaborates with its customers to assist with simplifying their manufacturing processes, eliminating secondary operations and costs, and improving the integrity of the product. Within this department, the company offers a spectrum of abilities that range from injection, cleanroom, two-shot, insert and scientific molding, as well as overmolding, welding and milling.

This service is then complemented by the design and tooling team who are skilled in high and low cavitation, family and interchangeable insert molds, with a tool transfer program that enables customers to move molds to any of the necessary PMM facilities required to complete the work efficiently.

Supportive employer

However, the business declares that when it comes to fulfilling customer needs, it is the engineering team driving its success. PMM’s engineers bring together years of extensive industry knowledge and skills in material and quality evaluation and automation. While implementing new technologies, its skilled staff are trained to adapt to industry demands and provide solutions to client requirements.

All three of these capabilities are buttressed

by PMM’s maintenance, repairs and revisions services, which help to protect the longevity of its clients’ molds. PMM believes that sustainability and effectiveness of the product go hand-inhand. This is why each facility houses a controlled environment equipped with an on-site tool room to engineer and repair requested changes.

George states that the business continuously updates its equipment to stay in the running with industry standards while also investing in new technology to support customers with fresh and complex product designs. “This is really why we believe it is so important to keep our infrastructure at the standards we do. It allows us to guarantee our parts are measured correctly with the latest technology and equipment so our clients can use it and be assured of quality,” he expresses.

“We have received numerous new contracts from long-standing customers to work on all of their products for the high-tech industry. We also landed many new customers with several tools transferred to assist in supplying millions of pieces of disposable items. For both cases, we will be investing in new machines as well as robots to produce the parts,” he adds.

Aside from its daily operations, the PMM company culture is carefully sculpted to

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Plastic Molding Manufacturing prioritize the wellbeing of its staff. “We are very supportive of our employees and our wages are better than average. PMM pays a higher portion of health care costs and honestly we are like a big family here,” says George. This sentiment became especially apparent during the 2020 Covid-19 crisis.

“Even during the height of the pandemic, we operated all four plants fully, with three 24 hour shifts that spanned over five days. We stayed vigilant to protect our employees with everything possible just as we were directed by the CDC and fortunately, we had no fatalities and we were very happy to have supported our customers fully,” he shares.

Expansion plans

In contrast to these efforts, George also highlights that the pandemic worsened the reality of labor shortages across the States, which has had greater consequences across all industries that manufacture within the US. “The cost of labor has increased by approximately 40 percent,” he shares, “which has affected the material shortages as well as the cost of materials, which has increased by 35-50 percent.” This ripple effect has melted into the efficiency of the production line across all sectors, forcing businesses to take their operations internationally. “Historically when this has occurred, our manufacturing slows down because the US can no longer compete with countries that subsidize their own manufacturing and ultimately takes our business away,” he informs us.

George is concerned that the US manufacturing sector could be in jeopardy if the government does not participate in lowering the cost of healthcare and allowing quicker depreciation in the capital investment of equipment and technology. “We need to support and invest in technical trade schools and fund part of the cost of engineering education, so we can be competitive with countries who subsidize their factories,” he expresses.

In the meantime, PMM will continue to enhance its infrastructure and empower more independent and autonomous management.

George wants to keep his mission of remaining close to the location of client operations in order to improve PMM’s customer services, while staying on the look-out for more companies to acquire. “We will strive to invest in technology and automation. There are exciting times ahead that include setting up a prototype laboratory for the clients who are developing new products. Our plan is to increase the number of our plants with two or three more additions in locations like the mid-

Atlantic and Midwest, doubling our business capacity and revenue, especially in the medical industry. We have so much scope to grow and we’re looking forward to those opportunities,” he concludes. v

Plastic Molding Manufacturing www.plasticmoldingmfg.com Services: Molding manufacturers for polymer-based products

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With intuitive technology and an eye for detail, Moonpig Group continues to strengthen its personalized service and innovate as leaders in the gifting industry

Celebrating every occasion 60 l www.manufacturing-today.com

Moonpig Group

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ome of us know Moonpig’s familiar jingle all too well. Since the early days of its 2D space pig animation, the business has evolved to become the leading online greetings card and gifting platform comprising of the UK’s Moonpig brand and Greetz in the Netherlands. We speak with Operations Director John Persaud, who shares with us the workings behind a Moonpig order and how it has expanded to be the name depended upon to celebrate moments that matter.

“We still hear plenty of that song, but 20 years later, we’ve grown drastically from that little pig in a helmet. We have thousands of designs, attached gifts and flowers, and we have continually developed our technology to make the ordering process as easy as possible for our customers,” John says.

Operating in emotional commerce, the company has an offering of hampers, alcoholic beverages and a range of flower arrangements tailored for each life milestone. Accordingly, the business takes pride in making the ordering process just as exciting as receiving a Moonpig gift. “Everything we do is driven by data and technology. Not only do we record what people are buying, but also why they’re buying it so that we can personalize their experience and help make it easy for customers to choose the perfect combination of gifts and cards,” he shares with us. This element is what has led the business to owning over 60 percent market share of the greeting cards segment in the UK and Netherlands, with 86 percent and 78 percent brand recognition in each market respectively.

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Moonpig Group

“To work as efficiently as we do, we have a mix of factories based in Guernsey and Amsterdam, and we use partners spread across the UK and the Netherlands, as well as our international branches in Australia and the US. This network is what allows us to deliver around 46 million cards each year,” he shares. In order to achieve its next-day delivery targets, the business relies on an ecosystem of florists, designers, and internal production teams.

“Internally, we use highly automated factories to fulfil the majority of our customer orders.

Our specialist florists serve the fresh flower supply chain quite differently from the card and gift supply chain, so we need a third party to manage that. It means we can offer different services but do so without specializing. During our peak periods, we use additional partners to top up our capacity for peak periods like Christmas or Valentine’s Day to make sure we continue to give the right service,” John adds.

Regarding its intelligent operations network,

Moonpig functions on a three-tier tech enabled network that is built to offer scale, print on demand, flexibility and convenience. With automated internal factories and third-party partnerships, the business is able to withstand peak capacity and international reach with efficiency and accuracy. “Because we have quite a complex layout of different sites producing different products, our systems ensure that we batch similar orders together and route them to the right location. Once the orders come out of the digital world and into the physical one, we incorporate state-of-the art digital printing and the latest smart automation ready for packaging cards into envelopes and gifts into boxes,” he says. This level of technology is what has enabled the business to work closer and quicker with its clients than ever before.

There is a fair share of creativity that goes into product innovation and development at Moonpig. For example, to make it easier to choose the right gift, the business launched its

new design studio to assist with card editing and product suggestions. “We’ve got over 140 developers and data scientists across the business and they bring different innovations to improve every step of the selection journey.

One of our recent features is our reminder service. This prompts people with dates for birthdays and anniversaries, or if you’re supposed to be sending somebody a gift, which has been a bit of a lifesaver for me,” says John with a chuckle.

Building success

Although technology has a significant presence within the business’s operation, the team of dedicated staff is what keeps the wheels turning.

“We’re a very purpose-driven business. Our aim is to create more personal connections between our customers and their friends and family. This is why we work closely with our staff and why we care about their contributions to the business. A key part of our philosophy is that we make sure

Propack Direct Mail Propack Direct Mail are a highly regarded and established business offering an extensive range of print, direct mail and communications services.

Their dynamic approach enabled them to react quickly and develop an operational solution for Moonpig within five days, a process that could typically take several months. Not only did this solve the challenges Moonpig were facing during the pandemic, it has also provided them with a robust, open-ended solution.

The resulting business partnership allows production volumes to be flexed within one hour to assist with increased unexpected volume. It has also allowed the development team within Propack to come up with innovative new products that have proved to be market leading.

The relationship is built on solid, ethical business practices and exceptional customer service. Propack consistently exceed the customer expectations in terms of quality and delivery, whilst also ensuring the environmental targets of Moonpig are achieved.

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that our own people are respected, included and supported, meaning that we invest hugely in our employee experience. Of course, with the pandemic, it has been more difficult to see each other so we’ve had to work on ensuring that social and business connections have remained strong, and I think that translates into a team that really do know each other and like working together,” John expresses.

In the same breath, the consequences of the pandemic have also provided an opportunity for the business to bring clients closer during a period when celebrations have been put on hold. “Over the last 12 months, when people have not been able to get to the high streets to buy cards, our ability to expand our production capacity by integrating new providers has meant that we’ve been able to continue to provide cards for customers. This has meant that they have been able to connect with their friends

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and family at a time when they may not have been able to do so in any other way,” he informs us. Not only did this improve business for the gifting company, but the increase in sales placed it within the 2020 Sunday Times Top Track 250.

“We’ve been on a strong growth trajectory for many years. While we’ve been investing in our tech and AI in the last 18 months, we’ve more than doubled the number of active customers, and nearly tripled revenue at the same time.

We’re obviously operating at a significant scale, and we are expected to grow with a focus on building our customer loyalty,” he adds.

According to John, the past 18 months have encouraged the business to be more supportive of bringing loved ones closer, which led it to focus on yet another platform under the company name: the Moonpig mobile app.

“We’ve been trying to make things as simple for customers as possible. Our app makes searching

so much easier, it makes reminders much more accessible and it ultimately makes the ordering journey more fun. So, customers do naturally become more loyal after they use the app, which is why we have focused on providing the best service through that platform,” John explains.

“We also recently launched a group card feature on the app. This tool enables lots of people to contribute messages onto a single card and was inspired by a time when we haven’t been able to pass cards around the office to get signatures. It has been a great way to get lots of people to be able to contribute,” he adds.

Looking further ahead, the business is motivated to stay ahead of industry developments and strengthen its working partnerships. “We’ll continue to build on the successes that we’ve had so far. Operationally, we will continue to grow our capacity and

Moonpig Group

manage our demand. Although we’ve expanded our capacity hugely across our networks in the last 12 months, we’re working now to make that even more robust, and continue to innovate and support our customers even more through any means possible. For example, in our partnership with Royal Mail, we’ve grown our scale through them and that gives us the ability to work with

them to launch a Sunday deliver service that we actually did for Father’s Day, where you could deliver both gifts and cards on a Sunday for the first time in Royal Mail history. We’ll continue to innovate in these ways and improve our service levels by building on the foundation and capacity that we’ve built over the last 21 years,” John states.

Moonpig is on a mission to become the ultimate gifting companion and in doing so, is honing in on perfecting its process of buying and ordering. “We’re doing that with excellence through our operations, which means we’re using our internal factories to do things at scale. We’re using specialist team supporters to deliver those things which are adjacent to our core strengths, and we’re making sure that our network and our technology is able to scale up and down so that we can keep offering great service levels every day of the year, whether demand is driven by peak periods, by global pandemics or through customer loyalty. No matter what, customers will always get the most meaningful and most convenient service for sending cards and gifts to friends and family because we are determined to provide a Moonpig card and gift for every moment,” he concludes. v

Moonpig Group www.moonpig.com Services: Leading platform for online greeting cards and gifts

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Cool, calm

and collected Serving the cool chain supply sector with a wide range of solutions, Hubbard Products is committed to utilizing its excellence in refrigeration design and engineering to service its customers’ static and transport refrigeration requirements

Ilias Katsoulis

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Hubbard Products Ltd.

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ne of the UK’s leading designers, manufacturers and suppliers of commercial cooling equipment – with an enviable global reputation for innovation and design-led excellence – Hubbard Products Ltd. (Hubbard) was founded in Martlesham by engineer, businessman and entrepreneur Geoff Hubbard in 1968. In addition to serving the retail and convenience sectors, food manufacturing, hospitality and cellar conditioning markets, the company has also been at the forefront of Vehicle Refrigeration for more than 40 years.

Relocating to Otley, Suffolk, in 1974, Hubbard would go on to cement its reputation for, and inquisitive approach towards, refrigeration by being awarded a full European Patent for Eutectic Refrigeration in 1980.

Four years later, the company would secure its first order from Marks and Spencer (M&S) for its Hubbard Multi-Compressor Pack (this relationship is still going strong in 2021), while in 1985, Hubbard would produce the first diesel-powered transport refrigeration unit (TRU) for vehicles up to 13 tons. Without this development, the type of smaller vehicles that are used today to deliver fresh, chilled and frozen foods are unlikely to have been developed so quickly.

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With the turn of the new millennium, and in collaboration with several third parties, the company would begin the development of the first of its high-efficiency, carbon footprint reducing refrigeration solutions, a Nitrogen refrigerated TRU called POLARSTREAM. Then, in 2005, Hubbard would become the first manufacturer to be listed on the Energy Technology List and to be given ECA accreditation.

New facility

Two years on from this, the company would become part of Zanotti – a leading European refrigeration manufacturer – and this would spark the most significant period of growth in Hubbard’s existence, during which time it launched a large portfolio of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly products, include the Zenith – ECA 2010 qualifying condensing system, the SimplyAir 2012, and the Dearman Nitrogen powered, zero emission TRU 2014. More recently, the company would relocate to its new home – a site closer to the international gateways of Felixstowe, Harwich and DP World London Gateway – in 2016, before being welcomed into the Daikin organisation in 2017, with the transfer of Daikin products into its own products portfolio.

“Throughout our history, it has been our ability to design and manufacture reliable, effective products that deliver value to our customers that has kept Hubbard in a market leading position in not only the UK, but a range of key export destinations,” explains its Chief Executive Officer, Ilias Katsoulis. “Among our unique strengths are our broad technical knowledge and the fact that we are a total Cold Chain Solution provider, with strong relationship with the major food retail chains in both the stationary and transport refrigeration markets.”

Hubbard’s focus today is the development of eco efficient solutions, meaning products based on low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, as well as delivering greater energy efficiency. It aims to achieve the latter by successfully addressing the issue of how to create a lower Total Equivalent Warming Impact (TEWI). Meanwhile, the company is complementing its offerings with innovative solutions in the fields of remote monitoring and service management.

As of July 2021, the above-mentioned efforts will be found taking place at a brandnew, 80,000-square foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located at FUTURA

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Hubbard Products Ltd. PARK, Ipswich, Suffolk. Having celebrated the news with a breaking ground event back in September 2020, actually construction of the facility will have been completed in the space of just six months.

“Prior to our move to FUTURA PARK, more than 190 of our people have been operating from a production area of approximately 4800-square meters, where we have been producing more than 3300 refrigeration systems per year,” Ilias states.

“While we have been extremely successful in developing our own full-scale production capabilities – including fabrication, welding, brazing, electrical panel design and build, and PED self-certification – here, the truth is that this site has been operating at the limits of its physical capacity for some time, and to do so further would soon restrict Hubbard’s future growth plans.

“Our new site will not only allow us to increase our capacity, but also the efficiency

and cost-effectiveness of our operations. The reason behind this is that it has been specially designed around the principles of the Daikin Production System, which focuses on the elimination of all types of waste throughout the production process. With our new site, we are not only targeting a minimum 30 per cent improvement in overall efficiency, but also a significant reduction in lead times, all which guarantee the smooth and reliable delivery of top quality products that meet both our own and Daikin’s standards.”

The new site is seen as being the vehicle

for Hubbard’s business expansion plans, facilitating a more-than doubling of its existing turnover. Furthermore, situated next to the new production facilities one will also find a state-of-the-art R&D center, inside which will be two sets of test rooms that will allow for the extensive testing of new solutions.

Impressive performance

What makes the delivery of the company’s new premises all the more impressive is that it has been completed by a dedicated project management team – supported by

GVN AND HUBBARD GVN and Hubbard’s business relationship started at a Germany Chillventa exhibition around six years ago.

At the beginning of this relationship, the business volume was limited with a few receivers but now Hubbard is the one of the biggest partners of GVN company for whole range including CO2 products. Of course, products’ quality has a very important role in this good relationship but mutual respect and trust are the biggest factors in this growth. Both companies know that beyond the business being a family is the thing that carries on the relationship.

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experienced designers, contractors and Daikin manufacturing experts – during the midst of Covid-19-related restrictions. In fact, looking back on Hubbard’s performance since the on-set of the pandemic in the early weeks of 2020 shows how well the company was able to overcome some unprecedented obstacles.

“Hubbard’s reaction to Covid-19, and its adaption to what we came to call the ‘new normal’ have to be considered to be a success, judging by the fact that we have managed to keep our operations running throughout the crisis,” Ilias enthuses. “This was very much down to the tremendous efforts of our staff members, and the confidence that they had in the company taking immediate countermeasures to keep them safe. By doing so, we were collectively able to continue to supply critical applications for food retail, food processing, cold storage, the home delivery market, and the pharmaceutical sector in a time of great need.

“Commercially, we have also managed to stabilize our financial results in line with the previous year, primarily by refocusing our activities towards high demand areas such as pharmaceutical applications and the need to establish a robust and sustainable supply chain for vaccines in a very short period of time.”

As social restrictions around the world continue to ease as we move through the summer of 2021, sectors such as food retail and hospitality are steadily recovering,

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Hubbard Products Ltd. driving up demand for Hubbard’s services.

Meanwhile, although the industry continues to deal with the questions posed by supply chain disruption, Ilias is positive that sustainable growth will be the pattern that continues through 2022.

Benchmark for quality

From a longer-term perspective, Ilias is also able to share with us both Hubbard and Daikin’s goals for the next five years.

“In Daikin, we work to a series of five-year plans, which we call ‘Fusion Plans’. We call them this because of our wider aim of fusing short-term profitability with long-term development and business expansion,” he says. “This year, we start our newest Fusion Plan for Hubbard, which will take us through 2025 and will spearhead our aim to lead the refrigeration market in the UK and in Northern Europe.

“Financially, our aim is to more than double 2020’s turnover to in excess of £40 million and achieve an operating profit margin of ten per cent, but more importantly than that,

we want Hubbard to become the benchmark and reference point in our industry for quality, innovation and customer service. We believe that this is more than possible thanks to the combination of our new manufacturing site and R&D facility, a new ERP system that will be integrated in 2022, and the continued development of our fantastic workforce. In conclusion, we look forward to very exciting times ahead.” v

Hubbard Products Ltd. www.hubbardproducts.com Products: Commercial cooling equipment Prometal Manufacturing Ltd Hubbard’s have been a valued customer of ours for over 20 years. And over this time, our working relationship has grown and evolved allowing us to work together to provide competitive pricing and effectively to tight timetables.

We pride ourselves on our mutual respect and ability to collaborate to a satisfactory outcome for both businesses.

We supply a variety of products for Hubbard’s including housing, Frames & Panel work to a high standard.

We wish Hubbard’s and David great success on their move to new premises and hope for a continued relationship for the years ahead.

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Perfect precision

A significant tier 1 supplier to various industry markets, Madison-Kipp Corporation is continuing to prosper well over a century after it just began its journey towards being a premier aluminum die caster 72 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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ith its roots going as far back as 1898, MadisonKipp Corporation (MKC) is one of North America’s premier aluminum die casters. Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, MKC is today a leading producer of lightweight, high-pressure aluminum die castings, precision machined components, and system subassemblies for customers in the transportation, industrial, law and garden, and recreational OEM markets from its four key locations.

In its infancy, MKC’s main product offering was a specially devised solution to provide automatic lubrication for steam cylinders found in farm tractors and power units. It was not until 1928 that a department within the business was created so that MKC could design and manufacture die-casts and die-casting machines for other manufacturers, in addition to meeting its own needs. Two years later, in 1930, the company introduced a high-speed air grinder for making dies – described as the first truly high speed pneumatic grinder – and it was

Madison-Kipp Corporation

around this time that MKC really began to forge its reputation for being a die-casting industry pioneer. It was also a significant contributor to the United States’ war effort during the 1940s, making machinery and parts for ammunition production.

By the early 1950s, MKC’s business had expanded beyond die-castings, pneumatic grinders, and mechanical lubricators, to include a wide array of parts used in the manufacture of such products as tape recorders, washing machines, and space heaters. What followed

during the 1960s was a new focus, this time on precision miniature die-casting. This prompted the business to reorganize into two divisions. The first, the Kippcast division, concentrated on die-

castings that were used as part of a particular customers’ product. Meanwhile, the product division was devoted to designing and marketing automatic machine tool lubrication systems, as

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well as automated lubrication and maintenance systems for conveyor belts.

Come the early 1970s, business was booming for MKC, and before the decade was out its sales ranged between $30 million and $40 million per annum, while its near 600 strong workforce made it one of the largest employers in Madison, Wisconsin. Targeted acquisitions helped it to grow further still in subsequent years, while its manufacturing capabilities and levels of sophistication were boosted heavily through the purchase of various robots and other forms of artificial intelligence. This helped to increase levels of accuracy and efficiency, as

well as sparing employees from functions that were unsafe or uncomfortable, such as pouring ingot metal into hot furnaces.

With annual turnover reaching approximately $50 million, the 1990s saw MKC selling some 60 per cent of the precision metal components that it made to General Motors and its numerous suppliers. By this time, the company had also begun to diversify the parts that it made in order to offset the effects of sluggish economic cycles. It also began to concentrate more on team-based incentives and continuous quality improvement initiatives in order to better prepare its people for the future.

Fremar Industries Fremar Industries are an industry leader and innovator for automotive die cast tooling. We are pleased to have been a partner with Madison Kipp Corp for over 20 years.

The collaborative vision of both companies is centered on a customer first perspective. Innovative engineering and efficient manufacturing processes have illuminated the path forward. Best practices and quality are the bedrock for the complex die cast tooling necessary for the consistent high quality castings produced at Madison Kipp.

Fremar Industries continue to look forward to the emerging technologies and EV markets with Madison Kipp.

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Come the end of the decade – in 1999 – sales had increased further still to upwards of $75 million. This growth was supported by the company’s new $500,000 technology centre, complete with $6 million worth of advanced equipment. It was also in 1999 that MKC formed a global investment concern under the banner of MKC Worldwide. With one Frank Bauchiero at the helm as its President and Chief Executive Officer, the new firm would go on to play a critical role in MKC’s future strategies, and affirm its status as an international player.

Fast forward to 2021, and MKC continues to attract significant interest and investment in its activities. In fact, it was as recently as April 2021 that the business was able to announce that Wanxiang America Corporation – the US arm of Chinese multinational conglomerate Wanxiang Group Corporation – had joined with private equity firm, PineBridge Structured Capital Partners, as a key investor.

This partnership with a respected leader and innovator in the international automotive

Madison-Kipp Corporation components sector is expected to significantly enhance MKC’s ability to serve its diverse roster of customers.

Commenting at the time of the announcement, MKC’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Tim Kaderabek said: “We believe that this strategic investment by Wanxiang America Corporation, along with the continued support from our financial sponsor PineBridge Structured Capital Partners, is a testament to our capabilities and strong reputation for quality, responsiveness and reliability. Wanxiang America Corporation’s global relationships, as well as its operating discipline and technical expertise will greatly benefit MKC.”

Pin Ni, President of Wanxiang America Corporation added: “We have closely followed the progress of MKC in the aluminum die casting sector for many years, and our group is pleased to be part of its future growth story.”

Following on from the above announcement, MKC has since continued to display its own desire to achieve growth both organically and via acquisitions by revealing that it has purchased the assets of a Richmond, Indiana, die cast facility, which expands its geographic footprint, while allowing it to better serve both new and existing customers.

This recently completed transaction is part of a program to enhance MKC’s manufacturing capabilities, and combined with the recent

RitterTech For more than 20 years, RitterTech have assisted Madison-Kipp with fluid power solutions and on-site services. We are a leading national distributor for Parker Hannifin, Graco, and Enerpac and one of the Midwest’s premier suppliers of top-tier products, technologies and engineered solutions related to hydraulics, pneumatics, lubrication, and filtration. RitterTech service more than 25,000 MRO and OEM customers from five distribution centers and 17 retail locations across the U.S. For more information, please visit: www.rittertech.com

addition of seasoned leaders in engineering and manufacturing, MKC will now have the capacity to remain a highly reliable and technically sophisticated supplier of complex parts. This addition also brings with it the opportunity for supply chain optimization for certain customers.

Tim Kaderabek stated: “We are excited to add the Richmond facility, which allows us to expand our die cast tonnage range, machining and assembly capacity at MKC. We have the personnel, technical competence, financial resources, and production capacity to remain as a best-in-class supplier to our customers.”

It is clear from these recent events that under the direction and financial sponsorship of its investors, and with the leadership of its management team, MKC is strategically positioned for growth while enjoying continued financial stability. v

Madison-Kipp Corporation www.madison-kipp.com Products: Precision machined aluminum die castings and subassemblies

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Laser sharp

As global industries strive to bring leading technology to the forefront of our lives, the G&H Group are pushing boundaries with innovation in the optical engineering sector

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G&H Group When the laser became more widely used in the industrial market, our engineering capabilities just boomed, and the use of lasers in areas such as micro-electronics, general industrial manufacturing and semi-conductors is now fairly ubiquitous, building on the original core element of G&H

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eet the company that brought the acousto-optic tunable filter to the ‘SuperCam’ used on the Mars Perseverance rover.

G&H has specialized in the development of cutting edge photonics technology since its inception in 1948. From its origins as a craftbased engineering company, rich in practical optical manufacturing skills, the business has transformed into a high-tech photonics manufacturer through the acquisition of like-minded companies across individual areas. Founded by Archie Gooch and Leslie Housego, who were working for the Ministry of Defence as optical engineers in the early 1940s, the company came to being when the Blitz struck London, and the business duo moved to Somerset.

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The company now provides expertise in optical systems, subsystems and components, extending from research through the development of prototypes, to volume manufacturing. Now, with 11 sites across the UK, US and Asia, G&H is a catalyst for innovation and effective manufacturing in the aerospace and defense, industrial, telecom, and life science sectors.

Niche areas

Chief Executive Officer, Mark Webster, sits with us to talk about the achievements of the multi-national business and its plans to provide leading innovation to a range of sectors. “When the laser became more widely used in the industrial market, our engineering capabilities just boomed, and the use of

lasers in areas such as micro-electronics, general industrial manufacturing and semiconductors is now fairly ubiquitous, building on the original core element of G&H. Supplying those sectors was really what enabled us to grow quite rapidly from what was originally an engineering workshop into the global business that we are now.

Rather than remain just in industrials, which is exposed to the global economic cycle, we’ve expanded our original skills and technologies into all sorts of different areas to include the telecoms, aerospace, defense and life sciences industries in our operations,” Mark says. Although the business does not manufacture the lasers, it is an expert in producing the Q-switch and other key components that go into

G&H Group We have come out quite strongly from the implications of 2020; we have a strong cash and balance sheet position and I think that this year is going to be a lot better than the last and 2022 can only improve on that trajectory. Our challenge is choosing which areas are going to give the most return for our technologies, which is why we are investing in a range of target areas how information is transmitted across the globe. According to him, 90 percent of the world’s data is transferred through undersea cables with the majority incorporating G&H components. “These are called high reliability fibre couplers that are in undersea cables laid on the ocean bed, and every few kilometers you’ll find these amplifiers that amplify the signal; our couplers are a key

part in supporting that. There are only two companies in the world that make them to that standard,” he expresses. A strong passion for the business is operating in niche areas where there may be only two or three other companies providing a similar level of service with which the G&H name is synonymous.

Three years ago the business purchased a company based in Keene, New Hampshire

producing them. Q-switches help modulate the pulse of laser systems.

“We also have laser engine technology; and the know-how to build critical subsytems for sensing applicatons. Such sytems can be used in a variety of areas such as wind turbine calibration and control. What these engines do is something called directional sensing. On the wind farms, for example, they will detect the direction that the wind’s coming from and its strength, which will ‘feather’ the blades on the turbine appropriately. Another use of that technology would be in security, where the technology detects movement of people or animals,” Mark continues.

As Mark explains, the company’s fibre optic technology is quite far reaching, making the company’s advancements vital to

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G&H Group that specializes in creating the complex optical arrays used in the drone gimbals.

This advancement then strengthened its ability to suppor t the aerospace and defence sectors. “We were recently part of a satellite launch, in conjunction with our par tners NEC who are involved with the Japanese space agency JAXA. The satellites that they sent up to space were using our laser-based communication system. To our knowledge, it’s the first system of its type and uses lasers to communicate from satellite-to-satellite and then back to the ground, which has a host of advantages. Firstly, it’s using spacequalified optic technology so it’s relatively light, efficient and stable. Secondly, despite the hostile environment in space, it’s able to transmit large quantities of data much more effectively compared to the technology that was used previously,” he informs us.

Future plans

Then in the life sciences sector, the business designs and manufactures subsystems and components for OEMs whose systems are based on a technology known as optical coherence tomography (OCT), which is commonly used in ophthalmology for 3D retinal scanning. “It is quite exciting that we have the means to support the medical industry. In conjunction with the US medical diagnostics company, we also recently launched a product that uses the OCT technology in cardiovascular disease detection,” Mark explains.

It is clear that as the years have progressed, so too have the company’s capabilities, which has allowed it to broaden its horizons beyond industrial lasers. Accordingly, its diversification gave it the opportunity to be involved in combatting the pandemic by producing key component parts for medical diagnostics and a subsystem that supported and increased the flow of oxygen for ventilators.

Now, as the world tries to navigate a new reality alongside the consequences of Covid-19, the company is determined to diversify and provide innovation in its target sectors. “Most of the research here tends to be more on the development side. Right now, we have for example quantum technology.

This is going to rely on our laser tech to cool the atoms down to a level where quantum computing can work. We recently received government grants to develop that and we have PhD research scientists to assist us with this. It will really only come together in a few years’ time but for now, we are quite excited to get the ball rolling,” he discusses.

G&H will continue to strive for precision, innovation and effective manufacturing that challenges industry limits; its range of capabilities demonstrates how it will achieve its desired growth in the coming years. “We have come out quite strongly from the implications of 2020; we have a strong cash and balance sheet position and I think that this year is going to be a lot better than the last and 2022 can only improve on that trajectory.

Our challenge is choosing which areas are going to give the most return for our technologies, which is why we are investing in a range of target areas,” Mark concludes. v

G&H Group https://gandh.com Services: Developer of photonics technology

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A head

for heights Bringing the Pure Safety Group’s family of brands under one banner, Guardian helps offer clients around the world an unrivalled range of fall protection and prevention solutions to allow them to operate safely at height

P Jeff Ward

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rior to May 2021, the US-based Pure Safety Group had a family of height safety brands, including names such as Stronghold by PSG, Ty-Flōt, Checkmate, HART and Guardian. Each of these brands possessed its own proven pedigree.

Guardian, for instance, boasted scale and expertise in US fall protection, while Checkmate

was able to call upon cutting edge fall protection design and innovation with a UK manufacturing, training and design center, and Ty-Flōt was a pioneer in dropped object prevention and foreign material exclusion.

“In May of this year,” explains CEO Jeff Ward, “we took the decision to combine everything under the Guardian banner. As a result, the

Guardian

specification and health & safety experts,” Jeff adds. “Our height safety training offer is a blend of in class, on-site or online, which we can design around our client’s specific needs, while our engineered systems offer is one where we can design, supply and maintain fall arrest systems.

This holistic offer aims to help clients take all the complexity and hassle out of height safety.”

Brand strength

expanded Guardian is now the world’s largest independent fall protection and prevention brand, working under a shared vision to blend scale, agility and 360-degree thinking in order to make it easier than ever for our partners to operate safely at height.”

As a result of the aforementioned decision, Guardian and its 400 directly employed safety

experts is able to offer design, manufacturing, height safety training, and engineered systems across North America and the UK, serving its partners with a 360-degree height safety offer. “We supply our range of fall protection, dropped object prevention and foreign material exclusion products through distribution partners who serve construction and general industry

Speaking further about the rebranding of the business, Jeff provides us with additional insight into the thinking behind this significant decision.

“To leverage the full potential of the acquired businesses is to understand deeply the unique strength each one brings,” he states. “We are fortunate that each business brought with it unique talent and expertise, and our recent move to Guardian highlights our passion to be one unified company rather than a group of companies. We are better together, and it is our strong belief that our simplification and unification can help further reduce fatal falls from height and help workers get on with what’s important to them. Our recent (January 2021) end user research told us that the Guardian brand was not only our strongest brand, but the strongest brand in the US construction and general industry space overall.”

Today, the Guardian business possesses manufacturing capabilities in the United States, Canada, and in the UK. “In these locations, we manufacture self-retracting devices, anchors, body harnesses, and lanyards to name just a few products,” Jeff details. “Every brake we place into a self-retract device, or stitch we put into

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a harness, is done with precision and pride as we all know these are made to potentially save or rescue someone’s life. We have some special patents in the company that also rely on our ability to be flexible in our manufacturing capabilities. We actually have over 400 design and utility patents.

“One good example is our FABX selfretracting lifelines, which are the only ones that have a modular, sealed brake built-in. They are also the only devices of their kind in the world

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that have computer-aiding torqueing. Each one can be calibrated to control the brake like a bike or a car. We have a few torque machines built specifically for us and operators are constantly optimizing each and every brake. This has all been driven by the insight that competitor brakes were fading over time. If they are not sealed and modular, they can absorb grease and moisture, and they become much more difficult and inconsistent to service.”

In terms of product development, the

business is currently experiencing a lot of momentum around its Dropped Object Prevention product range. “In the last 12 months, we have adapted our Quick-Switch product, and begun introducing this into markets outside of the United States,” Jeff says. “This is an amazing, patented innovation that is the only design in the world that allows 100 percent tool connection during use and storage. As anyone with experience will tell you, changing tools at height is a nightmare – long, cumbersome, unsafe and impractical – but this product changes all that, and really changes the game.

“We have also just introduced globally our Dropped Object Prevention kits, which are trade specific kits that conveniently put everything you need in one pack with a nice point of purchase unit. We have one for steelworkers, one for scaffolders, as so forth. We are all about taking the complexity out of working at height, and we have a lot more exciting innovations on the way, a number of which we look forward to showcasing in Las Vegas at the World of Concrete show in January 2022!”

Improved service

Buoyed by the rebranding of the business, Guardian is now also embarking upon ambitious plans to expand its operations globally and into new sectors. “In the United States, our core source of revenue remains the construction market,” Jeff details. “We are also now pursuing opportunities to expand more into general industry – working with

Guardian companies in manufacturing, distribution, etc.

Meanwhile, from our UK base, we are keen to expand into Europe and the Middle East.

We are improving our language capabilities and product offering, and have just started appointing some new distribution partners in these regions. In the last few months, for example, we have cemented partnerships in the GCC, Spain, Holland, Sweden, and beyond, and we have also established new training partnerships in Europe.”

In spite of numerous challenges faced by Guardian over the last 12 months – from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to unprecedented supply chain difficulties created by long lead

times, and rising material and freight costs – it has refused to lie down. “We have worked incredibly hard to mitigate a lot of these challenges for our customers, and this has resulted in us actually improving upon our service levels verses 2020,” Jeff declares. “This has been noticed within our net promoter score measures, and I could not be any prouder of the resilience that we have displayed.”

Looking to build upon this further, Jeff has a clear vision of what the short and mediumterm future holds for Guardian. “From January 2022, our clients and peers can expect to see a brand that is anchored in user insight and leverages its digital channels to inform and

Dudley Associates Dudley Associates have been working with Guardian since 2011 and enjoy a very constructive relationship through Jeff and Mike. Retaining clients for a decade and longer is not unusual for us.

We make injection-moulded products from a suite of bespoke tooling manufactured by us, and some tools originally made elsewhere but transferred to us as preferred moulder. To optimise efficiency, we use a variety of interchangeable inserts, maximising the ratio between productivity and initial capital outlay.

Dudley Associates’ Chairman, Andrew McIntyre said: “We are delighted to join Guardian in this feature and look forward to supporting them as they continue to grow.”

enable our partners, that makes a sustained investment in specialist roles in order to cultivate even deeper expertise, and that is powered by operational excellence and ongoing improvements.

“Further ahead – in three-to-five years’ time – I expect Guardian’s unrivalled brand awareness levels to have further strengthened in our home market of the United States, and for it to have extended further across the world. We have continually launched unique products and services that make it simpler for our partners to operate at height, and we continue to collect customer and industry awards for solving some of height safety’s thorniest problems. We have likely doubled in annual revenues, but we have achieved this through complete dedication and a focus on height safety, and not by getting distracted with anything else.” v

Guardian www.guardianfall.com Products: Fall protection and prevention solutions

on a single site in the East Midlands

Injection-mould tool-making

Röders CNC Production cell with automation Prototype tooling l Production tooling: t Aluminium for lower volume needs t Steel, hardened or P20, for high volume demand l Mirror or textured finishes, sliders, up and aways, and more l Mould flow analysis software l l

We would be delighted to become your moulder, using your existing tooling; re-shoring or just moving

No grey area for dispute between toolmaker & moulder when we do both in-house

Injection-moulding manufacturing Wide range of polymer materials used, including ABS, Nylons, Ultems, TPE, Peek and many more All sectors including industrial, safety, dental, leisure, electronics, automotive, aviation, oil & gas, scientific and defence l Moulding machines from 35-300 tonnes l Colour matching and anti-static/UV/microbial additives l Class 8 Clean Room l Printing, painting, inserting, over-moulding, sonic welding & more l ISO9001 2015 Quality system accreditation l We ship moulded components into Europe, Asia and North America l l

3 Elizabethan Way, Lutterworth Leicestershire LE17 4ND T: +44(0)1455 558825 E: sales@dudleyassociates.com www.dudleyassociates.com

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Where creativity bears fruit

Growing value through innovation since 2012, Polar Technology Management Group is benefitting from a new £10 million facility as it looks to remain at the leading edge of the advanced engineering market 86 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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etween 2012, when the company was founded, and 2019, Polar Technology Management Group enjoyed rapid growth, building a strong, balanced portfolio in the aerospace, defense, medical and motor sport sectors. An expert in advanced engineering technologies, the company operates

under two brand names – SST Technology, which designs and manufactures advanced fabrications, including tubular components, ducting and high-performance insulation, and Lentus Composites, which designs and manufactures a broad portfolio of complex composite components.

Polar Technology Management Group

Polar’s well-renowned capabilities have allowed it to attract a customer base consisting of distinguished global brands. One key area in which the company has been supporting these clients of late is in its drive to achieve net zero carbon status within the next 10-to-20 years.

“Low carbon targets are important for almost

every business out there at the moment, so we have been focusing on developing technologies that can help them achieve that,” explains Chairman & Joint Founding Partner Scott Roberts. “For example, for one of our clients, we are looking at replacing the carbon fiber used in their racing cars with flax-reinforced

polymers, which will eliminate the huge energy consumption of the carbon fiber manufacturing process and replace it with a natural product that can actually absorb CO2 during the growth of the plant.

“It’s funny,” Scott adds. “People think that racing cars are big polluters, but actually, with the

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technology we are developing and helping our clients utilise, motor racing is becoming one of the cleanest sports around.”

Not just interested in boosting the sustainability credentials of its customers, Polar is also taking steps to decrease its own impact on the environment. The company’s new state-ofthe-art, 100,000-square-foot facility, for instance, boasts a number of green features designed to eliminate the vast majority of Polar’s carbon

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footprint. A £10 million site, the new factory sits alongside an old facility built in the 1980s that was highly inefficient in comparison.

“Our new factory has got all the latest methods of heating, cooling and air exchange, as well as a selection of modern processes,” Scott says. “The new ovens installed on-site contain components designed to clean waste gas and we have also replaced a host of power-hungry machines with new equipment designed

to use less power. It’s not only great for the environment, but it’s great for us too because the changes have helped knock thousands of pounds off our energy bills.”

By combining activities associated with composite materials and high-end metal alloys, Polar is able to deliver a suite of innovative products for its customers, including MRI scanner components and complex exhaust systems for Formula One vehicles. Never short of opportunities thanks to its track record of technical excellence, Polar generally works with large global firms where its specialist manufacturing is scalable.

“We usually start off at low-rate production and then we can think about what we need to do to scale up so that the price for the customer and cost of production is only going to come down,” Scott reports. “As part of this strategy, we design the manufacturing process so that it delivers a product the customer wants, but also a product that can be transitioned into a scalable market.

Even with something that sounds very niche, like pipework or a heat exchanger on a racing

Polar Technology Management Group car, that technology can be taken into the wider specialist vehicle market.”

Understandably, for such an ideas-based business, intellectual property is a critical part of Polar’s work. As an organisation determined to drive sustainable growth and increase shareholder value, Polar prioritises the creation and protection of market-leading technologies that allow it to remain competitive on the global stage.

“It might start with a good idea that you produce in low volume for a racing car,” Scott remarks. “That is where you develop your initial IP and test concept. Following that, you might move into more mid-volume production as you prove the success of that intellectual property, make sure the design is perfect for production and decide on what you want to patent. Finally, you move into high-rate production, where big global businesses might become interested, but you hold the IP and so can suggest putting it into an escrow account in order to profit from it, while eliminating risk. Protecting and exploiting intellectual property through every part of the journey is how you grow an engineering business like ours.”

Strengthened by the principles and procedures Scott relates, Polar has been able to survive the Covid-19 pandemic, turning a small profit in the process. As vaccination programs roll out across the world, the company now hopes to re-focus its energies on growth, with a particular emphasis on doubling its turnover to £30 million in the next 24 to 36 months.

“We know exactly what we are going to do, who we are going to do it with, how we are going to do it and what resources we need in terms of people, materials and machines,” Scott asserts. “Getting from £16 million to £30 million in the next two to three years won’t be easy,

but I think we can do it. We have six or seven products that have already been signed off by our customers and they will soon be going into volume production for large global companies.”

In April 2021, the Business Growth Fund invested £10 million in Polar to support the company’s ambitious plans. The funding will not only offer the firm more financial security during what has been a turbulent period for many businesses, but it will also allow Polar to concentrate on profitable growth.

“We are collaborating with universities - us doing the manufacturing and engineering, and the universities putting in a bit of science and technology knowhow - and we are working in partnership with end users to come up with the next generation of technology and solutions that could set us on a trajectory towards £40 million or £50 million turnover within five years,” Scott declares. “It’s not an unrealistic target, just the result of real-world business and feet-on-the-ground aspirations.

Of course, it’s not going to be easy, but we have got the opportunity to accelerate our organic growth with more working capital and

we are also pursuing some really interesting strategic acquisitions.

“Even then, without the support of a passionate, skilled and dedicated workforce present throughout every area of the business, none of our ambitions could be realised. So, this success story is really for them!” v

Polar Technology Management Group www.polartechnology.co.uk Products: Advanced fabrications and composite products

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Johnson Tiles

The

green tile

By bringing together innovation and sustainability, Johnson Tiles is reinventing the possibilities of climate neutrality in British manufacturing, while continuing to produce chic and contemporary tiles

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ohnson Tiles has been part of the ceramic manufacturing industry for 120 years. Its bespoke and intricate tiles are color-centric and cut to bring a fresh element to residential, public and working spaces. With over 100 ranges, the business’s portfolio is vast and inspiring. “Minton Hollins is our heritage range. There are some beautiful designs and exceptional colors harking back to the Victorian era,” begins Marketing Director, Richard Kelsall. “Jumping forwards to more modern-day designs, we have Savoy and South Bank, which are variable dipped collections. These ranges really bring depth of color to life, as each base tone showcases a range of shades, to demonstrate movement through a mix of light, mid and dark hues. Then we have our flagship range, which is called Prismatics,” he says. This particular collection consists of over 60 gloss and satin shades that span across the color spectrum.

We speak with Richard about the uniqueness of Johnson Tiles’ products and the impressive measures the business has in place to help it achieve its climate neutrality goals.

So well-known is its name, that the company has tiled walls for the likes of the London 2012 Olympics, the London Underground and the Palace of Westminster, but being able to create detailed tiles takes impressive infrastructure that the British company has continually aimed to invest in and develop.

According to Richard, the manufacturing process is one that requires sturdy machinery to produce refined tiles with a sleek, modern finish. “In 2001, we relocated to our current state-ofthe-art facility, which has the capacity to take all our UK-sourced raw materials, such as clay, sand, and limestone, and manufacture them through to a boxed product, all of which can take place without a human touching the product. We start with carefully adding the raw materials into the hopper and calibrating them according to our special formula. The dust is then pressed into the tile format and sent down the dipping lines for various decorations. After this the tiles travel to the kilns, before going

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through selection where they are packaged, ready to go to the warehouse.”

These successful products are supported with a manufacturing strategy that embraces sustainability, with the business embedding a climate neutrality approach to its operations.

Back in 1997, the company was recognized for its pioneering ceramic waste recycling scheme, which continues to prevent over 20,000 tons of ceramic waste from being tipped into local landfills every year. Having been the recipient of the Queen’s Award for Environmental Achievement for this strategy, Johnson Tiles is a long-standing leader in tile waste sustainability.

Sustainability goals

Most recently, Richard highlights that the business has become the first tile manufacturer to completely eradicate single-use plastics.

Although the manufacturer faced many internal and external obstacles, it utilized these challenges as fuel to achieve its goals. “We had people saying that it could not be done, but that just made us more ambitious to make it happen,” Richard shares. Success in this venture is owed greatly to the team who were all equally as excited to jump on board with the company’s visions to minimize its impact on the environment. “We approached over 100 different suppliers, persevering until we found a specialist packaging partner who was able to join us in this venture. Our new sustainable alternative to plastic shrink-wrap is made from the waste from sugar cane farms, making use of a byproduct that would otherwise be discarded,” he says. “We also addressed our box packaging and by making adjustments to the cardboard, we now have 100 percent recycled and recyclable cardboard boxes that use the same material as our cardboard pallets,” he says.

On the issue of environmental friendliness, Richard strongly believes that to achieve the UK’s net-zero vision, the country’s business sector needs to be dedicated to participating actively, which is why Johnson Tiles is choosing to lead by example and let its actions speak on behalf of its efforts. “Our sustainability goals make use of knowledge not only from our own industry, but from far and wide to achieve real changes in energy, efficiency and carbon reduction. This will build on the many successful achievements already in place and reinforce our position as environmental and sustainability leaders in the UK. We are about to embark on a long-term net-zero carbon consultancy partnership, and we are excited about the potential benefits this will bring to operation stakeholders, and ultimately the environment

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Johnson Tiles we all live and work in,” he declares, further noting that innovation of this magnitude is what has enabled the business to excel, with Johnson Tiles now the only large-scale tile manufacturer in the UK. “I think it’s sad for British manufacturing that there is a heavy dependence on importing, but there’s nothing more sustainable than us designing and making in market, rather than bringing in resources from overseas, where products are likely to travel ten times further or more and as such, have a greater negative impact on the environment,” Richard says.

To buttress his stance, the business boasts of the fact that all raw materials used to produce its tiles are sourced from the UK. “Of

course, we’re a proudly British product. Our ball clay comes from Dorset, china clay from Devon, sand from Cheshire and limestone from Derbyshire. Then there’s what we call the pitcher, which is our recycled tile contingent.

In terms of any tile that we make, up to 20 percent of the actual body recipe is made up of recycled tiles. We utilize the ‘no fault forward’ approach. For example, instead of wasting resources, say if there’s a tainted decoration, or a tile hasn’t been pressed correctly, we take the flawed products off the line automatically and send it straight back to the start, grind it down and then push it back in as part of a new mix – it’s really cool. We work very closely with suppliers overseas as well to gain innovation for

Imerys From trendy tiles to stylish washbasins, the design and quality of ceramics influence many parts of everyone’s daily life. This is why tiles, sanitaryware and tableware manufacturers demand the highest standards when it comes to whiteness, mechanical strength and dimensional stability.

With its unique mineral portfolio and in depth knowledge of its customers’ applications, Imerys is the world leader in mineral based solutions, ready-to-use bodies and glazes as well as kiln furniture for the ceramics industry.

The Group places Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the center of its business growth and transformation. Its continuous improvements were recognized with the highest Platinum rating from EcoVadis, which places Imerys in the top one percent of assessed organizations, the only one in the mining industry.

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our operations and I believe that we have truly grown in our color and design abilities, which is what has really set us apart from other tile manufacturers. Our ranges are exceptional,” explains Richard.

Design trends

Recent developments have allowed its designers to experiment with more refined finishes by using dry powders and applications, adding lustrous effects, and creating handcrafted textures. This is because the company is determined to produce tiles that are visually pleasing and provide unique tactile surfaces.

With this in mind, Johnson Tiles is in the process of bringing together a nature-inspired product launch that is set to be released in July, which will target house developers and the residential market. One of the ranges, Haven, consists of a surface profile akin to cross-cut stone. “It reminds me of the way the sea would wear away at the rocks on the shore,” says Richard.

“Our designers are thinking first and foremost about the UK market and they incorporate colors that are absolutely superb and really align with market trends and beautiful glazes that are popular in our sector.

It’s something that we’re really passionate about,” Richard explains. As a result of the pandemic sending office staff into the confines of their homes, Johnson Tiles has drawn its inspiration from the demand to bring the outside environment into personal living spaces.

Its passion for the natural world and a keen eye for color is what made the business the perfect partner for the 2014 Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red Installation, which was held at the Tower of London to commemorate the First World War centenary. “We were so honored to be involved in that art project,” says Richard. The installation required Johnson Tiles to manufacture hundreds of thousands of red ceramic poppies that were then placed Polythene UK As the UK’s leading packaging experts, Polythene UK are extremely proud to be working with Johnson Tiles. They are the largest company we work with who have completely switched over to our plant-based, carbon neutral films despite the additional cost.

They are not only leading the way for change, they have dramatically improved their green credentials.

Our closed-loop manufacturing process keeps resources in use for as long as possible with a continuous round of recovery, recycling and reuse. This removes the issue of single use packaging.

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Johnson Tiles to cascade from the Tower of London onto the surrounding garden. “We worked very closely with the artist Paul Cummings. That was amazing to be part of and we felt very proud indeed,” he shares.

Moving forward, Johnson Tiles remains steady on its path to achieving net-zero within its operations and staying innovated to produce tiles that are reflective of the contemporary trends that British citizens love. With a driven team and high class facilities, the business is hoping to continue doing what it does best for another century and more. “There are some incredible competitors in this sector and they keep us on our toes and push us to be better, which I think we are achieving. We have a brilliant team and each member is dedicated to being part of our journey and, above everything, this is what we are most proud of,” Richard concludes. v

Johnson Tiles www.johnson-tiles.com Services: Tile manufacturers

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Elastic fantastic Counting Victoria’s Secret and Nike among its key clients, Stretchline is the world’s largest narrow elastic fabric manufacturer and a leading pioneer in the development of new materials and processes including covered yarns

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ach and every year, Stretchline produces more than 1.5 billion meters of narrow elastic fabric, making it the largest elastics manufacturer in the world. With a history stretching back over 150 years, the company originally established itself as a world-class producer of intimate apparel elastic for the lingerie industry before expanding into new markets.

Today, Stretchline products can be found in automobiles, medical applications, footwear, wearable technologies, outerwear, activewear and swimwear. A major supplier to some of the world’s biggest companies, including Victoria’s Secret, Nike and Marks & Spencer, the elastics firm operates in seven different countries across four continents, giving it an enviable global reach and speed to market.

“We have set up our locations very close to the needlepoint of garment makers in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres, which, of course, benefits our speed to market, but also our carbon footprint,” explains European Sales & Marketing Director and Head of Global Brands Barry Head. “It’s important for us to have that kind of presence because we are actively manufacturing elastics for our customers’ garments and often acting as a face for their brands.

“Reliable high-quality has become one of the hallmarks of Stretchline and one thing we guarantee is, no matter who the customer is, or where in the world we are working, each product will have the same exceptional quality,” he continues. “When you go to McDonald’s and ask for a Big Mac, it doesn’t matter where that

Stretchline

McDonald’s restaurant is or what country it is in, you will certainly get something that, at the very least, resembles a Big Mac. In the same way, a Stretchline bra strap will have virtually the same quality and specifications the world over.”

Backed by its advanced and extensive global production infrastructure, Stretchline has a commitment to innovation and finding new solutions for clients. For example, when the bra industry was suffering from a reoccurring underwire fault, Stretchline set out to develop a suitable alternative.

“M&S as an example explained that many of their underwire bras were being returned each year as a result of wire protruding through the material and potentially causing harm to people and their washing machines,” Barry says. “In response, we developed our Fortitube

product, which is a wire casing that has got low melt yarns within its construction, so whenever we dyed it at temperature, the low melt yarns melted, plasticizing the woven construction and forming a penetration barrier.

“Part of the problem beforehand was that the bras in question were not machine washable, which was causing wire breaches because nobody actually hand washes their bras, they just throw them in the washing machine,” he states.

“Now, thanks to Fortitube, companies are selling bras that they can say, with confidence, are machine washable.”

Fresh solutions

A long-time pioneer in its field, Stretchline’s recent innovations also include Stay4Sure, a patented silicone coating technology that can be applied to both broad or narrow fabrics. Unlike conventional silicones, Stay4Sure is not reliant on any chemical fixation or compression to keep the garment in place. Instead, the unique silicone

coating gently adheres to the skin for a greater level of comfort than ever before.

“The type of silicon previously used in garments could be quite harsh and sometimes ended up giving people friction burns,” Barry reveals. “Stay4Sure, however, which has found success with a host of organizations from Marks & Spencer to the British Olympic team, employs a really soft, hypoallergenic, silicone gel that gently adheres to the skin, meaning you no longer need compression.”

Stay4Sure can now be found in a variety of products at major retailers like Asda, Hanes and Donna Karan. It serves as yet another illustration of Stretchline’s ability to introduce fresh new solutions to the market.

“In addition to consistent quality and worldwide coverage, Stretchline brings an element of progress and newness to the market,” Barry points out. “We manufacture products for a wide range of companies. The result is that a lot of people are probably

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wearing something from Stretchline right now, but they just don’t know it.”

Stretchline’s track record of design success is not only the result of comprehensive research and development, but also thanks to a talented and creative workforce. A strong believer in supporting the next generation of designers, the company has links with five UK universities, including De Montfort in Leicester, and Loughborough University, where the firm sponsors a Master’s qualification.

“For 15 years, we have taken graduates from places like De Montfort and sent them to our main Research & Innovation base in Sri Lanka,” Barry reports. “Additionally, we intend to offer interns a year’s experience in the industry whilst we continue to hire our design managers straight from university, when they are full of fresh ideas about how we can take the business forward.”

Future growth

In 2021, Stretchline required all of its patented creativity to help the company overcome one of the greatest challenges in its history – the Covid-19 pandemic. After discussing how the firm could best support the global response to the crisis, and having worked with the medical industry on previous products like anti-embolism stockings, Stretchline turned its attentions to the production of PPE. “We shifted all our sites to focus on PPE and ended up manufacturing enough elastic for 600 million face masks,” Barry declares. “Our global footprint across a number of different countries offered a flexibility that meant, when localised lockdowns occurred, we could transfer production to a different location.”

After remaining operational throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and proving itself a trusted manufacturer of elastic suitable for facemasks and PPE, Stretchline expects this line of work to continue beyond 2021. Recently, upon learning of the growing number of facemasks ending up in landfill sites the company were driven by a commitment to helping the industry find more sustainable solutions the company has developed biodegradable elastic for use in protective face coverings.

Barry remarks: “The rush for PPE in 2020 has led to masks piling up a bit like plastic bags, but the new masks using our elastic are biodegradable within five years.”

Following a better than expected performance in the first half of 2021 - the company achieved record sales in its Sri Lanka factory in May Stretchline is well-positioned for future growth.

Happy to be heading up a healthy organization after a challenging 18 months of business, Barry is confident that Stretchline, as a company, is only going to get better.

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Stretchline “The medical side of our business is growing, we’re working with some big names in the automotive sector, and the contacts we are gaining are going to allow for diversification into brand new areas for us,” Barry asserts. “We have gone from an intimate apparel and sportswear business to a company capable of servicing a huge range of products and sectors.

“In the years ahead, with the help of software programs like Browzwear, technology and 3D visualization will play a big role in the design process, which will be a major development for both us and our customers. In terms of production, Vietnam and Bangladesh remain popular options for manufacturing, but we are HYOSUNG Creora® Power Fit is a family of spandex/elastane products engineered with high power and excellent heat-resistance to maintain fabric power even when setting at high temperature or re-dyeing. In particular, it delivers outstanding color and excellent fastness in blends with polyester.

Value: l Higher power & retention: superior shaping and compression l Heat resistance: excellent color fastness with disperse dye stuff at higher temperature l Ability to re-dye without loss of power l Chlorine & bleach resistance End use applications: l Active Outdoor (Compression, Sportswear) l Intimate apparel l Shapewear l Swimwear

also looking at other opportunities. In the next three-to-five years, I expect us to open one or two more factories in different countries to reinforce our global presence and keep the business on a positive trajectory.” v

Stretchline www.stretchline.com Products: Elastic fabric manufacturer

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Texas Injection Molding

The spirit of Texas As pioneering and entrepreneurial as the state where it was founded, Texas Injection Molding believes that success is built upon the right combination of people, process control and technology

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eff Applegate founded Texas Injection Molding in 2013 with a vision to be the best regional supplier of custom injection molded products to companies within 300 miles of Houston, Texas. Following just eight short years, this hard-working and inspirational organization has grown to employ over 100 teammates and provide services to many industries.

Manufacturing Today was privileged to speak to Jeff and get some deeper insights into the inner workings of his business. “We currently operate 25 injection molding machines up to 800 tons,” he began. “We process most commodity and engineering resins and provide many secondary operations including assembly, printing, welding and packaging.

“We believe that if you are going to put your efforts into building a business you should strive to be recognized as the best. As such, we serve the industries that are in our region,” Jeff continued. “Houston is known as the energy capital of the world and provides opportunities to work in demanding applications in the oilfield, as well as having the largest medical center in the world, providing prospects for new medical device and diagnostic products. Finally, Houston has a warm and humid climate, so we serve the HVAC industry in manufacturing components for air conditioners and the beverage industry.

The diversity in industries provides our strength and allows us the opportunity to manufacture a wide range of products that keep the work interesting and rewarding.”

Meeting the demands of these varied industries requires a range of equipment and Texas Injection Molding has a full-service in-house tool and die shop and is certified to the ISO Standards of 9001 - 2015. “In 2020, we completed the construction of a design-build 65,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility strategically located at the intersection of I-45 and the Sam Houston Tollway in Houston, Texas. The new facility is climate controlled, crane served, and operates a central material handling system and central water system,” Jeff added.

This new factory also has land adjacent that offers the business the opportunity to expand an additional 30,000 sq. ft. as necessary. “The current location has 29 bays for injection molding and one area dedicated to blow molding. We added a new Nissei 180 ton and new Nissei 720-ton injection

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molding machine in 2021 and in the Fall, we will be installing a two station blow molding machine. We also offer a wide variety of product decorating technologies including pad printing, hot stamping, heat transfer, dot-ping marking, and high resolution digital printing,” highlighted Jeff.

“We have also added automated measuring equipment in our quality department and add supporting equipment to manufacturing and the tool shop as required. Should business support the purchase of additional molding machines, we have capacity in a few more bays available in the current facility.”

From this modern and sophisticated location Texas Injection Molding manufactures a wide variety of products from commodity and engineering grade materials. Indeed, as Jeff puts it: “If you calculate the variety of plastic resins, molds, inserts, colors, components, value added printing, welding and assembly services, the complexity of our business is incredible.”

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Overall, the engineering of plastics parts is a core strength of Texas Injection Molding, which does not own any products and therefore does not own the design or engineering process of any products. “Our vast experience in industries, materials, applications, tooling, automation, printing, and assembly allow us to deliver very valuable knowledge to our customers’ part and tool design and engineering process. Where our team brings dozens of products to market each year our clients may only occasionally bring out something new. When our clients collaborate with our team, great value is realized,” Jeff revealed.

The underlying strategy that supports the entire business at Texas Injection Molding is founded on the three principles of People, Process and Technology, with people taking top priority. “We seek to attract and retain the best people, and hire and develop the top talent,” said Jeff. “We then maintain disciplined process control during manufacturing, and provide the

people the technology and tools to do their job.”

This second tenet of Process is essential to providing consistent quality. “In plastic processing, the handling of material, control of water temperature, and machine processing parameters are critical to yielding a consistent outcome,” explained Jeff. “The business therefore employs a variety of solutions and technologies to establish, maintain and monitor key manufacturing variables. Our ERP system monitors mold cycle, machine status, and schedule in real time. This allows us to automatically schedule and push information to our customers related to status of open orders, inventory and estimated completion dates. We call this Level Five Service where we seek to anticipate our clients’ needs and push the information before they think to ask,” he noted.

This customer service ethos reveals that Texas Injection Molding’s dedication to the human side of the business isn’t only applied within the four walls of its facility – the business strives daily to provide the best value and service to customers within a day’s drive of the manufacturing plant.

“We want to know each customer personally, understand their business and work closely with them in the design, engineering and supply logistics to make them as competitive as possible,” explained Jeff.

Giving an example of a close working relationship in action, Jeff described a recent project with HID Systems, a world leader in RFID tags. “We developed a product embedding a RFID label and chip into a product application and brought in HID to help collaborate on the design and manufacturing processes. HID joined us in ensuring a successful path to success with this application,” he said.

The team at Texas Injection Molding will remember 2020 as the year their new facility was completed, but of course this celebrated event will forever be associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and the effects it wrought across the world. Jeff revealed that due to the products that it manufactures for medical, energy and construction the company was deemed an essential employer and never shut down. “There was fear in the beginning, and I did not want anyone to feel as if they were risking their life to come to work,” Jeff revealed. “We gave all employees the option to take a leave of absence and guaranteed their jobs. Some employees took advantage of this offer, and all returned. We followed the CDC guidelines in respect to health questions, temperature checks, and hand washing.

We created separated spaces in the break room and added a full-time person to continuously clean and disinfect all common surfaces such as door knobs, light switches and bathroom fixtures.

We discontinued the use of the finger scanning

Texas Injection Molding time clock and required each machine operator to wipe down their work area between shifts.

Masks were required for much of the time in the production area and group meetings were cancelled or moved to large socially distanced circles on the plant floor. For a period of time Engineering, Accounting and HR worked remotely. We did have a few cases, but were able to contain the cases from spreading across multiple people or shift.”

As the fight against the virus continues and the vaccination program gains further strength, the future remains bright for Texas Injection Molding. Going forward, Jeff divulges that the plan is to continue to work diligently to prioritize and refine its processes to maximize productivity and efficiency from the investment. “We expect our capacity and facilities will allow existing customers to grow and will attract new opportunities that may have not come our way in the old facility,” he said. “We will continue to take actions to be the best supplier to our customers, best employer for our team, and best customer to our vendors.

If we take care of our customers, employees, and vendors then they will take care of the company.

We expect our revenues to grow by more than 50 percent in the next two to three years and hope to enjoy the work we do together and the relationships that we share.”

This circles back to the company culture, which Jeff believes is the ‘secret sauce’ or ‘magic in the bottle’ that separate the great from the good.

“I believe culture starts with me and I try to be accessible, approachable, and express a genuine concern for each individual,” he said. “I have an HR leader and management team that understand the value of culture and work to build a culture of mutual respect and genuine concern for everyone. We recognize the importance of family, balancing this with a responsibility to meet our commitments to our customer and to maintain a high-performance team.

“When people genuinely respect and care for each other, amazing things happen,” he continued. “We think about culture every day and work to create an environment where our customers and employees can prosper.”

Jeff concluded with some details about a small ritual that Texas Injection Molding upholds, which links customers, employees and vendors and makes them all feel part of the very fabric of the business. “A key part of our vision is to give thanks to our Lord for His provision and give the opportunity for all customers, employees, and vendors to share their story. For those interested, I enjoy getting to hear their amazing life stories and sharing them with the company.”

As part of this, customers, employees and vendors are also invited to ‘bring a rock’, and

place this representation of their story in a rock garden at the front of the building.

Jeff believes that everyone has a great tale to tell, and this is certainly true for the business that he has created and made a success. Given the accomplishments that Texas Injection Molding has enjoyed so far, there is little doubt

that this story will continue with even more achievements well into the future. v

Texas Injection Molding www.texasinjectionmolding.com Services: Custom injection molding

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Enjoying the ride With an ever-expanding product range and an eye for future innovation, Simworx is able to offer the finest media-based simulation attractions to customers all over the world

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ecognized as being a global leader in the supply of 4D Effects Cinemas and Motion Simulation Attractions for the entertainment, education and corporate markets, it has been Manufacturing Today’s pleasure to have documented the activities of UK-based business Simworx in the past. It was at the turn of 2018, to be precise, that we delved into the inner workings of this designer, builder, and installer of media-based attractions,

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Simworx

which have been successfully delivered to locations throughout Europe, North America, South America, Asia, New Zealand, and the Middle East, since it was founded in 2005.

In speaking with Simworx’s Chief Operating Officer, Andy Roberts, in late June 2021, our conversation begins with an overview of how the last three-plus years have been for the business. “In the two years to early 2020, we

experienced what I think is best described as pretty exponential growth, going from a point where we turned over approximately £10 million in 2017, to reaching close to £20 million in 2019,” Andy details.

What followed in early 2020 was, as we all now know, was the emergence of Covid-19.

“With the pandemic spreading around the world, almost every project slowed to a

halt virtually overnight, including, of course, our forecast order intake,” Andy continues.

“Fortunately, we were able to keep most of our people employed and the business ticking over. Then, towards the tail end of 2020, several of the projects on our order book, which had gone into hibernation, were turned back on by January of this year and we were very much back up and running.

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“In the months since, we have managed to secure several new orders for theme parks and, while we are not quite back up to full speed compared to where we were in 2019, more and more projects are also being switched back on.

At the same time we have been able to further stimulate efforts in our sales function and, with the momentum we currently have behind us, we aim to have the business back on track with the growth plans we had in place in pre-pandemic times.”

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As would have been the case with almost every business across the sector, Covid-19 brought with it significant challenges and changes in how Simworx operated during 2020/2021.

The most immediate change involved ensuring its people could work remotely, a move that would help to highlight a number of efficiencies that the business could leverage. Meanwhile, while the factory side of Simworx slowed due to a lack of products to build, the company took the

opportunity to embark upon several strategic initiatives in the field of sustainable product development. One particular result of these efforts has seen the company refine and perfect its approach to delivering attractions to smaller venues than those it would historically do so.

“As different regions and countries emerge from lockdowns and restrictions at various paces, it is understandable that businesses are somewhat nervous about investing tens of millions of

Simworx pounds into things like theme parks,” Andy explains. “What we have seen, however, is the emergence of a lot of smaller venues, especially as retail space and high-street space has been increasingly turned into entertainment venues. We refer to this as our indoor family entertainment (FEC) market, and we have developed a range of products specifically to serve it.This has helped to support the business massively and to keep our supply chain operational, and we are now able to combine these with the bigger build projects that are now re-emerging.”

Geographically, while Western Europe is what Andy describes as being a somewhat saturated marketplace, North America continues to possess what he calls phenomenal growth potential. Meanwhile, the company has also been turning to developing and emerging economies elsewhere, winning contracts in countries such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and others that are continuing to spend a great deal of money on theme parks and entertainment attractions.

Russia has also become a market of interest for Simworx, with a few projects now in different stages of development in and around Moscow.

gaming account with the attraction, battle it out virtually with other players in an immersive environment, and keep any points/rewards that they earn to use later. It is therefore about achieving a level of continuity between a person’s home entertainment and what will appeal to them in the outside world which, we feel, will could be a huge driver of growth in the coming years.”

from our core markets of theme parks and entertainment venues – which will remain our staples – but it is an area that we feel has the potential to deliver considerable future growth, which is very exciting indeed!” v

Developing markets

At the time of writing, Simworx had three projects that it was in the process of closing in the coming weeks, while the second half of 2021 will see it focus on designs ready for manufacture in early-2022. “Clearly our plan for the coming years is to continue to grow the business and, to do that, we need to continue to develop and utilize advances in technology, while also targeting alternative markets wherever possible,” Andy reveals. “One area that we are presently exploring is the corporate world, with one project that we are now developing being all about creating a complete entertainment experience. This takes us away somewhat

Simworx www.simworx.co.uk Products: Media-based attractions and simulator rides

Extending experiences

No matter where a Simworx project may be taking shape – nor its physical size – the company continues to approach each with the same ‘empty room’ mind-set, where it will develop all the software/hardware from scratch, before working on the design, manufacture and installation of the attraction itself. “It is this philosophy that differentiates us as a business; that and being the only company of our kind to offer a truly turnkey service,” Andy states.

Another characteristic that Simworx has been shown to possess on countless occasions is its desire to innovate and think about how to utilize technology to create the next generation of attractions. “The challenge we presently face,” Andy goes on to note, “is how do we get today’s children and teenagers off their sofas and away from their televisions or computer consoles, and into a theme park or entertainment venue.

Our role in this is, clearly, to develop rides and attractions that appeal to them, and up to now a lot of this has been done by connecting these to well-known and popular Intellectual Property, e.g. Marvel superheroes.

“As a way of extending the home experience to the outside world, we are looking at how we integrate a series of games and the way players accumulate points or rewards, and give them the opportunity to continue their virtual progress through the game, but on a large, media-based attraction. What this would mean, essentially, is that a player would be able to register their

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Advanced solutions

A single source for precision molded products requiring both high performance and advanced materials, Parkway Products is 75 years old and still growing

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hough Parkway Products has an extensive history, advanced technologies, industry-leading expertise and a deep understanding of the markets it serves, CEO Andrew Green was first attracted to the company by its culture.

An industry veteran with experience of multiple organizations, Andrew knew instantly that Parkway was different from the rest.

“It all goes back to the company’s founders, the Willig family, who started a business called Parkway Patterns in 1946,” Andrew says. “Of

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course, the Parkway we know today is very different, and no longer family-owned, but the spirit of the Willigs, and the culture they instilled in the firm, lives on.”

The culture Andrew refers to is summed up by the Parkway Prayer. Written for the original plant team many years ago, the prayer, which touches on the importance of values like safety, customer care and hard work, seems as relevant to the way Parkway operates today as it was for the company back in 1946.

“What really struck me about the Parkway

Parkway Products LLC Main image: Current shop exterior – this is the exterior of the facility in Machesney Park, IL. It is referred to as ‘ROC’ which is short for Rockford, which references the closest large city Below: Original shop – this was the original shop in Cincinnati, OH displaying the name Parkway Patterns – you can even see the stencil used to paint the company name on the building!

Bottom: 1946 shop crew – one of the very first Parkway teams, a true celebration of its beginnings

Prayer is that while it doesn’t have any specific reference to religion, it does proclaim a culture of respect for the individual, their family and loved ones, no matter who they are. It contains a real message of inclusion,” Andrew states.

“Similarly, the prayer talks about bringing true benefit to many and harm to no one, which reflects our social responsibility initiatives, respect for customers, which is important for our business, and teamwork, which is a key part of the way we work. The prayer is a distillation of Parkway’s culture and when I first read it, I

thought it would be a privilege to lead that kind of business.”

Won over by the spirit of the organization, Andrew joined Parkway in 2020, just in time to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary in 2021. Today, the once-small firm is a major precision molding and advanced materials business operating throughout North America, offering five highly engineered manufacturing technologies: High Performance Polymer Molding, Magnesium Thixomolding, Machined Plastic Solutions, Thermoset Composite Molding,

and Thermoplastic Injection Molding.

“Parkway’s diverse portfolio of highly engineered product offerings allows customers to consolidate suppliers for tangible benefits, including tool design for manufacturing success, increased speed to market with rapid prototyping, consistent quality and reduced cost,” Andrew explains. “The company has demonstrated success for decades now and developed a long tradition of exceeding customer needs and expectations. Our commitment to quality and customer service is evident each time our client partners bring their most challenging projects to Parkway.”

The customer base Andrew refers to consists of top tier OEMs in six core end markets - those being the infrastructure; agriculture, truck and off-road; aerospace and electronics; industrial; healthcare; and

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Left: Current shop floor in Greeneville, TN. With the largest tonnage presses in the company (up to 1,760 tons), the plant is outfitted with sufficient crane capacity for moving molds as needed

automotive sectors. Boasting more than 25 Fortune 500 clients, Parkway has always prided itself on a deep understanding of the markets the company serves.

“We do not have many customer relationships that are strictly transactional in nature,” Andrew reports. “They are long-standing connections built on the credibility of doing many projects together over the years and delivering value. Our business development team is highly trusted and we know how to apply our knowledge of highly engineered resins, tool design and manufacturing technologies to collaborate with clients on how to best meet their needs.”

Following an increase in client demand for weight reduction in component parts and added complexity from smart technology, Magnesium Thixomolding and High Performance Polymers have been two key drivers behind

Parkway’s recent growth. Capable of fulfilling many common customer requirements, both technologies offer superior strength and performance under high stress conditions.

“The lightweight yet durable characteristics of magnesium also make it a key technology for multiple other product types,” Andrew adds. “These include medical devices, oxygen concentrators, scanners, cameras, surveying and GPS system components as well as aerospace and many other applications. Magnesium Thixomolding offers increased rigidity at just two thirds of the weight of aluminum, combined with the precision necessary to mold the thin walled, complex shapes needed to construct pressure tight components. The material provides inherent EMI/RFI shielding, is a great heat sink, reduces vibration, maintains low inertia and has high impact resistance. Component engineers love it for high value parts.”

After a spate of acquisition activity in 2019 brought the company’s total number of facilities to nine, Parkway now operates more than 230 custom molding machines across six states and two countries. One recently acquired highlight is a high-tech machining center in Machesney Park, Illinois, which houses 33 high speed CNC machines and has allowed Parkway to introduce rapid part prototyping. This, in turn, has reduced the need to outsource machining for quality, speed and cost benefits, and to pass these benefits on to Parkway customers.

“Each of our facilities are continuously monitored and analyzed for improvement to help us achieve better productivity and efficiency, including installing automation to increase throughput, which is a vital component of the industrial engineering process,” Andrew remarks.

“This is especially true during the design phase of a new program to make sure we offer the customer the highest value possible.

“2020 was obviously heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, but our investment in these facilities continued,” he points out. “Many people speak about ‘bolting-on’ an acquisition as if it is a one-time event, but at Parkway, we do a range of soft- and hard-wired integrations.

For example, we implement our ‘employer of choice’ and health and safety programs, but we also do the hard work of bringing a business onto our operating systems and we have a common ERP implemented throughout our organization. All of these efforts help to ensure that customers get a high value-added product

Bottom left: Coil Terminal Housing TST – an example of a Thermoset part Middle: Various stages of Thixomolding – Magnesium has to undergo a finishing process and this image displays the various stages of the process, from pellets to part to painted finished steps Right: Insert molding TP – this is not only an example of a Thermoplastic part, but it is insert molded, which means the metal inserts are molded inside the plastic while the part is made

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Parkway Products LLC and service from Parkway, no matter where we do business. A customer gets the same benefits of a Parkway relationship whether we are doing business in Loveland, CO, Greeneville, TN or Saltillo, Mexico.”

Having operated as an essential business throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Parkway has played an integral role in supporting customers in the oxygen concentrator market over the last 18 months. During a time of crisis, the company ramped up supply of complex parts using a combination of Thixomolding, thermoplastic custom molding and robotic assembly, helping customers provide life-saving products to patients in a critical condition.

“I’m really proud to say that, over the last year and a half, we have played our part in getting oxygen to Covid patients across the world,” Andrew declares. “So much of that success is thanks to our workforce and the great people that make up Parkway.

“We’ve always believed that there are two customers - the external customer, and the internal customer - and to ensure the external customer is satisfied, we must first ensure that we respect and value each individual who forms a part of our team. That’s why we have created a group that focuses on hiring and retaining the best people in the industry, and increasing job satisfaction. Thanks to them, our employees enjoy a number of benefits, including a daily pay initiative, sign-on bonuses, referral bonuses, and a unique wellness program.”

As we move into the second half of 2021, Parkway finds itself well-positioned for both organic growth and continued expansion through mergers and acquisitions. With an engaged leadership team, an enviable client base, and a commitment to putting the needs of its customers and associates first, the company now hopes to embark on the next chapter of its growth. “We enjoy terrific support from Heartwood Partners, including the benefit of their responsible, low-debt

approach to private equity investing and possess a strong balance sheet.

“We are engaged in strategic planning and want to double the size of the company over the next three to five year period,” Andrew reveals. “Of course, in five years’ time, we will also be closer to our 100-year milestone.

“In the statistics I have researched, one in three companies makes it ten years, one in five companies makes it 20 years, but only one in ten makes it past its 50th anniversary. We are already in rarified air now that we have reached 75 and we seriously aspire to be the one in 200 businesses that reaches that magic century mark!”

An organization that has battled through difficult business cycles, recessions, various social crises, and now a pandemic, Parkway always finds a way forward with the humility and persistence to seek answers and to solve problems. No matter what the future holds, Andrew knows that the company will work through it together.

“Not many companies last 75 years, and what we have learned over that time is that

our people and our culture set us apart,” he asserts. “We have never forgotten that we must take care of each other in order to be successful and that value is shared by everyone from our Board of Managers down to our most recently hired associate.

“We recently put together a video commemorating our 75th anniversary, in which we interviewed employees across all nine facilities, and there was one common theme; when asked ‘What do you enjoy most about working for Parkway?’, the most prevalent response was ‘The people I work with’. This is indicative of the Parkway culture. It is all about people, collaboration, and community. I’m confident that those values will continue to define us and provide a competitive advantage as we continue to on-board new team members, add new customers and achieve new milestones.” v

Parkway Products LLC www.parkwayproducts.com Products: Precision molded products

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Below: Bunkabin manufacturing plant

Home away from home

Since 1979, the Rothwell’s family company has been buttressed with passion for solutions and determined to deliver excellent accommodation under the Bunkabin name 112 l www.manufacturing-today.com

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he story goes that Manchester Cabins, then Frank Rothwell Plant Hire, began in Frank’s driveway.

A solution-driven and industrious man, Frank would come home after a day’s labour and get straight to work on building his first cabin, which he sold after a single advert was placed in the classifieds of the Oldham Evening Chronicle. Towards the early 90s, when construction boomed across England,

Frank noticed a trend in the number of deaths amongst builders; a result of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by living in inappropriate accommodation during projects.

“Back then portable units, which served as offices, were being used as living quarters by workers who were supplementing the heating in them and sadly this would result in some deaths from excessive exposure to carbon monoxide,” shares Frank’s nephew,

Bunkabin

Ben Rothwell, who also serves as the Business Development Manager. “Frank wanted decent units for workers staying away from home and hadn’t even finished building his second one when he received an order for a third and before he knew it, he had a fleet of 300.

The company needed its own identity and so Bunkabin was born. We are now the biggest in the country and still have many of the same staff as when we started.”

A pioneering family business, the company prides itself on an authentic and versatile product that has been depended on for portable sleeping accommodation since its inception. Now with 3000 units in its fleet, including Junior Deluxe and Bespoke sleepers, diners, toilets, showers, and six lorries to assist with transport, Bunkabin has expanded its market to provide for the likes of the construction industry, events and festivals,

universities, agriculture and healthcare, with the BBC, Glastonbury Festival and the Ministry of Justice as part of its clientele. “We haven’t done any commercial adverts other than a couple of magazines and we have been lucky that previous clients have believed in our products so confidently that they happily pass on recommendations to others, which is how we grew so quickly. Our units are so robust and energy efficient that in certain circumstances, they are the only ones you can use,” says Ben. The G7 Summit, which took place between 11 and 13 June in Cornwall, recruited Bunkabin to provide accommodation for the security staff, owing to the company’s pride in efficient service delivery and quality sleepers. “We had several hundred units down there that are designed with a low-level lifting for safety and we always try to deliver it on our own transport. We are aware that in most cases the only person you might see from Bunkabin is the delivery driver and in that sense, we like to take control and have our own drivers and lorries. We do need support so we use three additional companies that we trust to make sure that when their driver arrives with our product, he is courteous and respectful,” explains Ben. This ethos of respect and excellence is also deeply embedded in the company culture to ensure that each employee takes as much pride in their work as Frank did in his, and in return the management team ensures that every member is valued and well cared for.

“We ask people to work hard for us and we reward them for that. From the get-go, we have been a very honest and family-orientated company so we look after our staff and that also feeds into how we excel at innovation and change because everyone trusts in how we do things here. I am a big believer that processes can continually be updated and we should always be looking to improve to make sure our operations are working right, which is why we have an open culture for change, feedback and criticism,” says Ben. With a tightly-knit team, an effective work ethic and affordability, Bunkabin was able to serve as a helping hand during the pandemic by providing suitable accommodation for essential services. “To ensure our own staff were safe, we took everybody’s temperatures when they came into work and we put new sanitizing stations everywhere. I think my biggest concern honestly was whether the cabins would still be necessary but as I mentioned, our product is so versatile that we were inundated with services that needed them. We supported the NHS when the doctors didn’t have time to

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Bunkabin Below: Bunkabin village for the Royal Navy at Caledonia Rosyth

go home or couldn’t risk taking the virus back to their families. For schools and universities where they have staff and student housing, our units helped increase space for those who had to stay on campus. It actually got to the stage where we didn’t have enough units to help everybody,” Ben informs us. Across many frontline services, a number of workers were unable to return home and desperately required accommodation where they could rest well enough to perform their jobs to the best of their ability, regardless of the stressful circumstances. “There are so many services that continue in the background that no one really knows about, which require people on-site. We were able to supply units to those working on the national grid for example, to make sure that the country got electricity while everyone else was at home. Throughout 2020, we didn’t stop and because of how hard we worked, we gave everybody a bonus as a ‘thank you’ for sticking with us. It seemed bizarre that a company could do so well, but its team and staff not be rewarded across the board. That is something we have always prioritized; recognizing staff when the company does well,” shares Ben. The team took its passion for company care one step further by gifting £30,000 – approximately the amount of furlough funds it received

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for those who were entitled due to health reasons – back to Oldham Council, the borough in which Bunkabin manufactures its units. The money was used specifically for those negatively affected by Covid-19.

Even after one of the busiest years of business, the company has no intention of slowing down and wants to continue to push innovation to ensure it remains a leader in the portable accommodation hire industry. “We are constantly looking at reducing the power consumption on our units. We have the largest solar farm in the North West of England right here on our factories, so we want to use that to our advantage and help provide more energy-efficient and eco-friendly sleepers. The other thing is that social distancing has changed the logistics of people sharing a sleeper. Of course, there is a cost implication to letting everyone have their own room, just like there is in a hotel, but we are aiming to reduce that.

We want to design a cabin that will cater for single occupancy with the usual en-suite comforts our units already provide. At the end of the day, we are selling sleep to a location that suits our customers and no matter where that location is, our product needs to be of the highest quality so those using our units can continue working at their best because they

have rested, slept well and had a great shower,” explains Ben. Frank’s values continue to be a sturdy cement holding Bunkabin together. His nephew is incredibly proud of how the company is determined to continue striving for Frank’s visions and provide the most trustworthy accommodation for those working on-site across the UK. “He shared the profits, he shared the love and the responsibility and all he asked for is that every person working with Bunkabin does what they can to the best of their ability. His two children, Luke and Su, have now taken over and I see how passionate they are to improve and expand, and I have no doubt that under their guidance and leadership, the business will achieve great things,” concludes Ben. Even though Frank has left, there is a fresh sense of excitement as the company heads into its second generation of leadership to continue building on the legacy that he created. v

Bunkabin www.bunkabin.co.uk Services: Producers of portable accommodation to hire