LINKING SERIOUS BUYERS TO THE BEST SUPPLIERS
Serving the UK & IE plastics industry
September 2017, Impact Solutions hired Hope (17) as a trainee laboratory technician. She joins another two young male trainee lab technicians, Jack (20) and Ewan (20), who are in their second and third year of their apprenticeships. Continue reading
The environmental impact of poorly managing plastic waste has been in the headlines since the BBC’s Blue Planet II series was aired at the end of 2017. In January, Theresa May pledged to eliminate the UK’s plastic waste by 2042. Less than a week later and the EU ‘declared war on plastic waste’, announcing the intention to ensure that every piece of packaging on the continent is reusable or recyclable by 2030.
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Last week’s Feast of Saint Valentine is past. The celebration of romance may have turned our minds towards relationships and light-hearted fun. In the commercial arena, however, the political climate surrounding our industry is toxic. Why then should anyone love plastic?
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According to a recent survey by the Confederation of British Industry, small British manufacturers reported the fastest rise in new orders since 1995 and are more optimistic about the year to come.
Mo explains: compressed-air dryers are suited to drying small quantities of granulate.
Extrusion is a process that is commonly used in production, where lengths of a constant cross section are required.
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We all like to think that we take care of our company’s money as if it was our own…
But is this the reality?
As of Monday 1st January 2018, a new regulation will come into effect banning plastic waste imports into China. Already causing panic, with rubbish building up at UK recycling plants and landfill sites, we look to the government for solutions to stop more plastic pollution in the ocean.
Outsourcing is an established model in hi tech sectors and there are plenty of fabricators and installers who ‘buy-in’ so why isn’t it more established in extrusion?
Despite the ongoing Brexit negotiations, Europe remains a key export market for many UK manufacturers.
With fluctuating demand continuing, economic uncertainty making major capital spend less appealing, Euroseal look at how systems houses could pick up the slack in their capacity without major investment.
The word quality can be used in many ways, but on its own it is fairly vague.
Installing a storage silo represents a significant capital investment, so what are the key benefits and when should a company consider moving from sack to silo storage to meet its raw material logistic needs?
Pressure Grows on Plastics and the Environment
In 2017 the media has gradually increased the pressure on the plastics industry by highlighting the effect of waste plastic in our global environment. This focus shows no sign of going away, with the UN oceans chief stating that Ocean plastic is a ‘planetary crisis’.
Bringing a new product to market is challenging at the best of times. Generally the more technology involved, the more disciplines, the longer it can take. Hence sorting out the ‘box’ to house the device frequently gets pushed down the list as a “we’ll sort that out later” item!
At TCB-Arrow we manufacture a huge variety of plastic products for multiple industries, from the medical and hygiene sectors to the aerospace and automotive fields.
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I was hired as a marketing consultant by Intouch at the beginning of June. As a novice in the plastics industry I asked a lot of questions and I started to understand the system.
This is a great process! The range of materials and colours is huge and there is no “abs like’ that we get in 3D Printing, its the real thing. Parts are repeatable and tight tolerance. The only potential downside is the tooling, but this is covered here, with options to suit most requirements.
Since 1950, it is estimated that 8.3 million metric tonnes of virgin plastics have been produced. Of this, 6.3 million metric tonnes has become waste, with 9% being recycled and 12% incinerated. This leaves 79% that is accumulated in landfills or the natural environment.
Injection moulding is a great way to form thermoplastics into a range of shapes. These can be anything from a simple washer to a complicated electrical housing to a wheelie bin or car bumper.
