AUTOMOTIVE

for safety critical applications. Our own MOCOM Altech PC bespoke colour compounds are specially designed and industry-proven solutions for these demanding automotive applications as well.

As a polymer distributor, ALBIS understands itself as a partner who provides companies not only with innovative solutions but also with the necessary know-how regarding the circular approach mentioned above. We currently work with many manufacturers developing new materials from bio-based or recycled sources that can replace traditional fossil-based plastics in automotive. There has been a major surge in the development of engineering plastics based on bio waste. These polymers are identical to their fossil-based counterparts and serve as drop-in solutions while retaining important qualities needed for the application. We understand that especially in automotive, OEMs do not want to compromise on the highly relevant, technical properties of the materials they use. Thanks to the development expertise of our leading partners and the broad experience of our own technical teams here at ALBIS, we can identify the best fit even for demanding applications, thus helping manufacturers reach both their sustainability goals and retain the material properties of previously used fossil-based counterparts.

Dave Gray: Can you give an example of how automotive manufacturers can already combine function with sustainability?

Chris Newman: As fuel efficiency becomes a top priority for these manufacturers, lightweighting is an important strategy that helps reduce the overall carbon footprint of production, as well as emissions on the road. At ALBIS, we offer lightweight polymers and composites such as our WIPAG recycled carbon fibre filled PP and nylons, which have already become the material of choice for many of our customers that seek to replace heavier materials like metals in automotive components.

In a highly competitive industry such as automotive, we are aware that manufacturers are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. This is where our customised polymer solutions come in as they meet the specific needs and requirements of individual manufactures and help them to stand out in the market. With the increasing digitalisation of the automotive industry, we also offer digital solutions to help to streamline the entire supply chain and reduce the overall cost for the manufacturer. This can include EDI ordering systems, order tracking, optimised production with JIT service, and inventory management. By constantly pushing the development of sustainable and lightweight materials, providing customised solutions, and embracing digitalisation, ALBIS can help drive the automotive industry forward while also contributing to a more sustainable future.

Coffee with a compounder: WELLS PLASTICS

At the end of 2022, additive masterbatch compounder Wells Plastics opened its innovation centre at its Stone HQ. Now fully up and running, Dave Gray paid the facility a visit, and spoke to Carl Birch (right), sales and marketing director, and Dr Gary Ogden (above), technical manager, to find out more about the current outlook for additive masterbatch.

On the occasion of its inauguration, Philip Law, Director General of the British Plastics Federation said: ‘’The BPF’s congratulations go to Wells Plastics on the opening of its very well-equipped Innovation Centre. This is a great statement of the technical support provided by Wells Plastics to both the UK plastics industry and in export markets. Wells have nominated circularity as a key innovation theme and this can only help customers meet the challenging targets which are emerging globally’’.

It’s just one of a string of growth activities that the company has undertaken in recent times A new raw material warehouse, a management buyout, and the attaining of the Gold EcoVadis certification - recognising Wells Plastics Corporate Social Responsibility systems, polices and work on sustainability - have all helped the firm to cover new ground.

The firm offers a wide range of polymer enhancing properties from improved recyclability, processability, UV stability, antimicrobial performance through to enhanced barrier properties. The firm offers a wide range of additive masterbatches which can enhance polymer properties such as improving recyclability, processability, UV stability, antimicrobial performance through to developing enhanced barrier properties.

Dave Gray: To begin with tell me about the background to the company, and why you’ve decided to open this facility now?

Carl Birch: We were formed in 1984, as a specialist additive masterbatch and compound producer. We’ve always operated in in the Stone area, and over the past few years there’s been strong growth within the business, financially, but also in terms of headcount and customer base. We’ve also seen a greater demand for technical products, with the associated technical support and resource that’s required. So as we’ve invested into that, it became apparent that we needed more space to house that growth. Gary and his team were growing in terms of headcount, but also they were acquiring more equipment. Some of the equipment was in the laboratory, and some of it was in the factory or warehouse. So when the opportunity for a nearby unit came up, it really seemed like the ideal time to bring everything together under one roof, in a clean environment.

Gary Ogden: We have two sides to the function of the innovation centre, the analytical side and the processing side. We had a twin-screw compounder next to our analytical kit, which was not ideal – so this move was brilliant, it means we can provide a better service.

Carl Birch: The way that we operate is that we can have customers come on-site as part of a development process, development is not always done in isolation. The new facility provides a much more usable environment for them to come and have an area to do their own work whilst we’re doing some work for them. From there we can meet, and discuss the results of that work, and be much more collaborative about it.

Dave Gray: And how has it gone so far? Have you had many customers come to use the facility?

Carl Birch: We were up and running at the end of September and we’ve had customers in every month since then, on a very regular basis.

Dave Gray: And have you had any surprising challenges from them?

Gary Ogden: Obviously we often have confidentiality agreements in place, but we’ve got an existing customer who’s come up with some brand new applications for them, which involved some novel materials for us as well, so we did a week’s worth of trials for them recently. There’s always something new and challenging. Another recent example would be high clarity polymers which required functional additives incorporating, whilst maintaining the clarity of the base polymer – that is a significant challenge – but is progressing as well.

Carl Birch: Customers will generally come to us with a novel application or materials that might be particularly complex to handle or have difficult processing requirements. Well, we can’t do everything, but our goal really is to make a careful technical assessment of whether we think this is something that we can progress into a commercial opportunity.

Gary Ogden: And we can assess that very well with the kit that we’ve got here. We can do a full on-site technical review of the material, from an analysis through to processability. Our rule of thumb, is that if we can process it on the lab line here, then we can process it on the plant – and we have seven lines on the plant, all different configurations.

Dave Gray: Are your formulations exclusive to specific customers?

Carl Birch: It’s a real mixture. We have our own portfolio of products that we’ve developed and that we service the market with, sold under the Wells Plastics brand. We have another area which is Reverte, which is our oxo-biodegradable material. And then there are our bespoke products and custom compounds which may be totally Wells-owned formulations, joint IP, or totally customer-owned IP.

Dave Gray: And what are the big trends that you’re seeing from customers?

Carl Birch: We’re involved with a number of companies who are trying to improve the recyclability of their materials or who require extra stabilisation for their materials during processing to help with the extrusion or properties of their finished articles. Within the UK there’s still a keen interest in high performance materials, that’s important because as an industry, we need to remain cutting edge.

Gary Ogden: And of course, the pandemic brought antimicrobial technology to the forefront, so there’s a few projects we’re working on in that area.

Dave Gray: Is there a limit to batch quantities you can offer?

Carl Birch: No, we run seven machines, with different sizes and configurations. We also have the laboratory line which acts as an eighth production light to some extent. We can produce anything from 25 kilos on the lab line, through to 20, 30, 40 ton runs on the main plant. It’s really quite varied and that’s one of our strengths as a business: we have a variety of different lines which have different capabilities.

ENGEL UK is one of the key players in the UK’s injection moulding supply market. The official UK subsidiary for the Austrian IMM brand is headed by MD Nigel Baker. Dave Gray caught up with Nigel to talk trends, taxes, and tradeshows!

ON

IN CONVERSATION WITH: NIGEL BAKER, ENGEL UK

Dave Gray: So Nigel, how’s business at ENGEL UK?

Nigel Baker: We closed our financial year at the end of March, and it looks like we’re going to post a healthy result again.

We were particularly delighted by the technical market –that sector has made a big contribution to our financial result. Packaging has done very well too, and then we’ve got the medical sector, which continues to be a strong focus for us, especially in Ireland.

Automotive remains quiet, however we’re starting to see some promising signs of an upturn in that area.

Dave Gray: That’s really encouraging. So those are the markets that are doing well, but what are customers looking for lately in terms of technology?

Nigel Baker: The biggest trend is technology geared towards the circular economy. Energy consumption is always the big driver. I think we can all agree that the running costs of a new moulding machine are very similar from one brand to another, but we’ve got some pretty smart patents in our machines that do give our customers an advantage. Because the running cost comparisons become very similar from brand-to-brand, we’ve been looking at technological differentiators that give us and give our customers a competitive edge. The IQ products that we’ve got patented give us that result. save to offset that added burden. So at Interplas we’ll be showing a 280 tonne e-speed machine running 2.8 seconds with rPET, which is a material that has traditionally been difficult to process with a thin-wall section. started acting as the UK agency for HB Therm, the Swiss temperature control manufacturer, so we really can help customers to build full solutions.

Dave Gray: On the subject of sustainability, I gather you have a recyclate package available now. What does that include, and what are the benefits?

Nigel Baker: There are various options in this package. As an example, if a customer asked us to do a study on a particular material that they wanted to work with, we can send it to our recycling department in Austria where we’ll do an analysis, and then we’ll give a recommended machine configuration to process that material.

Dave Gray: That should be really popular! And you sold your first Wintec machine in the UK last year. Are these growing in popularity in the west? What could be driving that trend?

Nigel Baker: Well as you know, Wintec is part of the ENGEL Group. We made a strategic decision to bring Wintec into Europe, as before that the brand was just for the Chinese market. So, the idea was to be able to offer European customers a lower specification, high-quality machine - made in China, but with the blueprint of the renowned technology that’s been developed in Austria.

The interest in these machines has been overwhelming, and we have a 650 tonne Wintec here in our Warwick demonstration room for anyone who wants to come and see for themselves the technology and build quality.

We’re also keen to do our bit for the future of the UK industry: we’ll soon be taking on two more apprentices, so we’ll have four apprentices within our business. These individuals will be the next service engineers for the future of our industry.

Additionally, we’ve invested in some power analysers and we’re offering free energy checks on power consumption of older machinery. This is available to existing and new customers, and it gives them a great insight into what they can save by investing in new machinery – which is especially important in the current climate.

Dave Gray: And you’ve already touched on this, but what else will ENGEL be bringing to Interplas this year?

Nigel Baker: We feel it’s really important to demonstrate to the market our service support offering. So we’ll have a customer service department expert corner, where we’ll present all the aftersales products

We’ve got some great add-ons to the machines, including degassing, which enable recycled materials to be handled effectively. And those, in combination with iQ weight control, are particularly effective for processing recyclate.

Dave Gray: According to HMRC, the Plastics Packaging Tax is on course to exceed its first year target, meaning that processors are paying the tax rather than incorporating recyclate. The fact remains, there’s a paucity of quality recyclate around. Do you expect your recyclate package to become more popular in the UK, given these conditions?

Nigel Baker: I think we will do. Food packaging is still the problem, because of issues with contamination. But if customers can’t avoid the tax, for example for food-contact packaging as I mentioned, we have ways to help them

Dave Gray: As we're doing this interview, ENGEL is exhibiting at JEC World over in Paris. What makes Engel a key player in the field of composites?

Nigel Baker: It’s the resource behind the innovation. ENGEL has invested heavily into R&D for composite technologies, because it’s an important area for us. So as a result of that, we’ve become a recognised technology leader in new formats, and composites is one that we’ve been heavily involved with for quite a number of years now.

Dave Gray: What else is ENGEL known for in the UK, besides moulding machines?

Nigel Baker: Well, we do have our automation arm as well. And we also have trusted mouldmakers that we work with too. So we can help build packages to help clients make their products in the most economical way. We also recently that we can offer our customers to give them added security in helping them get the best out of their machinery.

Dave Gray: Finally Nigel, where is ENGEL’s future investment going? What’s the next big technology?

Nigel Baker: We’re still investing heavily in our version of Industry 4.0, which we call Inject 4.0. That includes the iQ products I’ve already spoken about. Our aftersales teams are now starting to offer expert view goggles to customers. So if a customer needs some help in optimising the machine or process set up, or even intervention/repair, they can put their expert view goggles on, and that customer becomes the eyes and ears for our service teams. So they can then guide them step-by-step through the process. That’s all part of our continued investment in futuristic technologies and customer service.