Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019 - 24

injection moulding

common interests
berry superfos and Fibrax
use injection moulding
to produce very different
product ranges, but the
two companies share
end goals which are
surprisingly similar

You have to achieve
the right performance
balance
Mark Seddon, Berry Superfos

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very successful injection moulding
process demands skills related to
material and machine management.
Within this, output volume is a prime consideration, both in shot weight and terms
of total part output.
Berry Superfos (the division of former
parent RPC) produces a range of large
plastic containers for customers primarily active in the paint and surface coatings
market. As the company's international
key accounts director, Mark Seddon says
container production is finely balanced
between material volume and overall
weight.
"You have to achieve the right performance balance," he says. "I believe that
we are optimised in Europe. In the US
the cans are a little heavier, but that's
largely due to composite construction.
With the plastic base there could be a
metal lid. Those are a little more difficult
to recycle, but then there's also reuse
considerations. That's almost as effective as recycling."
Seddon continues by explaining that
the paint cans and pails - the preferred
terms, despite being made of plastic -
feature different designs dependent on
regional production.
"Over the past 15 years we've worked
to take material out of the container wall
section to achieve an optimum weight.
Instead of cost, we're looking at it from
an environmental perspective. But clearly there's a limit before you compromise

performance," he adds.
Design also drives production at Fibrax.
Based in Wrexham, the company started
life producing cycling accessories, but that
has now been eclipsed by manufacturing
of both plastic and rubber components
(or a combinations of both) for the automotive sector. Overall, the manufacturing
mix now stands at 4% and 96%.
Working with automotive customers
has required the company to produce
both larger parts and parts in high volumes. "Twelve years ago we invested in
a Tier 1 supplier to JLR, which started
us as a direct supplier to Jaguar Land
Rover," says managing director John
O'Brien. "We've continued with that, while
developing parts for wiring harnesses
and more technical assemblies featuring thermoplastic and thermoset overmouldings."
Continuing, O'Brien explains the tie-in
with design. "We're a design and development partner for our customers, whether Tier 1 or 2. I've got 10 designers here
in Wrexham, supporting manufacturing
here in the UK and at our sites in Poland
and Morocco."
Support for design has influenced investment at Fibrax. The company will have
four new Engel moulding machines in
place before the end of the year. As part
of that, a new machine, delivered in August, was purchased to support dedicated
production of a newly-developed steering
column component for JLR.

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Plastics & Rubber World - September/October 2019

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