PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2018

MOULD MAKING PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 10/18 www.petpla.net 12 Solution provider for the single stage market Leveraging advantage by Ruari McCallion R&D Leverage in Sutton in Ashfield, near Nottingham, England, is the European site of an Anglo-American enterprise that uses its knowledge, experience and expertise to provide unusual and often unique solutions to customers in a range of businesses. Its ‘one-stop shop’ offer, from idea to commercial tooling, has enabled it to survive and prosper as an independent toolmaker and contractor through some challenging business periods. While it makes conventional stretch blow-mould equipment, its focus on single-stage technology sets it apart from most businesses in the field and has helped it to generate market-leading levels of growth. It is always interesting to speak to Alan Tolley, Managing Director of R&D Leverage in Sutton in Ashfield, UK, because there always seems to be something new going on. Our last site visit, three years ago, was to the offi- cial opening of its Product Solutions Laboratory (PSL), a facility dedicated to taking customers’ ideas and turning them into market-ready solutions. It was quite groundbreaking at the time – but time moves on. As we pass the bottle / jar inspection area, Mr Tolley points out a machine that still has the aura of newness about it, “That’s our new Torus. It measures everything: wall thickness, finish, body internal dimensions, height – everything,” he said. He indicates another recent addition: a drop test, then there’s a vacuum machine; a shadowgraph for measuring threads; a hydrotracer for making sure that all the material is dry. A vacuum machine and an oven and climate simulator. “We ship across the world, from South Africa to Russia, to Indonesia and to China. We have customers who will want a bottle inspected after it has been sitting for 50 hours at 40 degrees Celsius,” he continued. “In Russia, bottles or preforms might be sitting for months in a warehouse in sub-zero temperatures, so this machine is a fridge as well as an oven. You can put the bottles in there at below freezing or halfway to boiling point, leave them for however long, then bring them out and inspect them, to see how they’ve performed.” There is a lightbox that uses polarised light to detect faults in preforms; it is only a month old. All this equipment is new since our last visit. “We also added two CMMs (co- ordinated measuring machines) about 18 months ago in the tool manufactur- ing site, along with camera technology measuring equipment. They physically measure metal, the tools, the compo- nents of them, to qualify and validate that everything is to specification. If ever there is a query from a customer, we can pull up all our records and make sure we have delivered what they asked for. “The company has to invest heav- ily,” Tolley said. It is essential; the customer base is expanding and it is also demanding. “Our commitment to investment in technology has taken us from where we were, in a niche market, to where we are now. We are not simply a general engineering company; we are a Global solutions provider.” While it can work with preforms, two-stage manufacture and with a range of packaging materials – includ- ing recycled PET - the UK operation has maintained its focus on single stage tooling production. It has been rewarded with remarkable levels of sales growth. Core business: Tooling “Our core business is tooling and I think we are now being recognised as the leaders in our field,” he said. The company’s salespeople speak nine different languages, reflecting the global nature of its customer base. MOULD special R&D Leverage’s core business is tooling.