A £2.6 million (€4.1m) investment programme at Supreme Plastics Group's Lincoln site in the UK, both in new building and improvements to existing plant and accommodation, has resulted in the creation of a state-of-the-art factory to manufacture specialist flexible packaging.
A highly advanced eight-colour press, together with specialist solvent abatement plant to limit emissions, has been installed to enhance existing printing facilities at the site, which is one of three production locations in the UK.
Supreme Plastics, a European market leader in the manufacturing of resealable bags and pouches, has achieved strong sales growth in recent years, with a turnover of £17 million last year. The new facilities at Lincoln reflect what the group says is its determination to maintain this success through investment in plant and equipment, and its commitment to minimising environmental pollution.
Development work alongside existing buildings at the Dunholme, Lincoln, site has resulted in more than double the existing factory space, to a total of 5,217 square metres. The old building now includes the extrusion, slitting, wicketting and despatch sections. The new building houses printing, flat-bed converting and offices. In addition, further office and storage space has been created. The increase in warehouse space allows the company to better satisfy supermarket retailers' 'just-in-time' system demands by stocking exactly to customer requirements.
The new Axioma 8 Millennium flexographic printing press is the first eight-colour Italian-made Bielloni to be installed in the UK by Wakefield-based agent David Hulme Machinery, and the third Bielloni machine at the factory since 1989. The system is one of a new generation of presses, which is claimed to provide exceptionally high quality and reliability of print, the latest CNC technology, advanced electronic features and the ability to store repeat jobs. A unique feature of the machine allows use of traditional plate cylinders, as well as sleeves.
The factory provides extrusion, printing and converting processes to manufacture products predominantly for the Brayford Plastics and Malpack divisions of the group. Products made by these divisions include ready-made (stock and custom-designed) bags for a wide variety of industries and printed film on the reel for the food industry.
The new factory space significantly increases capacity and production efficiency for the group's manufacturing operations, which will in turn increase and extend the print capacity and range. The extension to the premises is expected to create up to 20 jobs at the Lincoln site during the current year, bringing the number of staff employed to 100.
A purpose-built exhibition and machinery demonstration area has been created in the new building. In this area the company will demonstrate Joker packaging machinery with its unique linked bag system. An innovative zipper applicator system, which has been designed to run Supreme Plastics latest Keyseal profile for cross-web application, will also be featured in the area.
"The upgrading of the existing space, and the creation of the new building has resulted in other benefits," commented group production director Jim Murray. "Staff morale is high in the cleaner, tidier and brighter environment. There is a high level of pride in the factory and visitors and auditors from supplier companies have been extremely impressed."