The plastics industry is made up of several different functions and sub-sectors with injection moulding being a part of a much larger plastic processors category. Other plastic processing methods include rotational moulding, blow moulding, compression moulding, extrusion and casting. Within the plastic industry, The Plastics Industry Awards have firmly established themselves as the forum for recognising and rewarding excellence and is open to entries from the UK and Ireland. Launched in 2001 and dedicated to rewarding innovation and exceptional performance, The Plastics Industry Awards acknowledge the best companies and the best people in the market. The finalists for the 2021 awards were announced on 10th September with the awards themselves taking place in December.
Rutland Plastics has been named as a finalist in the Covid-19 Business Hero award 2021. This special category will honour UK and Ireland businesses that have reacted to the global pandemic and pivoted the way they operate to be a force for good within the plastics industry.
Rutland Plastics is also a finalist in the Processor award 2021. This award is open to UK and Ireland processors (manufacturers of finished components and products using plastics materials) and OEMs processing in-house which are able to demonstrate to the judges their overall excellence. Rutland Plastics, ICLtech Ltd, Pentagon Plastics Ltd and Plastek are the finalists in this year’s awards. The judges will be looking for leading sustainable performances across a number of areas, which could include business enterprise and growth, technical innovation, people development, manufacturing efficiency, customer relations or addressing environmental concerns. In other words, the company needs to be an all-round world-class processor. Previous processors of the year include Rosti Automotive and Plastek.
Rutland Plastics won the Best Environmental or energy efficiency programmes of the year in the 2016 Plastic Industry Awards.The company has invested heavily in green initiatives culminating in the 900 (solar photovoltaics) PV panels that are integrated into the specially reinforced roof of the warehouse facility. The panels total 250kWh with the capacity to generate 25% of demand at peak. Other initiatives introduced include: A Free Cooling system utilising low external air temperature to assist in cooling water. Smart lighting combines LED and occupancy motion sensors in areas of irregular or infrequent use, e.g. in the warehouse aisles, corridors and stairwells – using light only when needed. Factory roof structures have been fitted to exploit natural daylight, these rely less on artificial lighting and combined with electronic vents allow for better temperature control. Application of the latest web-based technology delivering desktop up-to-the-minute energy monitoring across the company’s appliances and green energy generators.
Other awards in the industry include The Horners Award which is run jointly with the British plastics federation and the Worshipful Company of Horners. The award for Polymers innovation and design is awarded for innovation in plastic design and manufacture and is believed to be the longest established design award for polymers in the world.
Industry awards are not only a great way of recognising the achievements of business as a whole but also provide an opportunity to thank the people involved for all their hard work and dedication needed for that success.
