Wittmann and Polymermedics’ Project Shortlisted for 2024 PIAs

Win, lose, or draw, the Wittmann/Polymermedics partnership will relish its place in the spotlight at the upcoming Plastics Industry Awards (PIA), Intercontinental Hotel London, on Friday 22nd November. The new cleanroom project at Polymermedics has been shortlisted for the 2024 PIAs (Supplier Partnership Machinery category).

For Wittmann Battenfeld UK and Ireland’s Managing Director, Dan Williams, the project delivers a key lesson on customer relationships and growth. “It’s fair to say that manufacturing innovation drives business,’ he says. “Going the extra mile develops the competence of both supplier and customer. Every new job gives us the opportunity to learn from our customers and vice versa.”

Wittmann Battenfeld UK customer – St Austell-based Polymermedics Ltd – has been fast cementing its reputation as the world-class ‘go to’ contract moulder for high-volume medical mouldings – from micro to mid-size in weight, and all produced in Cleanroom Class 7,8 and 9 environments. The company is also accredited to the prestigious Silver EcoVadis environmental standard.

Market success and expansion recently led Polymermedics to convert a wing of its legacy St Austell site into a Class 7 Cleanroom for demanding medical applications.

Wittmann Battenfeld UK was selected to equip Polymermedics’ new Class 7 Cleanroom with four Wittman SmartPower Injection Moulding Machines (IMM) – all with Wittmann ancillary equipment. Together with cleanroom builder Kiik, the project was completed within the lead time (14 weeks) and budget. The new cleanroom is already the jewel in the Polymermedics crown, helping win the company’s new medical business at home and abroad.

Before this cleanroom project began Polymermedics had already invested extensively in various protocols, systems, standards and medical OEM process validations to take the company to a leading supply position in the European Medical market.

Polymermedics Operations Director, Neil Skyba, notes, “Our new Class 7 Cleanroom therefore had to be something very special indeed to become the first port of call for our new visitors. I am very happy to say that the project succeeded on all counts.”

Skyba adds that “Our total investment of over £800,000 shows that Polymermedics are willing to invest in the future during both the tough times and the good times. We now have the springboard to grow with further plans to increase our cleanroom offerings. Success here has also spurred us on to table proposals for the development of a completely new building on our existing site.”

Wittmann Battenfeld UK Sales Manager, Adrian Walters points out that long-term relationships are essential in plastics processing. “I know this at first hand since, three decades ago, as a young service engineer, I installed several Battenfeld machines at Polymermedics; working alongside an equally young engineer, Neil Skyba, now Polymermedics Operations Director.

Thirty years on and under Wittmann’s ownership the company’s injection moulding technology has made quantum leaps: Adrian says “The smallest machine footprints, the biggest energy savings and the largest possible platen areas are the key differentiators for us at Wittmann – and those factors helped us immensely in clinching the Polymermedics order.”

Wittmann is also unique in plastics in that the company makes and supplies all the IMM ancillary equipment – supplying entire moulding cells as one package from a single source: another clear convenience for any customer.

Neil Skyba notes that it is doubtful whether any other UK medical moulder could exceed the manufacturing competencies at St Austell; now home to a total of 35 injection moulding machines – ranging from 5 to 350 tonnes – and with a current Overall Equipment Effectiveness of over 85%. “We regularly push the boundaries in medical manufacturing,” says Neil, “whether it is commissioning a 128-cavity mould tool, or trialling water soluble catheters in PVOH materials.”

Neil says “When it comes to suppliers, we are looking for equivalent excellence – both in technical merit, in management and creative thinking and problem-solving. We found such a supplier in Wittmann Battenfeld UK and their prime machinery offering was a clear winner when lined up against all other potential competitors.”

Read more from Wittmann Battenfeld here.

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