Exclusive:"We strive to reduce the impact of our facility on the environment"

Roland Plastics has gained codification for its unique DURAPATH product. The Wickham Market based firm has been working alongside the United Kingdom National Codification Bureau (UKNCB) to gain four Nato Stock Numbers for the material.

In this exclusive interview Bp&r editor Grace Nolan talked to Roland Plastics to find out more about the company and its sustainability mission and plans for the future.

Q: The company has recently completed the 25kw installation of solar panels at its Wickham Market factory. Could you tell us more about this process? How did the company secure partial funding from the Business Energy Efficiency (BEE) Anglia Programme?

The funding from BEE required us to obtain 3 competitive quotes to show best value for money and then to submit an application for funding. 

As a business, we take great interest in what initiatives exist for firms like us to gain funding or support for specific initiatives, so this particular programme felt perfect and sits well with the ethos of our company.

Being active members of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, we attend many of their breakfast briefings and networking events, and always find these are a helpful place to meet with other like-minded company owners and hear about funding streams.

Q: The solar commitment is one part of Roland Plastics’ ambition to reduce its power consumption. Could you tell us more about Roland Plastics environmental sustainability mission?

We strive to reduce the impact of our facility on the environment. 

We are working through a cycle of replacing our older equipment with new, modern, lower power machines. Our most recent install from KMW uses 30% less power than the machine it replaced, and yet also has greater load capacity.

We are now looking at how we reuse the heat that is generated from the machines in the workshop during the winter months, to reduce the amount of energy we use heating the workshop.

It’s important to us that we work with customers to design products that are as environmentally sustainable as possible. 

Designing plastic products that can be easily recycled at the end of their usable life is key. Even our single use products for the food industry can be recycled.  

The ‘Peak Water’ jugs that we manufacture, assemble, package and ship, all have water filters that should be sent back to a central location for specialist recycling. These are a perfect example of the kind of product creation we like to be involved with.

We have many employees that car share or cycle to work and soon we will have charging points for electric vehicles which will use the power generated from the solar panels.

All of our waste is either recycled or in the case of the flooring products is kept as ‘seconds’ and donated to charities or local organisations that require this product but do not have the funds to buy new. If the organisations find they have no further use for the product we will take it back and recycle it. 

Q: In the last 12 months the company produced 160 tons of products and used 130 tons of recycled materials and only 30 tons of ‘new’ plastic. How did the company achieve this?

One of our largest running products, DURAPATH, was specifically designed to be produced from recycled HDPE. 

Our supply partner, PLASGRAN, supply us by the lorry load at a very reasonable cost.  

We are now looking at which of our other flooring products could be made form recycled material which can be reground up to 6 times before it degrades.

Q: Roland Plastics has gained codification for its unique DURAPATH product. Could you tell us more about this product and the materials it has been made from?

DURAPATH black is made form 100% recycled HDPE and is extensively used as a ground stabilisation product for car parks, path, roads and embankments. 

The unique clipping mechanism makes the product extremely strong and easy to use. The codification allows us to sell into government organisations with a standardised ordering code. We are using our black and Sand coloured tiles but can make them in any colour. We undertook a great deal of market research and took the best design principles from existing products and designed our own ‘Rolls Royce’ product. 

The next challenge was taking this ‘best in class’ product and creating a manufacturing process that enabled us to be competitive in the market.  

Q: The DURAPATH product is currently being used by the Royal School of Military Engineers for their project to deploy a rapid build road surface. How did this partnership come to light? Where else if this product being used?

We have been discussing the product with the Defence Export support team with regard to a route to market. 

One of the staff has been involved with the Military Plant Foreman course and suggested to them they spend a day looking at manufacturing techniques in our factory and then laying some of the product to see how quick and easy it is. 

We are now working with our local MoD facility at Woodbridge, to lay a quantity of the product and to test different vehicles and loads to see how the product reacts. 

Q: How does the company stay ahead in terms of innovation and does the company have any plans for the future? 

The owners of Roland Plastics also own another company called Electronic Terminations Limited, which shares premises.  

We are more than just a plastic injection moulding company as we offer Design, Production, Packaging and Logistics for many types of products.   Our success has been our ability to compete in many market segments to ensure we have a diverse portfolio of products. 

Suppling into Defence, Aerospace, Highways, Transport, Medical, Renewables, Security and food products allows us to ride the inevitable peaks and troughs that they all see.