Business Productivity Grant helps PolyProducts turn up heat on future growth plans
An award-winning Sheffield-based rotational moulder is hoping to create at least 20 new jobs over the next five years after securing funds from the South Yorkshire Business Productivity Programme to improve its manufacturing process.
Starting production during the pandemic in 2020, PolyProducts manufactures a wide range of plastic products ranging from aquatics and garden products to defibrillator cases and radar components, which are manufactured using vacuum forming and rotational moulding.
The company is part of the Poly Group of Companies, which has been trading in Sheffield for almost 40 years.
When company owners Julie Garner and Andrew Oldale spotted an opportunity to create a new range of products, they invested in purchasing a second-hand rotational moulding machine and began exploring ways of making it operate more efficiently, as well as finding ways to make cost savings on its gas and energy consumption.
The company secured a match-funded grant to improve the operation and productivity of the machine. The problem they faced was that parts of some of their moulds needed to be heated by hand, a time-consuming process. The machine operating system therefore needed to be modified to improve production cycle times and efficiency of the oven and burner.
Covid-19 forced PolyProducts to re-think business priorities, as the production of vacuum formed marquee panels to the events market temporarily ceased. The company owners redeployed its workforce elsewhere to ensure the rotational moulding machine was ready.
After securing a match-funded grant the owners implemented new software that enabled the cycle times and temperature of the machine to be controlled more effectively. The improved controls have helped PolyProducts to automate parts of its manufacturing process, increasing capacity as well as making significant energy savings.
Since implementing the technology, PolyProducts has added over seven hours production each week due to the amount of time spent preparing and monitoring. PolyProducts is now planning to invest in additional rotational moulding machines.
Garner said: “The grant funding we secured has helped the business to operate more effectively, and I estimate that we will be able to save around £50,000 per annum due to the changes we’ve made. This will enable us to invest in more machinery, create additional jobs in the business and expand the range of products we manufacture.”
The Business Productivity Programme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and provides businesses with 50 per cent grant funding up to a maximum of £12,499, with the other half provided by the business.