A BLACK Country manufacturer is looking to bring more of its work back into the UK by the introduction of a new production process.

Alison Phillips, of Manufacturing Advisory Service, with Paul Cox, managing director, NDC Polipak

 

 

 

 

 

NDC Polipak, which employs 77 people across two sites in Cradley Heath, has invested £600,000 into the new project that will see it become the first firm to offer production of vertical quad seal plastic bags for retail.

The process will be responsible for manufacturing the semi-rigid plastic bags that are extensively used in a wide range of packaging including rice, pet foods and other agro-chemical products.

The company is now moving into full scale production. It has taken on an additional three members of staff to help it cope with the extra business.
It is hoping it will add a further five to this by the middle of the year.

A number of letters of intent have been signed and the management team are conservatively predicting up to £3m of additional sales, most of which will have been secured from rivals in France, Italy and Poland.

Paul Cox, managing director at NDC Polipak, said: “We identified these new opportunities as they fit within our existing manufacturing facilities and our core strategy of offering high quality, innovative packaging solutions backed up with excellent customer service.

“As we researched the market it was very evident that at present the only suppliers of these products are outside the UK and the presence of a home manufacturer would be very welcome.

“This involved creating a dedicated performance packaging division at our Halesowen facility.”

NDC Polipak, which manufactures building films, ancillary building, quality mono and multi-layer films and flexible intermediate bulk containers, has received extensive support from the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

New Product Specialist Roy Pulley has worked with Paul and the management team for a number of years on identifying potential markets and in securing funding for initial prototyping work in a host of areas.

He is now working with the firm to maximise the opportunities of the new cell by looking at supplier matching and signposting it to additional business assistance.

He said: “We are seeing a lot of examples of companies returning production back to the UK and this is a further extension to that with NDC Polipak choosing to deliver a solution for the issue of ‘quad seal’ bags.

“The way it has set up production means it will be as competitive as its European rivals, but can offer domestic manufacturers all of the benefits that come from close proximity of supply, including flexibility in volumes, shorter lead times and more innovation.”

NDC Polipak is one of the first Black Country companies to be assisted by MAS and UKTI under the new ReshoreUK service, designed to bring manufacturing back to England and to ensure there is capacity in the domestic supply chain to take advantage of new opportunities.

 

Source: TheBusinessDesk.com