Thoughtful Recycling – Observations and Action

It’s very difficult to ‘think plastic’ without also thinking about its impact on the environment.

The products we manufacture, develop and distribute have high content PET – polyethylene terephthalate and PVC – polyvinyl chloride, so clearly have environmental issues both in the manufacturing process (here) and post-use disposal, by our clients.

Sinclair & Rush are very proud of the outstanding quality of our protection, display and storage products and we’re also proud of the systems we put in place to manage and comply with waste disposal. Our Environmental Management Systems are fully ISO 14001 certificated and apply to everything with a potential environmental impact.

Office waste paper is recycled for re-manufacturing; toner cartridges are recycled to reuse suppliers; power use is measured and managed to maximise savings and minimise waste; and general waste is recycled to Local Authority regulation and standards.

Clearly though, by far the greater concern is the disposal of raw material not fully used in manufacture or created as a by-product of the processes of dip moulding.

As you can no doubt imagine, there are many national and international directives relating to the chemical processing and the safe handling, storage and transportation of the chemicals used in manufacturing our own liquid plastics and the disposal and recycling of waste and by-product.

Perhaps the most influential directive is REACH from the Health and Safety Executive. This acronym stands for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation & restriction of Chemicals and is a European Union regulation governing the acquisition, import / export, transport, storage and handling of chemicals. This classifies Sinclair & Rush as a ‘downstream’ user of chemicals – which most manufacturing companies will be to some degree.

As far as the actual disposal and recycling of plastic waste is concerned, well that’s a huge subject in itself and one we follow closely.

Disposal, recycling and remanufacturing of PVC waste is an industrial learning curve of global proportion. As the need for product continues to grow, the need to find ways to effectively recycle its by-product and post use waste grows exponentially.

All of the plastic waste at Sinclair & Rush is collected by specialists for recycling and remanufacture. Technically our responsibility stops there, though our interest and thoughts do not. What does happen to PVC waste and how can it be re used?

The scale of the research to develop safer and more accessible recycling techniques is massive and the world is learning and improving all the time. Whilst landfill is still the authorities’ first port of call, we all know it’s a short term option in a heavily populated shrinking world.

Activity higher up the scale (above) has lower environmental impact, though techniques are costly and the recyclate needs a high degree of purity and pre-sortation at the point of entry. The biggest developments are in the fields of Mechanical Recycling and Feedstock Recycling both of which re-engineer the waste to useful purpose.

‘Feedstock’ (not what you give to cattle) is the term given to the raw materials used in the production of PVC – Carbon, Hydrogen and Chlorine. Through high temperature treatments known as PVC pyrolisis, useful feedstock can be recovered from the waste.

At 250-600C, the process splits chlorine atoms from the PVC waste when sodium hydroxide is added. This produces sodium chloride, or salt, which is used in many other processes such as generating chlorine for the production of new PVC. At 600C, the PVC chain breaks down to release useful hydrocarbons used instead of oil or gas, again to make new plastics.

Mechanical recycling (here’s an excellent (short) You Tube video that sums it up: http://youtu.be/xNNnP86N_kE)

Mechanical recycling takes the PVC waste through a process of pre-sortation, cleaning, cutting, chopping and grinding to create various grades of re-usable PVC pellets and powder. These are used to make pipes or in vinyl flooring where the colour and purity are less important. AA quality powder is a purer product used in higher quality PVC manufacturing … so the cycle goes on, reducing the environmental impact by prolonging the viable life of PVC.

Think Environment ~ we do.

Put us to the test.

We work with manufacturing companies in the UK & Europe, who have problems protecting or finishing their products. We manufacture and supply solutions for this through a wide variety of plastic mouldings, caps, plugs and sleeves, which means they... or indeed you.... reduce the risk of damage or contamination, so your customers receive a top quality product every time.

www.thinkplastic.co 

 

  

Opening Kent’s ‘Gateway to Europe’

It’s that time again when we digest the closing year (along with the turkey) and consider resolutions to enhance the business year ahead. Sinclair and Rush is no different and there will be much to share with you over the coming months. 2014 is going to be great for this ambitious plastics manufacturer.

Last month S&R’s MD, Peter Boulton, joined other Kentish businesses at the UK Trade & Investment’s South East initiative to help Kent manufacturers broaden their horizons beyond the Channel. Of course the concept is nothing new to Sinclair & Rush UK and Europe who already have a positive and expansive presence in continental Europe. Well, it’s only natural for an international company to have realistic international presence.

“Economic research consistently shows companies who export to any country, in any financial climate, perform better than those who don’t” said Lewis Scott, regional Director at UKTI South East, at events held in Maidstone in November.

Latest HMRC statistics reveal that the South East continues to be the biggest regional exporter, with the total value of exports for the first half of the 2013 from the region alone amounting to some £22.6 billion.

As part of its ongoing policy for growth, S&R are actively seeking sales and customer service representation across Europe. Linguistically, operationally, logistically – the skills and resources are already in place to facilitate enquiries and plastics solution to industry wherever they may be.

European Partners are invited to introduce their operational experience and business credentials, BUT, it is vital that they understand and share the strong corporate ethos that Sinclair & Rush stand by

 
“We manufacture and supply a wide variety of plastic mouldings
that protect, package and finish the products that our customers' make
so that they get to deliver a top quality product every time.
We are known for always striving to deliver great customer service.
Our mission is to leave our staff and customers feeling respected & valued.”

“We’re ready, in fact we have been ready for a long time and the time is right to get out there and do something about it” said Peter Boulton. “We couldn’t be better placed in Maidstone to take advantage of the rail and road links to Europe. And we couldn’t be better prepared for growth with our manufacturing resources and skills. River Medway traders have been thinking outside of the UK box for centuries. It’s time we took advantage of the opportunities our forebears opened for us, even before Turner painted this Medway scene from Rochester in 1822.”

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

from everyone at

Sinclair & Rush

 

www.thinkplastic.co

 

Cheers: for a finer glass ~ Think Plastic

Next time you watch the landlord pull a foamy pint of your favourite ale, spare a momentary thought for the plastic engineering that’s been part of the intricate brewing process – then order a bag of nuts.

There are many elements to the brewing process notwithstanding selecting the finest hops (plentiful here in Kent), malted barley and pure water. Then on to malting, milling, mashing, lautering, boiling, fermenting, conditioning, filtering and packaging. Each is important but perhaps the more crucial stages are the conditioning and filtration steps – these temper the finished quality, free of imperfections and biological contaminants. After all, who wants a foaming pint alive with contamination !

And – if you thought your glass of wine was simply a glass of rich, sun-baked hillside vines … think again: Wine is a product of microbial activity requiring a warm, food rich environment for friendly microbes to convert natural sugars into fine tasting beverages.

Unfortunately, a pleasant home for useful microbes is an equally hospitable hangout for any strains of wild yeast and bacteria gaining ingress to the fermentation vessel. And having arrived, all impart certain flavours to the beverage, producing signature wine faults that fancy-pants Vintners like to claim they can distinguish. However, whatever the flavour imparted, the general rule is these unwelcome bacteria all spoil wine, producing medicinal (think antiseptic), animal (think rodent cage or barnyard), or microbial (think yeasty and sour) flavours, all which are pretty nasty.

To combat these bacterial infections, Odour Lock uses cutting edge nanotechnology used in the medical industry to filtrate harmful bacteria from blood, plasma and bodily gasses. The result is Sterilock, the World's First Antibacterial Airlock.

Fitted directly to the fermentation vessel or seated on top of existing water based airlocks, it's patented Bacteriaex seal allows the venting of Co2 molecules whilst preventing 99.9% of larger bacteria, yeasts and other fungi from gaining access to fermenting beverages. Making it possible for the first time in Home Brew history to guarantee the exclusion of those 'flavours' from wines, beers and other alcoholic beverages.

However, enabling Sterilock's to be fitted to a diverse range of existing water based airlocks wasn't straightforward. As Richard Cook, Odour Lock's Technical Director explains:

“Finding an endcap of a size, shape and shore hardness (flexibility) to meet the design brief wasn't easy. It required the testing of numerous samples supplied by Sinclair & Rush until the exact combination was found”.

The result is a patented, low cost lid enabling the World's first antibacterial airlock to be fitted to virtually all existing 'S' Bend water locks.' A solution already reaping dividends as the largest distributors in the UK and Australasia place orders for Sterilocks and Odour Lock looks towards expansion in the US and the rest of Europe. As Richard further explains:

“Water based airlock's are used by Home Brewers throughout the world, making Sterilock an instant global product. A couple more lids may be needed to secure the entire global market, but by continuing to work closely with Sinclair and Rush we're confident there won't be a Home Brewer in the world that won't benefit from antibacterial brewing.”

Many thanks to Richard Cook, MD of innovative Odour Lock (www.odourlock.com), for this ‘good news’ contribution to our blog this month. I personally will treat my beer and this evening’s glass of wine with even more respect than usual.

Think Plastic ~ Cheers

 

Put us to the test.

We work with manufacturing companies in the UK & Europe, who have problems protecting or finishing their products. We manufacture and supply solutions for this through a wide variety of plastic mouldings, caps, plugs and sleeves, which means they... or indeed you.... reduce the risk of damage or contamination, so your customers receive a top quality product every time.

www.thinkplastic.co 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VisiPak - the cutting edge(s) in clear plastic tubes

Making jewellery requires a creative eye, a steady hand and a collection of intricate tools. These specialist tools are not only intricate but made to very fine tolerances for getting into, holding and shaping small and semi-precious components – no plastic here then !

Jewellery files and their intricate cutting profiles

Tools for Jewels (.co.uk) know all about this as they are a specialist business supplying amateur and professional jewellery makers with everything they need for their hobby, craft or trade. But it’s a competitive market with saw blades, frames, pliers, clamps, files, burnishers, hammers, tweezers and anvils (etc) being equally available from a dozen or so similarly named websites / suppliers.

So – Tools for Jewels decided they needed an edge and responded to Sinclair & Rush’s liberal invitation to ‘Think Plastic’.

Clear plastic tubes from S&R’s VisiPak brand with distinctive caps were the answer.

In his own words, owner Clive Rumble explains: “We are using the Sinclair & Rush clear plastic tubes and caps to market our files and saw blades, which will give us a substantial marketing advantage over our competition. We are designing and building a small stand to hold either the files or the saw blades in one place for easy selection, making a feature of our products on the jeweller’s bench.”
 

Protected and easy to select

Brilliant – not only are the files and blades protected in storage and transit, but the display and safe, easy selection value is being developed as an end user benefit too.

Jeweller’s files need to be protected, especially if they are being carried from one place to another.  Such files tend to cost more than normal files and putting them in clear, robust individual tubes protects them. With the exceptional clarity of the VisiPak plastic tubes, it makes them easy to store and select giving a much longer effective life to each file. The files no longer rub against each other and they are no longer exposed to moisture and other workshop contaminants.

Saw blades come in 14 different sizes which soon get mixed up in a jewellers tool box. Tools for Jewels will now supply their blades in individual clear plastic tubing selectable by size and safe from work bench contamination.

The VisiPak range of clear plastic packaging is extensive and varied with a solution for all possible and even probable packaging, display and mailing need.

Hang it, store it, post it – and above all see it ‘clearly’.

The diversity is enormous – shape, size, strength, flexibility, durability; and branding technology offering silk screen; hot stamping, offset and pad printing; with closures that flip, plug, hook, screw, shake; and shapes galore including round, square, rectangular, triangular, oval; all in practical sizes small, large, long, short; and everything available in colours to make even the rainbows turn green with envy.

Give yourself the marketing edge … Think Plastic ~ Clive did !

 

Put us to the test.
We work with manufacturing companies in the UK & Europe, who have problems protecting or finishing their products. We manufacture and supply solutions for this through a wide variety of plastic mouldings, caps, plugs and sleeves, which means they... or indeed you.... reduce the risk of damage or contamination, so your customers receive a top quality product every time.

www.thinkplastic.co 

 

Thinking Plastic – a global perspective

Another day another dollar and for Sinclair & Rush Limited it’s another year with another year end success.

Although in accounting terms business is packaged and reviewed one year against another, in management, sales and marketing terms the journey is longer and ongoing. The S&R team UK / Europe have benefited from the fortitude of leadership and engagement through team building to equip them for what has in effect been a four year journey – and a journey in some pretty awful economic weather.

The environment has certainly been “challenging” – superbly understated as always by MD, Peter Boulton, who went on to say – “ but with the support of our staff and customers, it’s been a great success. Not only have the profits improved over this time, but the corporate ‘attitude’ has grown as well. We’ve all become proud to deliver on our two missions; ‘Always striving to deliver great customer service’; and ‘to leave our staff and customers feeling respected and valued’.”

From S&R Ltd Maidstone, to S&R Inc Missouri, under the skyline of

San Diego – home of Cameron Holdings.

That’s the view from this side of the pond, but what do our American parents think about the attitude, efforts and achievements of their Kent manufacturer / supplier of leading plastic packaging, display and protection components.

We’ll find out pretty soon, as Brad Philip is en route to check on matters British and European before continuing to China and Australia as part of his global tour.

You see, Sinclair & Rush is part of a global family. Further, this entity sits within a true family of global manufacturing concern.

Let’s explain that a little.

Sinclair & Rush Limited (Maidstone) sits within Sinclair & Rush Inc, based in Arnold, Missouri. It is to their President and COO that Peter Boulton directly reports. Since October 1^st (that’s 1^st October over here) 2010 that person has been with Brad Philip. Not surprisingly, the relationship between Peter and Brad is crucial for the success of pan-Atlantic management.

Brad was previously Executive Vice President and General Manager until recognised for his long and successful service and promoted by Vincent T. Gorguze, Chairman and CEO of Sinclair & Rush Inc. (Brad became Exec VP & GM in 2006 having joined the company as Corporate Controller in 1995.)

Mr Gorguze in turn is also founder and Chairman of San Diego based Cameron Holdings. Cameron Holdings is a private equity company specialising in the acquisition and operation of middle market manufacturing, industrial service and value-added distribution companies.

Its successful track record began in 1978 when it made its first acquisition – Sinclair & Rush. Since then it has acquired, operated and grown a variety of companies in North America, Europe and Australia with revenues ranging from $5 million to $200 million.

Cameron Holdings is led by Vincent Gorguze as Chairman and his daughter Lynne E. Gorguze as President. Their exciting strategy is and has been one of ‘Buy & Build’. They acquire and develop a platform company and work closely with the new platform’s management to establish a financial growth strategy. Once the revenue and profitability of the business have sustainably reached their target, they in turn escalate growth through further corporate acquisition.

Vincent & Gloria Gorguze; Lynne Gorguze; Brad Philip.

Sinclair & Rush was the first platform acquisition and development for Cameron Holdings in 1978 – its living history tells its own tale.

Readers of this blog can see how this successful growth escalator strategy has developed Sinclair & Rush to become the largest and most innovative provider of vinyl moulded products in the world. We wrote about the Flex Product acquisition in May this year, which boosted the VisiPak range and capacity. And in October last year we covered the massive benefits to the GripWorks product range afforded by the acquisition of Hunt-Wilde.

As you see, the foundations of our global capabilities and expertise run deep and we are truly proud to be part of the family and to continue the ethos – buy and build.

Thinking Plastic - a global family:

 Think Plastic ~ we do 

Put us to the test.

We work with manufacturing companies in the UK & Europe, who have problems protecting or finishing their products. We manufacture and supply solutions for this through a wide variety of plastic mouldings, caps, plugs and sleeves, which means they... or indeed you.... reduce the risk of damage or contamination, so your customers receive a top quality product every time.

www.thinkplastic.co

Let’s face it – it’s just plastic.

There is nothing ‘just’ about plastic at Sinclair & Rush.  

To ‘Think Plastic’ as we do is to go around with your eyes open for opportunities, plastic opportunities. There are applications for plastic caps, plugs and sleeves all around us. MD Peter Boulton is always on the look out for new and innovative uses and benefits for Sinclair & Rush products and skills as his regular Facebook posts illustrate.
 

Take a look, like us on Facebook and you’ll see what we mean: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sinclair-Rush/192148454273617

 

To follow Peter as he tours the country taking photos on his trusty iPhone of everything from engine parts to gate posts is quite an eye opener. You might be forgiven for thinking – ‘hey Mr Boulton it’s time for a long overdue vacation’ – but he would argue, it’s not so much vacation as vocation. When you ‘Think Plastic’ you literally … think plastic
 

It is important to fully understand the customers’ needs in order to suggest the most appropriate and cost effective solutions. If we can’t visit the site, then photographs and technical drawings of the component and the areas that need protecting do help our own engineers to plan, structure and cost our proposals.
 

What are we protecting the crucial parts from? What are we keeping out and what are we keeping in? What temperatures and materials are the parts going to be exposed to during the rigorous finishing stages of their life?
 

 

Sinclair & Rush have many ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions in the form of caps and plugs such as the plastic plugs on the engine mounting (above) protecting the threads from abrasive dirt ingress. However, with some lateral thought from our custom moulding engineering department, instead of applying five plugs before steam cleaning the unit, the fast application and removal of a multiple plug speeds the process up enormously (below).

 

This plastic diaphragm has been designed to protect the engine module as it is shipped from a manufacturer in the UK to an OME in China where it will become part of a mobile power unit. We really can’t stress enough how important it is for our customers to fully involve our sales engineers at the planning and design stage...

 

… A combined cap / plug diaphragm like this is clearly not an off-the-shelf product, but the result of combined, creative, engineering skill to create a solution that has become integral in an extended and global manufacturing process.

 

Think plastic plastic plastic plastic … err, no Peter, I think you’ll find on this occasion, that’s Gold! 

 

 Think Plastic ~ we do

 

Put us to the test.

We work with manufacturing companies in the UK & Europe, who have problems protecting or finishing their products. We manufacture and supply solutions for this through a wide variety of plastic mouldings, caps, plugs and sleeves, which means they... or indeed you.... reduce the risk of damage or contamination, so your customers receive a top quality product every time.

www.thinkplastic.co

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking Plastic – it’s about evolution not revolution.

Delivering excellence in plastics solutions for masking, protection, packaging and grips was never an industrial revolution … with Sinclair & Rush it’s been a service evolution.

For over 60 years, the Sinclair & Rush Family has grown and prospered from its roots in Jefferson County, Missouri and spread its skills out across the world via UK and Europe. Manufacturing industries through the Americas, Asia, Australasia and Europe think S&R when they Think Plastic.

 

As the products have developed, so the company has developed too. With investment in R&D, plastisol technologies; tooling skills; materials sourcing; regional offices; distribution resourcing; service and people, Sinclair & Rush’s evolutionary expansion would have delighted even Darwin.

Anthropological studies reveal extraordinary things about evolutionary developments, which over millions of years make even the tiniest adjustments to birdlife, fish and mammals to help refine their abilities to cope, to thrive, to protect themselves from predators and enhance their natural instincts for survival in competitive environments.

We have the same instincts for survival, growth and positioning within our global market and have re-positioned S&R’s global brand accordingly:

With the new logo comes a new look – well, a fresher look as, here at Sinclair & Rush UK & Europe we are erecting new signage and have decorated the offices of the Sales and Sales Support departments. Exit drab. Enter a fresh clean, organised, ergonomic working environment to support fresh, clean, organised and economic work.

Our camera-shy chaps and photogenic ladies are delighted with the results and (for the moment) it’s smiles all round for this hard-working team.

And after all, smiles are important in a sales and service environment.

When you phone with a masking query and need advice about protecting crucial components as they pass through an invasive finishing process – it really does make a difference to hear clear expertise as the solutions are explained, topped with our friendly professionalism as you are guided through the options available from Sinclair & Rush.

But service doesn’t stop with the solution and sale. The dip moulded caps, plugs, sleeves; and clear plastic display boxes, clamshells and tubing; or customised, branded tool grips – none of these actually make a difference to your business until they are in situe, on time and to the specifications you expected and anticipated when you first clicked on to thinkplastic.co.

So, with flags waving, global branding installed and magnolia liberally daubed – Sinclair & Rush UK / Europe, from our corner of a Kentish field are … as ever … ready to take your calls: 01622 693200...

...though not before making an effort to support Sharon and Daniela’s valiant (and exhausting) efforts to run for their lives (and others) raising money for Cancer Research UK in last month’s Race for Life.

Well done all.

Think Plastic ~ we do

 

Put us to the test.

We work with manufacturing companies in the UK & Europe, who have problems protecting or finishing their products. We manufacture and supply solutions for this through a wide variety of plastic mouldings, caps, plugs and sleeves, which means they... or indeed you.... reduce the risk of damage or contamination, so your customers receive a top quality product every time.

www.thinkplastic.co