Host Zoe Lyons presents the collaborative team, comprising Nolato Jaycare, Hi-Tech Automation and SDUK, with the winning PIA Partnership Injection Moulding trophyAt the recent
Plastic Industry Awards 2024,
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag made history collecting the coveted trophy for ‘Supplier Partnership – Injection Moulding’.
Having previously only ever been a finalist in this category, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag (UK) managing director Dave Raine hailed this win as the ultimate accolade, particularly as it is indicative of how the manufacturing world is now innovating and converging towards future connectivity. The company has previously won ‘Best Technology Application of the Year’ in 2015 and 2016, and ‘Best Training and Development Programme’ in 2023. Judged by a distinguished panel of industry specialists, the strategic partnership was pronounced the winner by the evening’s host, comedian and TV personality Zoe Lyons.
Through this consortium of carefully selected machinery and automation partners,
Nolato was able to fast track its ‘net zero’-driven investment and switch from eight hydraulic to customised all-electric Sumitomo (SHI) Demag machines in less than 12 months. For complete production line synergy, all the machines, automation and periphery equipment were programmed to the standardised OPC-UA roadmap. Additionally,
Hi-Tech investment costs.
The judges said: “It is exciting to see a company install this level of automation. This project has demonstrated the impact OPC-UA could have on the injection moulding industry. OPC-UA is still in its infancy and its high flexibility and aspirations also make it hard for people to grasp. To date few have pushed the boundaries demonstrated in this project.”
For Nolato Jaycare, the benefits of this customised, totally integrated, factory tested approach partnership model are multiple. Nolato Jaycare’s technical manager Darren Whitworth said: “SDUK and Hi-Tech Automation provided a single-source solution with the advantage that the cells were built and tested locally off-site. Full CE certification was provided, along with ease of access to technical support.”
Hi-Tech Automation director Gary Probert concluded: “OPC-UA is finally delivering on its promise of seamless communication between devices, and this has allowed us to look at cell control from a different perspective than that traditionally used.”