Partners
Haydale Composite Solutions Ltd
Haydale Composite Solutions Ltd (HCS) based in Loughborough specialises in the development and application of nanomaterial-enhanced polymers, composites, coatings and elastomers. The company has a wealth of experience in nanomaterial-enhanced materials using the latest in computer aided design systems and has access to its own prototyping workshops for manufacturing and testing.
Haydale is a global technology solutions company, passionate about creating the next generation of advanced materials to improve mechanical, thermal and electrical properties for its customers’ products.
Haydale’s vision is to be a world-leader in the revolutionary development of plasma functionalisation of advanced performance-enhancing materials and nanomaterials across all industry sectors, providing cutting-edge technological solutions to improve people’s life experience. Haydale brings together cutting-edge technology and engineering expertise alongside its patented HDPlas® functionalisation process, which revolutionises repeatable performance and continued commercialisation of nanomaterials. Haydale’s world-leading HDPlas® process has the potential to be a major spearhead in the drive to keep the UK at the forefront of world technology.
Haydale are based in a purpose-built facility in Ammanford, South Wales, designed to handle and process volume nanomaterials. Due to its unique position, Haydale has access to a large library of nanomaterials (250+), which have been analysed to assess the quality and potential property enhancements for a range of products across multiple applications.
BASF
BASF companies supply raw materials to most industries in the UK, including agriculture, automotive, chemicals, construction, energy and pharmaceuticals.
We have about 700 employees in the UK. Our sales people are often home-based, and we also have staff working at customers’ sites, particularly automotive plants.
We have 6 manufacturing sites across the UK, from Littlehampton on the south coast of England to Callanish off the north west coast of Scotland.
We produce Polyurethane systems at Alfreton, Dispersions and additives at Bradford, omega-3 Fatty acids on the Isle of Lewis, Biopesticides at Littlehampton and Rodenticides at Widnes. We also recycle Auto-catalysts in Cinderford.
Bangor University
The BioComposites Centre aims to facilitate and undertake research for innovation using bio-materials in industry. The Centre was established with the specific remit to collaborate with and provide research services for businesses. Accordingly, a significant area of their research responds to end-user demand and focuses on exploiting the functionality of new polymers. The Centre’s work is targeted at developing bio-based materials in a wide variety of applications to reduce demand for fossil fuel-based polymers. Enhancement of barrier or permeation properties of polymers is essential across a wide range of industries. Therefore, one of the primary aims of the Centre’s research is improving the barrier performance of single-layer substrates whilst simultaneously retaining and increasing recyclability. Most of the research is at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3, sometimes reaching 4-5 as potential component polymers are developed and undergo an LCA. All research projects are collaborative and linked to industry. The centre has competitively won over £2.7m of research projects linked to packaging and has been designated as a Key Enabling Technology (KET) centre, which carries out applied research (TRLs 3-8) in technologies deemed fundamental to the UK’s future technological growth. The Centre has also won awards for projects in the food packaging sector such as the Green Life award for Bread4PLA, where PLA was polymerised from waste bread. The Centre works closely through the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association (BBIA), the trade association for the biopolymer sector. Through this link the centre has responded to UK Government calls for evidence, for example around the use of LCA. Recent work funded via Innovate UK includes HDT BioPol (the development of Biobased coffee cup lids for the replacement of HIPS with Wells Plastics) and SafeBioPack, (an EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) project working with Tesco and Parkside Flexibles to develop of novel packaging products with Malaysia). The Centre has experience of pilot scale production and prototyping of new packaging formats with improved functional performance such as antimicrobial surfaces. It has also developed in-house test methods that help to screen the bio-degradation profiles of new materials in their early stages of development. The Centre aims to raise awareness of the recycling properties of different materials through the development of impact case studies that show the potential for increasing recycling rates of plastics whilst retaining the necessary properties for use in businesses.
Parkside Flexibles
With over 180 employees across two locations in the UK and Malaysia, Parkside is a sustainable, flexible packaging innovation and development pioneer. Since 1970, it has designed and created award-winning packaging solutions that apply to markets from food and beverage to personal care, snack, confectionery and tobacco and much more, with a wide variety of packaging formats available.
Parkside delivers its expertise to customers through an intrinsic understanding of fast-moving consumer goods markets. Its innovation team provides the latest thinking in sustainable and recyclable packaging design backed by market-leading operations, supply chain and customer service teams.
From shelf-life extension for inventory management and waste minimisation to lightweight design for a low carbon footprint and/or meeting convenience needs, Parkside has the skills, experience and technology to meet any packaging brief.
The company offers a wide range of pack formats and solutions, including pouches, lidding films, flow wraps and bags, Parkside manufactures from films, foils and papers to provide cost-effective, consistent, high-quality packaging.
Wells Plastics
Wells Plastics is a specialist additive masterbatch and bespoke compound manufacturer based in the heart of the UK, with a strategy to continue to develop tailor made solutions and technically advanced masterbatches and compounds for the polymer industry. Established in 1984, Wells has become a major supplier to the polymer industry within the film, fibre, sheet, profile extrusion and moulding marketplaces.
Recent significant investment and expansion, in response to the continued growth and demand for Wells Plastics products and services both locally and internationally, included the installation of two new state-of-the-art twin-screw compounding lines, creating extra capacity and functionality. This significant expansion was in response to the continued growth and demand for Wells Plastics products and services both locally and internationally.
Wells has a wealth of experience in collaborative research and development having been involved in several IUK/EU projects, both as Lead and Collaboration Partners, in diverse applications such as food packaging, barrier compounds, agricultural films, high temperature biopolymer compounds and medical implants.
The company is ISO9001/ISO14001 and has achieved a Silver EcoVadis rating.
Dunbia
Dunbia is one of Europe’s leading food companies. Founded in 1976, Dunbia is a family business and the desire to create better food naturally is the driving force behind everything they do. A combination of organic growth, strategic acquisition & entrepreneurial vision has seen Dunbia grow into a multi-site, multi-species operation, processing cattle & sheep for national and international markets.
Headquartered in Northern Ireland with 12 sites throughout the UK, a division of Dawn Meats, they are the supplier of choice to a range of leading supermarket, food service and restaurant businesses, exporting to over 50 countries, their customers value their unquestionable commitment to sustainability and quality.
Employing over 5,000 people across a wide range of high-tech and multi-skilled disciplines, Dunbia is at the cutting edge of new product development, winning numerous industry awards including Meat, Poultry and Seafood Manufacturing Company of the Year 2022, Northern Ireland Food & Drink Awards 2022 Winner, World Steak Challenge Winner and numerous Great Taste Awards.
Cambridge Nanomaterials Technologies Ltd.
Cambridge Nanomaterials Technology Ltd (CNT) is an innovation management and nanotechnology consulting company based in Cambridge, UK. The CNT Ltd helps companies, academic and government institutions to develop world-class innovative solutions for nanomaterials related R&D and IPR strategy, partnership, products, technologies, funding and markets. CNT Ltd is specialised in carbon nanomaterials R&D consulting and collaborative R&D project management, including exploitation and dissemination management, consortium and supply chain building. CNT has done a number of patent landscaping and market research analysis studies regarding production and use of various nanomaterials helping to link inventors and technology developers with end-users and investors.
CNT is leading private Nano-Carbon Enhanced Materials (NCEM) consortium with members from leading industrial organisations and academic institutions, such as Airbus Group, Rolls Royse, Nokia, Bosch, Nissan, Whirlpool Corporation, ArcelorMittal, Tecnalia, Johnson Matthey, Prysmian Group, National Grid, Schneider Electrics, GE, Nexans, Henkel, Stattnet, Arup, Bose, ST Microelectronics, Trinity College Dublin, Copper Industry Association. Based on a similar concept, CNT started a new private consortium Advanced Materials for Additive Manufacturing (AMAM) in November 2018. In March 2019 CNT has opened a sister company CNT Innovation based in Brussels, Belgium (http://www.cnt-innovation.com/)
Fre-Energy
Fre-energy specialises in anaerobic digestion and associated technologies. An established, innovative designer of on-farm anaerobic digestion systems, based in north-east Wales, we pride ourselves in providing bespoke technological solutions for the management of on-farm wastes, tailoring our installations to meet the specific needs of each agricultural setting to complement our clients core farm business. Our aim is to create an on-farm circular economy where farm wastes are used to fuel the digester thereby producing useable energy for onfarm/local use and a high-quality nutrient-rich digestate used as a soil conditioner to optimise crop growth. We passionately believe that an on-farm AD facility is about environmentally positive and sustainable agriculture rather than a farm becoming a rural power station.