PMN’s Co-Founder and Production Director Mark Rigg recently sat down with Warehouse & Logisitics News to answer a few questions about what’s going on at PMN, which you can read below;
What are your best-known vacuum forming products/solutions/services?
For over 21 years our experienced team have been on hand to support customers – the core output here at Plastic Mouldings Northern is Vacuum Formed parts. We mould all kinds of finished parts and returnable packaging solutions to assist customers with projects from start to finish. From design and development to CNC trimming and fabrication of finished parts. We see ourselves as a one-stop shop, hosting 7 vaccum forming and 3 state-of-the-art CNC machines alongside unparallelled experience, we really are the go to partner for vacuum forming projects.
We produce bespoke returnable packaging solutions for a variety of clients – alongside our vacuum forming capabilities, we stock a wide range of euro containers, pallets and pallet boxes. We often combine these capabilities and vacuum form tailored trays and inserts to suit customer products and needs perfectly, making us unique within the industry.
Which industry sectors are your customers in and which ones are growing fastest?
We work across a range of industries from automotive and aerospace, to the food industry. The brands we serve span globally and include The London Underground, Bentley, McLaren, BAE, the Ocado group, Bosch and many more. These clients continue to return to us as a result of our levels of service, expertise and reliability.
What are your most recent product innovations?
The investment in machinery and tooling has been a real game changer at the site, enhancing capabilities for the most bespoke and intricate projects. The purchase of two new Biesse 5 Axis CNC machines with their large trimming size capacity of 4mx2m makes us quite unique within the industry. This investment has meant that we can take on much more intricate jobs and work to much lower tolerances with our trimming.
We also have plans for further investment in 2024 to increase our vacuum forming capabilities – by investing in new automatic machines that are both sheet and roll fed, which will increase our productivity and therefore our efficiency in meeting client needs.
Can you tell us about any recent customer contracts and how you helped the customer meet their challenges?
A customer recently opted to move to ourselves from another vacuum forming manufacturer as they had heard about our renowned service. Their project had gone through a stage of failed prototyping elsewhere so chose to move over to us to utilise our design expertise and hands on approach. The project also includes an intricate fabrication process which we are able to fulfil onsite, making their project production as streamlined as possible.
How does business in 2023/24 compare to previous years? What’s your strategy for succeeding in the current climate?
We haven’t really stood still since our inception in 2002 and have been constantly growing at a steady rate. Our strategy remains as it always has, we have an unrivalled commitment to understanding our client project objectives and constantly strive to ensure high-quality service and solutions to meet their needs.
What’s the latest news from your vacuum forming company?
We’ve recently gone through a period staff expansion. Grace Collingwood joins the team as Internal Sales Co-ordinator, with Lewis Rigg as CAD/CAM Engineer. Grace and Lewis join existing Sales Manager, Matthew Whittle, in the management team to help direct the company’s future. Alongside this, we have plans in 2024 for an extension to one of our sites to allow for additional office space and an onsite R&D facility.
To discover the vacuum forming services and vacuum formed products please feel free to explore our website. Alternatively, get in touch to discuss your requirements.
