Biosite Systems, a leader in technology-enabled solutions for the construction industry, has joined forces with leading UK technical injection moulder, Counterplas, to reduce its carbon footprint and improve waste management.
The move means the plastic tooling process and manufacture for Biosite’s Wireless Fire Alarm call points has returned to the UK, with the added benefit of establishing a more agile approach to production and stock management.
Counterplas’ state-of-the-art equipment and energy efficient processes particularly appealed to Biosite, including its innovative grinder machine for recycling prototype or defect models, with the resulting plastic pellets reused in other processes.
Greg Reynolds, Research Director at Biosite, explains: “We continuously review the environmental impact of our products and services and felt the time was right to bring our plastic moulding tooling back to the UK, as part of our commitment to our environmental policy. As we manufacture and assemble the rest of our Wireless Fire Alarm system on site to ensure quality and traceability, it made sense to join forces with a local injection moulding expert.
“Counterplas was able to offer a cost-effective solution and their expertise has already been demonstrated, with refinements to the process parameters resulting in an even better product for our customers.
“Not only will this substantially reduce our carbon footprint, but it will significantly reduce waste too, by recycling unusable products. Working with a local supplier also means we have greater control and flexibility over stock levels.”
Paul Isherwood, Managing Director of Counterplas, adds: “The synergy between Biosite and Counterplas is our focus on innovation and continuous improvement. By integrating Biosite’s existing moulding tool into our advanced machining means we can create a quality product efficiently and effectively. There’s also the advantage of producing smaller batches and the facility to store and manage stock levels on site.
“Although waste is limited due to the accuracy of the new tooling system, any defect products are recycled using our grinding facility into reusable plastic pellets; keeping waste to an absolute minimum.”
Biosite was named as one of The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 companies in 2018 and 2019 and provides best practice solutions that help its construction customers optimise health and safety, efficiency and compliance on site. Biosite’s marketing leading Wireless Fire Alarm system is the only fully EN54 certified system available with an automatic integrity check and zoning function, designed and manufactured in the UK.
Find out more about Counterplas or how our Wireless Fire Alarms could work on your site?
