Beatson Clark invests £10m updating production equipment
UK glass manufacturer anticipates growth in pharmaceutical sector
UK glass manufacturer Beatson Clark is investing £10m in furnace improvements and new high-tech equipment at its plant in Rotherham, South Yorkshire in anticipation of growth in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage sectors over the next 12 to 18 months.
The firm said it had made a successful repair to its amber furnace last December and is planning a complete rebuild of its white flint furnace in July this year.
The firm is also installing new automatic inspection equipment with sidewall, base and top stress detection on four lines. Installation on the other four lines will be complete by early next year.
Beatson Clark is also replacing M machines on all lines with the latest servo-driven multi-inspection machine, which monitors the neck of the bottle, wall thickness and ovality of the glass.
This equipment can also read dot coding, which will enable additional automated inspection and improve traceability of the product, according to the company.
The company plans to add dot coding to all its products to take advantage of this facility.
Beatson Clark will also be upgrading its metal detectors across all lines later this year. As well as detecting metal in the product, the new equipment will isolate affected products and remove them from the waste products that go for recycling.
Beatson Clark’s managing director Tony McLoughlin said the investment is an important part of the company’s long-term strategy for growth.
‘We’re a long-established business but we never stand still,’ he said. ‘We are always thinking about how we can improve our products and processes and constantly looking for new ways to provide a better and more flexible service to our customers.’
As well as improving the production process, Beatson Clark is investing in new design technology. The company has updated its Computer-Aided Design (CAD) system to the latest 3D visualisation software.
