Industrial (Plastics Recycling)

Business need

A major recycling company in the midlands had a major issue when processing plastic scrap for recycling. They use a type of filter to recirculate air in the reprocessing machine. Over time as the process reduces the plastic into smaller and smaller pieces the particles get trapped and block the filter, rendering them useless. Unable to clean them effectively they were discarded after 2 uses at great cost to the company.

Our role

The recycling company found Sonic Solutions online and contacted us hoping we could help. We followed our normal process of enquiring about the contaminant, the material type of the item to be cleaned, and the level of cleanliness required for the next process, followed by a free trial clean.The results from the trial were outstanding and the client was so impressed he quickly sent an entire batch up for us to clean.

The outcome

A HUGE direct cost saving of over £75,300 per annum on replacement filters. On top of these direct cost savings their engineering support manager reported increased productivity totalling over 20% from the recycling lines using the cleaned filter discs compared to the blocked old discs. His only comment on the value of this increased productivity was a smile!

Other reported benefits included;

• Improved quality and consistency of finished product;
• Increased reliability of production output;
• Higher capacity allowing quicker delivery;
• Improved ability to increase output in response to demand;
• Higher customer satisfaction from a more consistent product.

As concluded by the Engineering Manager “All in all a massive win for us, reducing costs and increasing revenue simultaneously in a very competitive market.”