Winners of the Plastics Industry Awards 2023 were announced on Friday night, Nov. 17, at a black-tie gala evening at the Intercontinental London Park Lane. Presented by Marcus Brigstocke, star of TV and radio, stand-up comedian, actor and writer, the awards recognise the many ways in which plastics product design, manufacture and recycling contribute to successful and sustainable innovation in the UK & Eire.
Jaguar Land Rover featured prominently among this year’s winners after scooping the Best Training and Development Programme award in a collaboration with Engel UK, Resinex, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag and WHS Plastics. Ian Ray, who has pioneered the innovative use of plastics in automotive manufacturing at Jaguar Land Rover for many years was also recognised as Plastics Industry Ambassador.
FSW Design took the Best Product Design with its Holewise construction safety cover, praised by the judges for ticking all the right boxes including innovation, function, durability, safety and sustainability. The Best Recycled Plastic Product went to Zotefoams for its ReZorce® circular packaging, a fully recyclable HDPE mono-material barrier packaging range. This year’s Materials Innovation award went to Denimolite, a new sustainable composite material made from up-cycled waste denim.
The new Rising Star award went to Rowan Fletcher of IPL Global. Cody Etchells of Complexa HPE won the Apprentice or Trainee Award and was awarded a £500 prize by the PMMDA. Sally Bailey of Common Sense PR was recognised as the industry’s Unsung Hero.
Sustainability Initiative of the Year went to Elite Plastics for its comprehensive programme of sustainability initiatives including solar PV generation, energy efficiency improvements and the increased circular use of materials. Greenback Recycling Technologies won the Best Technology Application for its Enval™ microwave pyrolysis technology for chemical recycling of hard-to-recycle flexible plastics. Sierra 57 Consult took Best Business Initiative for its online training need assessment tool.
Plastek UK won the coveted Processor of the Year Award, which looks at overall company performance across a series of different areas, including business growth, technology innovation, environmental custody and community involvement.
Matt Barber, Global Events Director at Crain Communications, which organises the awards said: “Congratulations to all of this year’s winners from across the plastics manufacturing and design industry. The quality of entries was truly outstanding and this year’s winners fully deserve this recognition for the innovation, excellence and sustainability they have demonstrated.”
Platinum Awards Sponsors for the Plastics industry Awards were Engel UK (Processor of the Year and after-show entertainment), Krauss Maffei UK (Sustainability Initiative), Distrupol (Best Product Design), and Arburg Limited (Best Business Initiative and Charity Casino in aid of Myton Hospice). Gold Awards sponsors were Interplas (Prime Machinery and the Champagne Reception). Meusburger (Apprentice or Trainee), PlastikCity (Supplier Partnership – Ancillary Machinery) and Hasco (Supplier Partnerships – Toolmaker).
The awards enjoy the support of multiple industry associations including The BPF (British Plastics Federation), the GTMA, PMMDA (Polymer Machinery Manufacturers & Distributors Association), the SPRA (Scottish Plastics & Rubber Association), and Sustainable Plastics publication, all of whom were represented on the judging panel.
