Romiley Board

Source: Manufacturing Digital

Date :13/11/2007 11:31:16

With European manufacturing industries constantly developing, Exec UK learns how Romiley Board Mill is looking to become more efficient and change with the times.

Written by John O'Hanlon and Produced by Ben Weaver

Owned by Preston Board and Packaging, Romiley Board Mill is a family owned business that focuses on recycling waste paper into cardboard products of between 500 to 1250 microns. This can be in the form of cardboard sheets, tubes, coils and edge protection. However, a portion is sold to its parent company, which primarily uses the recycled materials for packaging.

John Johnson, General Manager, and Nick Hardman, Sales Manager, explain that in recent years the company has been making moves to develop its business; it has been increasing efficiency and capacity by investing in new equipment.

Mr Hardman provides details of the current output of the mill and its supply chain. He says: “The fabric we make is 100 percent recycled. If we make 40,000 tons of cardboard in a year, we will probably use 43—44,000 tons of waste paper. We source about 15 percent, which is often the waste of our customers; we buy any scrap or surplus that they might have. The rest we buy from waste paper merchants.”

He goes on to explain that waste paper is now a commodity product, which means that the Mill has to source its materials from whoever can offer the best quality products at the best price. This price is often affected by the actions of China.

Reducing costs

The Sales Manager states: “China buys a big chunk of the UK’s waste paper. The price has actually crept up over the last few years, because although there’s more paper being recycled in the UK, there’s also more being exported.” And obviously, China’s demands for this waste paper can make unit price fluctuate. John Johnson says that the price of waste paper has actually increased by ten percent in the last twelve months.

In order to cope with this increase in price, the company has looked at many options in order to avoid passing the cost onto the customer. Nick Hardman explains that although the Mill does not have a dedicated R & D department, there is a management team, led by John Johnson, which oversees the relevance of change. “John’s background is in engineering, so a lot of his efforts are focused on looking at process efficiency development. If we can save on the cost of manufacturing, this has an impact on revenues without putting prices up.”

Mr Johnson picks up on this, and provides details of recent improvements: “Within the last 18 months output from the board machine has increased by ten percent. Not only that, but in the last twelve months we have reduced the amount of energy we use per ton of waste paper and decreased the amount of waste that goes to landfill.”

A local business

The vast majority of the company’s output is sold within the UK, with 50 percent going to parent company, Preston Board and Packaging. Only a five percent portion is exported to the Middle East, Northern Europe and the Republic of Ireland, because cardboard is a bulky and low cost product and it is not economically viable to export more than this.

The goods are all manufactured in accordance with the ISO 9001 quality assurance certificate. This was in response to customer demands and recognition that the system would add value to its cardboard products. The system is widely recognised and offers potential customers reassurance that products will be up to standard.

Mr Hardman explains the company also offers quality to its employees: “We have about 100 people working here in Romiley, while around 60 work for Preston. We’re one of the largest employers in the region, and one of the last manufacturers. There are a lot of second and third generation employees here. This is because we try to be a kind, generous and sympathetic employer. Locally, we’re a relatively good payer and we have a good company sick pay scheme. We have very good company loyalty.”

The company also offers a good shift package. Nick Hardman explains: “Workers do four twelve-hour day shifts, followed by four full days off, which is then followed by four twelve-hour night shifts. So, although they work longer shifts, they get to spend more time away from work — which seems very popular!”

Investing in development

The nature of the board machine and its use of waste paper also means that the company is increasingly environmentally friendly, especially considering that the mill is attempting to reduce the levels of energy that it uses.

John Johnson explained that it has signed the Paper Industry Climate Change Levy Agreement, which means that it is committed to reducing carbon emissions. Not only that, but Nick Hardman explains that the plant is situated in a residential area, so reducing all types of emission into the surrounding community is something that the company is constantly looking at.

“Part of running a business,” Mr. Hardman says, “is maintaining a relationship with the community and not causing conflict.” This is something that the Mill feels strongly about, and works closely with the local Environment Agency to combat.

John Johnson explains that significant investments have also been made in the past. “We’ve put two new boilers in, which are highly efficient.” This was at a cost of £750,000, but they recoup their costs because they use less energy per ton of cardboard manufacture. There have also been investments made in variable speed drives.

In 2008 the company is looking to spend in the region of £100,000 on investments into site development; improving on productivity rates and waste. £400,000 is being invested into new loading areas and site logistics, while £700,000 is being spent on improving equipment and the board machine.

As such, Romiley Board Mill looks set to continue with its strategy of ongoing improvement, while acquiring new equipment and technology from other companies. Other significant plans are for securing a supply of waste paper. Nick Hardman says that this is something that the company is looking at seriously, either through setting up facilities of its own, or by acquiring an existing company. He states that the paper industry is constantly evolving, and that manufacturers must make these changes and adapt in order to survive: “If we did not invest and simply stood still we would go out of business.”