Best Practice Roundup: ActionPlas

By ActionPlas
schedule14th Nov 19

40 Made in Yorkshire members descended on ActionPlas to network, hear about the company's best practices and to tame a tour of their facilities.

Based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, ActionPlas, who have been trading since 1989, are one of the UK’s leading speciality machinists and suppliers of plastic. Using state-of-the-art CNC and conventional machinery, that members saw on their tour, the company supplies a varying range of speciality machine plastic components to both large and small businesses across the UK and Europe.

ActionPlas currently manufactures products for the food and drink, automotive, pharmaceutical, print, leisure and personal care industries. To those industries, they offer a wide range of services, including:

  • Extensive cost savings in comparison to OEM
  • Reduction in lead times against OEM
  • CNC batch consistency
  • Unique part numbers to assist in the standardisation of purchasing
  • In-house design and prototyping using 3D CAD modelling software
  • Advisory and consultancy service on material selection and specification
  • On-site audits

Leading the talk at the event was the owner of ActionPlas, Chris Wray. Introducing members to the site and company, he started the 60-second round-table introduction, before leading the presentation about ActionPlas’s best practices, which touched upon their target market, apprentices, and how they have worked with fellow Made in Yorkshire members.

During the talk, Chris discussed a number of topics, including how when the company needed help when taking on apprentices, they turned to fellow Made in Yorkshire members, Appris Management Limited for help. In the first year of this collaboration, apprentices would spend 3 days at ActionPlass, and 2 days at Appris before moving to 4 days at ActionPlas and 1 day at Apree in the second year.

After the presentation, the floor was opened to questions, including one member who asked what issues the company has been encountering. In response to the question, Chris states that in general, the one issue they faced, which is related to employing young people, was that when they were faced with the realities of an apprenticeship they often lacked the enthusiasm and energy to undertake one.

Members were then treated to a tour of the factory floor, with a look at CNC machines, including CNC Turning, before seeing the quality and control area when ActionPlas undertake all their final reviews on their products. This focus on quality was reinforced in their presentation when Chris discussed how, with a customers approval, they’ll engrave all of their components so that if a product breaks, the company can simply scan the engravement allowing them to get the exact same design quickly, and efficiently.

Members then concluded the best practice event with the opportunity to network more, with many members using the time to foster releationships between one another.


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