Leaders of the Rehau Group have awarded the team at Rehau UK’s Blaenau Ffestiniog plant two honours for the site’s performance, as part of the polymer supplier’s operations awards.
In the windows division of Rehau Industries’ Operations Awards, which were presented in May, the team at Rehau UK’s north Wales-based facility achieved honours for being most improved site and the best performing plant. The site triumphed against criteria including quality, employee attendance and reliability of delivery, which was matched by production levels that were spurred by the installation of new lamination and co-extrusion lines in 2022.
The prize money of 10,000 Euros is to be reinvested to further improve the working environment at Blaenau Ffestiniog.
“Receiving two awards against stiff competition caps off an excellent year for the site,” said Gwyn Jones, plant director at Blaenau Ffestiniog. “The fact we have bolstered output capacity and expanded our workforce to over 230 employees while maintaining excellent service levels is a real success story for British manufacturing.”
Owain Cunnington, a quality control apprentice working at the site, added: “These achievements are proof of the hard work that everyone at the plant has put in throughout the year, and the willingness of the people to support each other on a daily basis.”
“To be awarded best plant and most improved plant is extremely humbling and demonstrates that our people-first approach is really paying off,” said Dylan Roberts, production manager at Blaenau Ffestiniog.
A key factor in the Blaenau Ffestiniog’s plant’s high performance is its collaboration with the Rehau Group’s UK polymer recycling plant, PVCR, as reported in GGP magazine (see this article). The provision of high-quality polymer processed from discarded frames at Rehau’s Runcorn site combined with the business’ material collection network allows for a closed-loop system.
“As our extrusion, collection and recycling operations take place within this country’s borders, we are able to make additional materials readily available,” Gwyn added. “Alongside reducing potential waste in line with our green objectives, this system allows us to supply material to fabricators quicker, meaning more attractive project deadlines can be given to the customer.
“I have no doubt that this structure had a sizeable impact on our plant’s performance and continued improvement, as well as our overall sustainability.”
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