Returnable packaging supplier, George Utz Ltd has installed two new injection-moulding lines as part of an ongoing capacity growth strategy to meet increasing customer demand.
Output at the company has risen considerably in recent years, with the number of units increasing threefold since 2018, alongside a doubling of the operations team at the company’s Alfreton site. Since production began in the UK back in 2002, the subsidiary’s footprint has continuously expanded to accommodate business growth and the company is currently looking at options to secure further space for future expansion.
“One of our two new Krauss Maffei lines replaces our very first injection-moulding machine,” says Russell Evans, General Manager of George Utz Ltd. “Having gone into operation back in 2006, it had reached the end of its serviceable life. Pleasingly – and testament to our track record of customer satisfaction – both the first and last totes to roll off this line were for the same customer.”
Those first products off the line back in 2006 were customised totes and lids for the automated warehouse of a leading retailer. Every year since, George Utz Ltd has replenished between 30,000 and 60,000 units for the same customer. The production tool has been modified over the years in order to meet the customer’s evolving needs – including last-mile deliveries – and Utz takes back totes at the end of their life for reprocessing into new products for the company.
The new production lines form part of the commitment of the Utz Group – the global market leader for returnable packaging, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year – to sustainability, being not only faster but also using significantly less energy in the process. The latest additions to the site have boosted the production capacity of George Utz Ltd by up to a further 1.2 million totes per year, with the company’s order book already sufficiently full to soak up this additional volume.
“Our growth has benefited from a focus on logistics automation, micro fulfilment and high-density storage systems, which favour our ability to deliver high-quality, large production runs,” explains Russell Evans. “To keep up with demand, our production processes have become much more digitalised and automated over the past four years.” Recent investment has included automation of the handling of pallets to the company’s major machinery, the installation of palletising stations at the end of production lines, the introduction of machine visualisation software and a new warehouse management system for real-time stock control. “We also operate Six Sigma strategies across the factory to continuously improve manufacturing quality,” adds Russell Evans.
As well as standard and bespoke totes for the distribution, food manufacture, catering and other industries, the Utz Group manufactures plastic pallets, pallet boxes, picking bins, component holders, lids, dividers, foam inserts and handles. The firm also offers a range of identification technologies including barcodes, in-mould labelling, foil stamping, stickers and RFID transponders.
George Utz Ltd
t: 01773 543170
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