Celebrating 30 Years of Astropol: A Story of Innovation and Sustainability

This year marks a significant milestone for Astropol, a leading manufacturer of bespoke colour and additive masterbatches for the plastics processing industry. We’re thrilled to be celebrating our 30th anniversary, and to take this opportunity to share our story with you.

From Humble Beginnings to Industry Leadership

Astropol’s journey began in 1994, founded by Brian French with a vision to address the challenge of plastic waste. Recognising the potential of recycled PVC plastic, French established the company to re-compound and revitalise this material, a practice that is now commonplace in today’s circular economy.

While initial limitations led to a strategic shift, French’s innovative spirit and understanding of the market led him to focus on producing PVC-based colour and additive masterbatches. This marked the beginning of Astropol’s specialization in bespoke solutions for the PVC processing industry, laying the foundation for our future growth.

A Team Effort: Innovation and Expertise

The arrival of Brian Hughes in the mid-90s brought extensive technical and commercial expertise to the table. Together with French, they steered the company towards bespoke PVC masterbatches, initially targeting the flexible PVC market. Their product offering soon expanded to encompass a wider range of applications.

Following French’s passing, Brian Hughes, along with his business partner Patricia Gotheridge, acquired Astropol. Under Hughes’ leadership, the company expanded its focus to include the rigid PVC market, developing innovative masterbatches for window profiles and pipe extrusion.

In 2001, Chris Wright, a fellow graduate chemist, joined Astropol. Combined with Hughes, Wright’s expertise and vision further strengthened the company’s technical capabilities and market reach within the rigid PVC sector. His contributions significantly impacted Astropol’s growth, culminating in his management buyout in 2008.

Looking to the Future: Sustainability and Growth

Since then, Astropol has witnessed significant growth, investing in production capacity, expanding its facilities, and building a team of highly skilled professionals. This dedication has solidified our position as a leading supplier of bespoke colour and additive masterbatches, both in the UK and internationally.

Our commitment to innovation extends beyond PVC. In 2018, we diversified our offerings to include bespoke masterbatches for all commodity and engineering polymer applications. This move reflects our focus on partnerships, technical competency, and exceptional service, ensuring we remain at the forefront of the ever-evolving plastics industry.

As Astropol celebrates its 30th anniversary, we look to the future with unwavering dedication to sustainable practices, technical excellence, partnerships and service exceeding customer expectations. We’re excited for what the next chapter holds, and we thank you for being a part of our journey.

The Advantages of Using Masterbatch in the Polymer Industry

The world of plastics manufacturing is constantly evolving, and innovations in materials and processes play a crucial role in meeting the demands of various industries. One such innovation is the use of masterbatch, a solid additive that has become indispensable in the polymer industry. In this blog, we’ll explore what masterbatch is and delve into the numerous advantages it offers to manufacturers and processors.

What is Masterbatch?

A masterbatch (MB) is a solid additive used for colouring (colour masterbatch) or imparting other properties (additive masterbatch) to plastics. These masterbatches are concentrated mixtures of pigments and/or additives encapsulated in a carrier matrix, such as resin or wax. The resulting mixture is cooled and processed into granules or left as a bulk solid. Masterbatches are designed to make colouring plastics more cost-effective for secondary processors.

Advantages of Using Masterbatch

1. Improved Dispersion

One of the significant challenges in polymer processing is ensuring even dispersion of additives or colorants throughout the material. Masterbatches solve this problem by providing a premixed composition with proper dispersion. This ensures uniform colouration and consistent property enhancement in the final product.

2. Cost Efficiency

Masterbatches offer cost savings in multiple ways. Manufacturers can keep stock of fewer polymer grades and purchase bulk quantities of natural polymers at lower costs. The concentrated nature of masterbatches allows for higher accuracy when dosing expensive additives, reducing waste and overall production costs.

3. High Let-Down Ratios

Masterbatches are highly concentrated, with the potential for high “let-down ratios.” For example, 25 kg of masterbatch can be used to compound one ton of natural polymer. This dilute nature makes them ideal for accurately dosing small amounts of additives, enhancing both cost-efficiency and precision in production.

4. Extended Shelf Life

Solid masterbatches are solvent-free, which means they have longer shelf lives compared to additives in liquid form. There’s no risk of solvent evaporation, ensuring the masterbatch retains its properties over time.

5. Versatility in Application

Masterbatches can be used in most polymer processing methods, making them versatile for various manufacturing processes. Whether it’s injection moulding, extrusion, or blow molding, masterbatches can be incorporated to enhance properties and aesthetics.

6. Customisation

Manufacturers can tailor masterbatches to their specific requirements. This customisation allows for the creation of unique colour shades or the incorporation of specialised additives to meet the demands of different industries and applications.

7. Improved Physical Properties

Masterbatch can significantly enhance the physical properties of plastic products. These improvements include increased toughness, flexural stiffness, adhesion, printability, and even permanent electrical conductivity when required.

8. Process Efficiency

Using masterbatch simplifies the manufacturing process by eliminating the need for on-site compounding from raw materials. This streamlines production, reduces labour costs, and minimises the risk of errors in compounding.

In the ever-evolving polymer industry, masterbatch has emerged as a game-changer, offering a multitude of advantages to manufacturers. From cost savings and improved dispersion to enhanced physical properties and customisation options, masterbatch has proven to be a valuable asset in achieving higher efficiency and quality in polymer processing. As technology continues to advance, it’s likely that masterbatch will play an even more critical role in shaping the future of plastics manufacturing.

Come and see us on Stand 29 at the world’s leading PVC conference in Edinburgh 15th-18th April.

The conference is bringing together industry professionals from across the globe with over 500 delegates representing 44 countries attending.

Experience a comprehensive program featuring exceptional speakers and gain insights into the latest PVC trends.

Click here to register https://www.iom3.org/events-awards/pvc-2024.html

New growth in the business is being backed by the appointment of personnel in key areas, and a commitment to supporting young people through employment.

Brexit and Covid-19 have impacted many businesses these past 18 months. Astropol adjusted to the challenges. With attention on providing customers with a reliable service in difficult times the company has seen new growth. A Finance and Commercial Manager has been appointed to oversee this continued progress. In addition, through a partnership with Wigan and Leigh College, an apprenticeship scheme has been started to support an Engineering Apprentice – giving an employment opportunity to a young person.

In July the button was pressed that switched the IT functions of Astropol over to a new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system.

This exciting development was only possible after a two-year gruelling evaluation, tendering, scoping and implementation process that involved all departments and everyone in the business. The successful application of this resource is part of the commitment of the company to LEAN principles – a key aspect of which is giving value (in all senses of the word) to the customer. The ERP system provides coordinated data across the business from production to sales and marketing (CRM), and is an integral step on our journey to industry Manufacturing 4.0.

Covid-19 set businesses a real test from the spring of last year. Brexit had been going on for years but was coming to a head. Astropol has tackled both and done its best to ‘control the uncontrollable’.

Although Covid-19 impacted the business during the first wave (April/May 2020) Astropol remained open and continued to produce bespoke colour masterbatches and additives. As manufacturing in the UK and abroad (particularly in the building markets) was allowed to continue, by strictly following government guidelines in the workplace, Astropol has been able to continue in full operation.

The Brexit arrangements with Europe removed major concerns about extra duties and tariffs. Now it is a question of managing the extra paperwork involved and allowing for potential challenges in material availability. Astropol has been proactive in this regard and stocks have been brought in early to maintain customer service levels. Also, the company’s established expertise and knowledge in the field of import-export means that it is well placed to pro-actively handle the additional administrative work that is required under these new circumstances.

We are working into 2021 with a positive approach, since Covid vaccinations give everyone some real hope for a return to whatever ‘normal’ will be!

Even through tough lockdown periods, Astropol has continued to follow a course of positive development. Vinyl and Non-vinyl manufacturers have continued to need colour masterbatches and additives.

As a result, since late 2020 and into 2021 new roles have arisen within the organisation and Astropol has responded with the following appointments:

• An additional laboratory technician with quality assurance responsibilities.
• A compliance specialist to help with the journey towards LEAN processes.
• A technician to work on developments for bespoke new enquiries.
• An additional production planner to maintain the smooth workflow of orders.
• An experienced technical sales development specialist to convert new business opportunities.

These appointments reflect the progress the business is still able to make despite these challenging Covid times.

Please contact us on either 01942 254 006 or using our Contact Form here.