Blog | Future of Plastic Manufacturing

Plastika Skaza’s success story started in 1977 and is nowhere near over. Throughout the years, our plastic company has been growing and developing, becoming better and better, always doing our best to exceed expectations. Our responsible attitude towards our employees, our clients and the world around us has always been the driving force behind our constant progress, and we are proud to be able to say that we are consistently reaching our goals when it comes to finding inspiring solutions, bravely creating innovative new products, developing a new approach to circular economy and leading the way in the field of sustainable development. Today, we take a look at where it all started and which were the most significant milestones in our journey.

Starting out in a garage

It may be a cliché, but like many other successful companies nowadays Plastika Skaza also started its path to excellence in a tiny garage. The first real production plant covered only 350 square meters, but has since grown by 44 times and today covers more than 15.400 square meters. We also employ 50 times more people today than we did when we first started out, not to mention the fact that our machine park has grown significantly both in terms of size as well as advancements in technology. Our plastic company has thus come a long way since starting out in a small garage.

Moving on to the first production plant

Our plastic company grew quickly and it wasn’t long before it outgrew the garage in which it started its journey. We established our first production plant in 1985 and it soon grew from the first 150 square meters to 350 square meters. In the six years from 1985 to 1991, we doubled both the number of employees from 6 to 12 as well as the size of our machine park from 5 to 10.

Our main achievements during this period of time have been first moving from the garage into an actual production plant, and later on growing, expanding and renovating our production facilities.

A decade of rapid growth

The decade between 1997 and 2007 has been marked by rapid growth of our plastic company. We started the decade with a production plant of 1.520 square meters, which grew to 2.000 square meters by 2004 and more than doubled its size to 3.810 square meters by 2007. The machine park grew quickly as well – from 20 machines in 2000, 23 in 2004 to 38 in 2007. The numbers of our greatest asset, our employees, also grew rapidly during this time: we started out with a team of 42 in 2000 and grew all the way to 93 by 2007.

This rapid growth enabled a number of important achievements during this key decade of our development. Both Igor Skaza and Tanja Skaza joined the company in this period, and under their leadership, our plastic company made some important steps forward. New technologies, new departments and new facilities have all paved the way to receiving the ISO 14001:2004 certificate, confirming our dedication to a more sustainable plastics production process.

2010 and beyond

Our plastic company continued to grow and develop in new, innovative ways. 2012 started with a production plant of 3.810 square meters, 44 machines and 180 employees. By 2022, our production plant covers 15.400 square meters and boasts 51 state-of-the-art machines, and our team includes more than 280 highly motivated and skilled individuals that work hard every day to bring our processes to a higher level.

During this time, we have developed a number of our own brands, such as Bokashi Organko, Bokashi Organico, Skaza, Style Your Life and Cuisine. We have also attained a number of certifications, such as the ISO 9001:2008, ISO 45001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and BS OHSAS 18001:2007, to name just a few.

What’s next?

We are ready for the future. Our brave vision, extensive knowledge and amazing technological capabilities enable us to confidently step into a new era and raise our plastic company to a whole new level.

We are becoming a leading company in the field of creating and manufacturing innovative products made with next generation plastic materials. But it is not only our high quality products and advanced solutions that set us apart from the competition. One of our main goals is always to provide a reliable, comprehensive service that is available to our clients every step of the way. This makes us a great plastic company to work with, and we are certain we will continue to prove that day after day.

Sustainability has always been an important part of our story and we take our contribution to improving sustainable development in the plastics industry very seriously. Our role here is extremely important: we have the power to create innovative plastics than our customers can use and thus significantly reduce the environmental footprint of their production. This is why we are constantly working on developing new, innovative plastics materials that meet the high requirements of our clients as well as fulfill our strict environmental standards.

Today, we will talk about a special new product we have developed for one of our clients, a large multinational company that sells a wide range of different home furnishing products. Just like Skaza, they are also dedicated to moving their processes towards increased sustainability. In order to reach this goal, they have decided to use our new, innovative plastics materials, made from 100% recycled granulate, in a completely automated production process. This is a big and important step that will significantly change their environmental footprint, but the project itself represents an important precedent in many different ways. Let’s take a look.

Fully automated production process for increased efficiency and sustainability

The production process behind our new innovative plastics product is one of the key reasons why this is such an important advancement in terms of sustainability.

The entire production process is completely automated, which significantly improves the efficiency of the process. This helps save precious time and materials, as automated production lines lower the cost of production and increase the productivity of the line. This brings the production line to its maximal potential as well as improves the reliability of the production line and increases the stability of the quality of the final products.

While all this brings many important benefits for both the client as well as the vendor, the main benefit of a fully automated production process is the fact that this highly controlled production process reduces energy consumption, decreases loss of energy and heat, reduces floor space requirements and helps conserve resources, thus significantly decreasing the environment footprint of both the production process and the final product.

An updated machine park to help us reach our goals

In order to be able to completely automate the production process and ensure the highest level of quality for every single product, we also made a significant investment in our machine park. Our new injection molding machines guarantee complete control over the plastics molding process. The machines are capable of automatically adjusting the molding parameters to ensure the highest quality of every single product piece.

While the investment in our new machines was significant, we are certain that it will bring our production processes to a much higher level and more than compensate for the higher initial cost. Apart from that, this very high level of control over the production process also ensures a more sustainable manufacturing line, as it reduces the number of plastic waste generated in the process.

Last but definitely not least: no more single-use plastics

Perhaps the most important and breakthrough part of this project is not the use of innovative plastics solutions, but the complete removal of single-use plastics from the packaging. This was also our main contribution to the project and perhaps the part that impressed our client the most.

Instead of using single-use plastics that is normally widely used in packaging of small items and often ends up polluting our planet, we packed all small parts in environmentally friendly cardboard and paper boxes, bags and other containers that can be easily recycled.

We are sure that this precedent will importantly influence the plastics industry and help move things in the right direction. We are also certain that our client, one of the biggest companies in the world, will gradually replace all its single-use plastics packaging for this more sustainable and easily recyclable option.

If your company is also interested in moving towards a more sustainable production process and eliminating single-use plastics, get in touch and we will do our best to find a solution that perfectly fits your needs.

Sustainable industry of plastic manufacturing is a very quick-changing field. We see new developments every day and it is important for us to stay up to date with the latest trends in the industry. But apart from following the latest trends, we also chose to create them. Our teams do their best every single day to come up with new ideas that further advance our plastics manufacturing processes and bring us another step closer to our goal – sustainable industry.

Today, we will take a look at some of the trends that are changing plastics production processes and making plastics a more sustainable industry.

Using post-consumer recycled resin in our production processes

Post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials are basically materials that have been extracted from waste separation. Waste from cities and companies is gathered in waste treatment centers where it is manually separated, as different types of thermoplastics on the market may vary in different characteristics. Manufacturing products made with post-consumer recycled materials thus closes the loop as it directs used plastics away from landfills and towards recycling facilities.

Using post-consumer recycled resin brings sustainability of plastics manufacturing to a much higher level, but it also brings a number of other benefits. It offers higher ROI and better margins, and it is more regulatory-friendly. Apart from that, it also enables better branding and better customer relations by fulfilling consumer demands for more sustainable products.

Key account management (KAM) teams

At Skaza, we do our best to always ensure the highest possible optimization of our processes. This is one of the reasons why we established special key account management teams that basically function as an extension of our customers within our company. These teams take care of absolutely everything that our client needs and as such bring our business relations to a higher level, significantly improve the quality of communication throughout the production process, help save time both on our and the client’s end and enable our company and our processes to adapt to the client’s needs on an even higher level.

When everything is this organized and running this smoothly, there is enough room and time left to think about the changes we want to implement and the impact we want to have on the environment. Because the basic needs of the production process are so well taken care of, we can give more of our attention to creating even more sustainable industry processes.

Automated production lines

Automated production lines bring a number of important benefits, such as time and cost optimization, as well as improve the quality of the final products. But in terms of a sustainable industry, they also represent an important advancement when it comes to the impact on our planet.

Automation of the production lines optimizes the entire production process to the highest possible level, thus creating significantly less waste. Apart from that, it also reduces energy consumption, decreases loss of energy and heat, reduces floor space requirements and helps conserve resources. All this significantly decreases the environmental footprint of our production processes and ensures a more sustainable industry practice.

Implementing modern information technology solutions

Modern, cutting-edge information technologies (IT) have completely transformed the manufacturing industry and at the same time enabled greater automation and production efficiency. The EcoTrail project, part of our sustainable portfolio, aims to implement these modern technologies with two main objectives.

The first one is to develop a system that is able to accurately assess the environmental impact of our products and communicate it to our customers in a clear and transparent manner. The second one is to develop and implement a whole range of Industry 4.0 IT solutions, which will enable us to increase the productivity and efficiency of our production processes.

Developing and using new sustainable materials

All our R&D projects are focused mainly on developing sustainable solutions that help minimize the negative impact of plastics on the environment. In order to do that, we are constantly developing new, innovative materials that help us achieve our goals in terms of sustainable industry.

Projects such as the BioSeedPack and transparent recycled polycarbonate (RTPSOS) represent an important step forward towards developing new, more sustainable materials and using them in our production processes.

We have come far in terms of creating a more sustainable industry, but our journey is in no way complete. We will continue to work towards greener manufacturing processes, both by following new, exciting trends in the field as well as creating new ones ourselves. We hope you will join us on this journey.

The field of plastic manufacturing is evolving rapidly. New materials and technologies are developed every day, and many of them bring new and exciting sustainable solutions. At Skaza, we are dedicated to making our production processes as sustainable as possible, so we do our best to follow the latest trends in the field. Today, we would like to introduce you to 5 sustainable solutions we have been using in our production processes.

Post-consumer recycled plastic

Post-consumer recycled plastic is one of the most sustainable solutions in plastics manufacturing. It offers all the benefits of standard plastic but has a higher ROI and is more regulatory-friendly. However, its main advantage is definitely its long-term sustainability.

This is an essential aspect from the environmental point of view, but it also brings other benefits, such as better branding, increased economic value, and improved customer relations.

3D Printing

One of the most exciting sustainable solutions we use at Skaza is definitely 3D printing. 3D printing is a technology that brings many obvious benefits: it is quick, simple, and convenient. It allows our clients to see, feel and test a live prototype of their product. This enables them and us to make all necessary changes at a fraction of the usual cost and create a genuinely optimal final product.

But 3D printing also brings essential benefits in terms of improved sustainability. It can be done locally, which reduces the need to transport materials and final products. It can be done using many different environmentally friendly materials. It also reduces the number of materials used in the production processes, sometimes up to 50%, compared to traditionally produced items. Apart from that, it also has a lot less waste – 3D printing only uses the exact required amount of specific material to create the final product, making it one of the most efficient and sustainable solutions in our field.

Use of energy in our machine park

In the past couple of years, our machine park has experienced extensive modernization. New machines have been safely installed in our production facilities to help improve our production processes and bring our final products to an even higher level. But while this renovation enables us to achieve better results, improve our productivity and increase our customers' satisfaction, it also brings some far more critical changes.

Our updated machine park also brings significant environmental changes, as our new electrical machines have a much less negative impact on the environment. All our energy comes from 100% renewable sources, thus ensuring an even more sustainable and nature-friendly production process.

Regardless of that, we still do our best to reduce the energy consumption in our machine park. One of the methods that we use to help reduce our energy consumption is a system for heat circulation across production plants that helps us save a considerable amount of energy.

Automated product lines

Automated product lines offer several essential benefits in the field of plastic manufacturing. First and foremost, they lower the cost of production and increase the line's productivity, thus bringing the production lines to their maximum potential. By eliminating the human factor, they also increase the line's reliability and guarantee a stable quality of the products.

But all this also brings benefits to the environment. A highly controlled production process reduces energy consumption, decreases energy and heat loss, reduces floor space requirements, and helps conserve resources.

Storage box

Pansertax is one of the newest and most innovative sustainable solutions developed by Skaza. It reduces the need for single-use plastic, which is usually widely used in packaging small items. By replacing single-use plastic bags and other packaging with more environmentally friendly cardboard and paper boxes, bags, and other containers, we are taking another important step towards one of our most important goals – a more sustainable future.

We are excited that many of our clients have already joined us in this venture, and we are sure many more will do so in the nearest future.

Plastic injection molding technology can be found almost everywhere these days. Why has it become so popular? Mainly because there are many advantages of injection molding, such as its affordable price, incredible versatility, and excellent precision, to name just a few. Today, we will take a more detailed look at the many advantages of injection molding.

Amazing cost efficiency

Reduction of production costs is always one of the main objectives in any industry, and plastics manufacturing is no exception. One of the perhaps most essential advantages of injection molding is the fact that it guarantees a significant reduction of labor costs, thanks to the completely automated production process. This significantly cuts the overall production costs, but it is not the only reason behind the cost efficiency of injection molding.

Another essential advantage of injection molding is that the entire process is precise and accurate. This eliminates the need to recreate parts, reduces the amount of waste, and as well as shortens manufacturing times, thus lowering associated costs.

Fast and efficient production processes

Things are happening quickly in the world nowadays, and it is essential that your business can keep up. One of the main advantages of injection molding is its ability to quickly and efficiently manufacture final products. Once the molds are prepared, the production process is speedy, even with mass quantities, making it an excellent choice for everyone who needs to have their products ready quickly.

The product development timeline is, therefore, significantly shorter, the production cycles are faster, and getting parts to market is much quicker, which is an essential competitive advantage for most businesses.

Flexible and versatile design options

One of the essential advantages of injection molding is definitely the fact that plastic injection molding offers a lot of flexibility in terms of design. This is an attractive characteristic for both clients and manufacturers, as it enables a wide choice of different materials, colors, and finishes. It also allows combinations of different types of plastics to be used simultaneously to alter basic plastic properties and create just the kind of product we need.

This kind of freedom and flexibility of design is a significant advantage compared to traditional molding techniques, providing the choice of the best possible materials in terms of tensile strength, impact strength, water absorption, heat deflection, and flexural modulus of elasticity.

Precise results, even with the most complex products

One of the advantages of injection molding compared to other, more conventional molding techniques is the extremely high precision level of production, even when it comes to the most complexly designed products. It is also possible to add many details, and because the process is entirely automated, the production process remains relatively inexpensive compared to conventional techniques.

Enhanced strength of the products

Strength is one of the key factors we must consider when designing plastic products, and the fact is that both the strength and durability of plastic have improved significantly in recent years. Today’s lightweight plastics are on par with most metal parts. In some cases, they can even outperform them. Using plastic injection molding enables us to create high-performance blends and hybrids that meet even the highest, most specific requirements from our clients.

Sustainability of the production processes

Last but definitely not least, one of the critical advantages of injection molding is its sustainability. Plastic injection molding extremely efficiently reduces the amount of waste and the number of materials needed in the production process itself, thus decreasing plastic pollution and helping conserve natural habitats.

At Skaza, we are committed to following sustainable practices in our production processes and looking to improve the sustainability of our manufacturing process every day. This is one of the reasons we follow the latest trends and advancements in the field of plastic injection molding and use state-of-the-art machinery, thus using all advantages of injection molding to help us create a healthier environment for all of us.

Implementation of sustainable materials into our products is a responsible and challenging task. In one of the previous articles, we have described in-depth how we choose the materials for our products. While our research & development department boasts extensive knowledge that helps ensure optimal material selection, we still outsource certain services when we implement new materials in order to further improve final results.

Download our e-book about the sustainable materials we use in our manufacturing process >>

Many material characteristics can be assessed from the technical data sheets provided by the material manufacturers and with the help of past experiences of our engineers. However, often information on certain properties that are required for a specific product are not provided by the manufacturer and need to be evaluated.

Evaluating Material Properties in Implementation of Sustainable Materials

The knowledge of how the material will behave over its lifetime in a specific application is certainly one of the many properties that are of paramount importance and can’t be provided by the material manufacturer, since the behavior is highly dependent on many different factors, such as product design and conditions of use. To evaluate such unknown material properties, we collaborate with research institutions, such as the Faculty of Polymer Technology (FTPO) from Slovenj Gradec.

The Faculty of Polymer Technology possesses in-depth knowledge on polymeric materials and their characterization as well as state-of-the-art equipment for testing of polymers. There, material characterization is done using advanced instrumental analytical techniques, such as dynamic mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and different techniques for determining the mechanical behavior of the materials.

Using LCA to Improve the Process of Implementation of Sustainable Materials

When the material lifetime prediction is in question, the above-mentioned techniques are coupled with various accelerated weathering procedures, which allow us to quickly evaluate how the material will behave over its lifetime. These advanced material characterization techniques also come in handy if we face challenges in production, as they provide an in-depth insight into the material behavior during the production processes.

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool we use for the evaluation of different materials in the early design phase. With LCA, we evaluate how our design and material choices will influence the environmental impact of the product. Material choice has a large impact on the product's environmental footprint in different phases, all the way from the resource extraction, material production, transportation, production, product use and its end of life.

As LCA is a complex analysis that requires expert knowledge, we collaborate in this field with the Faculty for mechanical engineering of the University in Ljubljana, which employs world-class experts in this field.

Changes in the Production Processes due to Implementation of Sustainable Materials

Another important consideration in the implementation of sustainable materials is how it will influence the production process. In this regard, there are complex, interdependent relationships between the part design, material, mold design, machine, processing parameters and resulting quality characteristics.

When we are implementing a new material for a product, we have to think holistically about all those aspects. Numerical injection molding simulations are an indispensable tool in this context, as they allow us to predict how a certain material will behave during the production process of the part. Data obtained by injection simulations enables us to make informed design decisions that will ensure optimal part quality, productivity and final price. In this area, we are cooperating with Slovenian Tool and Die Development Center Tecos, which performs structural and process simulations and provides us with additional guidance on part and mold design.

Joining forces with these research institutions helps us achieve significantly better results when it comes to the implementation of sustainable materials into our production processes, thus enabling us to provide our clients with improved products at a more competitive price.

Find out more about how we incorporate sustainable materials into our production process. Fill in the form and download the e-book with educational content.

Being good at what you do is a combination of several different factors, and the same is true in plastic contract manufacturing. While our extensive machine park and access to top-notch materials are important factors for our company's success, our main and most important asset is our people. A team of experts in different fields of plastic contract manufacturing plays a key role in helping us reach our goals and our clients' goals. Today, we would like to introduce you to the four main job profiles that work hard every day to find the best possible solutions for our clients.

Contact us to find out more. Send us an inquiry >>

Business Development Manager

Our business development managers are experts in business and economics, and as such they play an important part in developing our business ventures. They possess the following characteristics that enable them to be great at their job:

• They have excellent communication skills and can fully understand our client's needs.
• They have superb analytical skills and can solve problems and manage any issues that may arise.
• They are familiar with the specifics of the plastic contract manufacturing field and keep in touch with the newest developments in the industry.
• They are innovative and creative and can always think outside the box to find the best solutions for our clients.
• They can move quickly and adapt to new circumstances in no time, which is a must in the fast-paced environment of plastic contract manufacturing.

Technology Development Manager

Our technology development managers have a degree in engineering, electrical engineering, or a similar field and play a key role in continually bringing our technological capabilities to a higher level. The main characteristics they possess are:

• They have in-depth knowledge of plastic injection molding and always follow the latest advancements.
• They are excellent communicators and can present the most complex technical subjects understandably.
• They are familiar with the ISO and the clients' standards to ensure things are always in accordance with the regulations.
• They are well-versed in a number of software solutions that play a key role in the field of technology development.
• They are confident and daring and are never afraid to try something new if it could bring significant advancement to the project.

Quality Technologist

Most of our quality technologists have degrees in engineering or electrical engineering, and they play a key role in assuring our and the clients' quality standards are always met. Their most important characteristics are:

• They have excellent attention to detail, which enables them always to maintain the highest standard of quality in our manufacturing processes.
• They possess in-depth knowledge on assessing risks, recognizing potential issues, and setting up systems to prevent such issues.
• They are well-versed in standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, IWAY, ISO 13485 as well as customer demands, customer-specific requirements, and all relevant regulations, and are able to implement them in our production processes.

• They are familiar with all important methods and systems used in the field of plastic contract manufacturing.
• They have great communication skills and are able to work closely with others to implement all necessary changes and thus further improve our production processes.

Development Technologist Specialist

Our development technologist specialists have a degree in technical fields and play a crucial role in planning and supervising all parts of the injection molding process. For that, they need the following characteristics:

• They have in-depth tool construction knowledge and relevant experience in the field.
• They are well-versed in creating and reading technical documentation and are able to work independently when needed.
• They are familiar with all the necessary standards and tools that are used in plastic contract manufacturing.
• They have good communication skills and can work closely with other members of the team as well as with our external partners to ensure the best possible results.
• They are able to support other teams when it comes to technical issues and are able to present complex technical topics in an understandable manner.

Our team is the driving force of our success and the main reason why Skaza is listed among the most inspiring companies year after year. Company values that we as employees implement and live every single day are the source of our added value and the reason behind our competitive position in the market. Our mission remains to continue inventing and producing sustainable solutions for everyday use that play an important part in creating a cleaner environment, and our employees are a crucial part of that plan.

Looking for a partner who will manage high demands in manufacturing plastic products? Get a quote and become our partner.

Plastic injection molding has become an indispensable part of the plastics industry's production processes and has been an important part of Skaza's manufacturing process for many years now. The fact is that plastic injection molding has many crucial benefits that bring important advancements in the field of plastics manufacturing, such as cost-effective, high-quality production, among others. Let's take a look at two key questions: what is plastic injection molding, and how does Skaza use it to provide our clients with the best possible results?

Contact us to find out more. Send us an inquiry >>

What Is Plastic Injection Molding?

Plastic injection molding is basically a process in which plastic pellets are first melted and then, once they become malleable enough, injected at pressure into a mold. The plastic then solidifies and becomes the final product. Plastic injection molding is most commonly used in mass-production processes, especially when the same part must be created repeatedly. Injection molding can be used to make various widely used products and has significantly changed the field of plastics manufacturing.

The History of Plastic Injection Molding

When thinking of the great inventions that changed the course of history, we rarely think about things such as plastic production techniques, including plastic injection molding. But the fact is that the world we live in, the goods and tools we use every day would not be possible without it. The invention of plastic injection molding has changed the plastics industry as well as significantly improved and diversified the possibilities for the design and application of plastics.

American brothers John and Isaiah Hyatt are known as the pioneers of injection molding processes. They patented the very first injection molding machine back in 1872. A first, this machine was used to mold buttons, combs and similar items. This represented an important milestone in the industrial revolution, and the plastics manufacturing industry quickly took off after that.

In the decades that followed, various inventors from all over the world contributed their share towards further developing the plastic injection molding process.

When many popular thermoplastics, such as polyolefins, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride, were invented in the 1930s, plastic injection molding processes took off. Later on, after WWII, plastics filled the gap of material shortages in a number of industries, and plastic production spread over the entire world.

What Are the Main Benefits of Plastic Injection Molding?

When speaking about what is plastic injection molding, it is important to highlight that it offers a number of benefits, the first one being the low cost of production after the initial cost of setting things up. The price per unit during the process of injection molding is extremely low compared to other manufacturing techniques and can further drop as more and more parts are produced. This enables us to manufacture high-quality products at a low cost, thus ensuring high profits for our clients. The process of plastic injection molding, once set up, is also very fast, making it possible to create new products quickly and without delays.

Another important benefit is that the scrap rates are relatively low with injection molding. This is crucial not only from the cost perspective, but also because it is more environmentally friendly. Apart from that, injection molding is also a very reliable and repeatable process, which means that all further parts are practically identical to the first produced part. This helps ensure brand consistency and part reliability, especially in high-volume production.

Are There Any Downsides to Plastic Injection Molding?

When speaking about what is plastic injection molding, we must note that it, like any other process, also has some downsides you should consider when making the final decision. The first and most important downside is that the upfront costs can be very high, which is why plastic injection molding is not the best choice for smaller production runs. Also, because the costs of setup are so high, any minor mistake in this part of the process can significantly increase the entire production costs. Therefore, avoiding any design errors is crucial, and it is important to know that any design changes can also cause high additional costs.

Another challenge with plastic injection molding is also that the initial setup time can be quite long, and there's also the fact that the process itself has some design limitations, so it is not suitable for all products. However, by using the most advanced technologies and combining multiple manufacturing techniques, we are usually able to overcome most of these issues.

How Does Skaza Use Plastic Injection Molding?

At Skaza, we are experts in contract manufacturing of a number of different products in various industries, such as electro, medical, furniture and many others. We specialize in overmolding and multi-injection technology (2K and 3K), using the most advanced techniques to provide our clients with the best possible results.

Our vast and modernly equipped machine park features machines with clamping forces from 50T to 1000T and shot capacity up to 7300 ccm. Our technological capabilities, combined with our innovative thinking and continuous efforts to improve our production processes, make us an excellent partner for your most demanding requirements.

Looking for a partner who will manage high demands in manufacturing plastic products? Get a quote and become our partner.

The action of recycling plastics is able to produce a substantial difference, and customers need to comprehend the favorable impact of recycling from the ecological and financial point of view. Consumers of plastic goods have the chance to create a gap, and companies and brand owners may direct the charge. By using a suitable plastic recycling strategy, companies can reduce toxic waste output and reduce waste management costs.

Contact us to find out more, and how we can help you implement recycled plastics into your already existing products. Send us an inquiry >>

At first, recycling plastic can have several other advantages apart from reducing the amount of plastic waste requiring disposal. This includes reduced consumption of energy, reduced amounts of solid waste going to landfills, conservation of non-renewable fossil fuels (plastic production uses 8% of the world's oil production), and reduced emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxide (NO) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) [1].

Post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials are materials extracted from waste separation, that is, materials from cities or companies that are subsequently separated in specific waste treatment facilities. The separation is usually done manually, as the different thermoplastics on the market may be similar in density or vary in their properties depending on the additives. Products produced from post-consumer recycled resin close the loop, directing used plastic away from landfills and toward recycling facilities [2].

1. Reduced Carbon Footprint

Choosing more sustainable packaging materials reduces waste and lowers carbon footprint by requiring fewer emissions than virgin plastics. As we strive for a more circular economy, the post-consumer recycled resin is the superior packaging material for future industries.

Greenhouse gases are an important reason behind the rising pollution levels in our surroundings. Because the entire process of plastics production requires burning oil, this generates a huge quantity of greenhouse gases. Recycling plastic rather than producing it from scratch consequently significantly reduces the emission of poisonous greenhouse gases. This means that less energy is used and natural resources are protected: the production process of virgin polymers requires natural resources such as water, oil, natural gas and coal as raw materials. Therefore, recycling polymer materials conserves valuable organic resources.

About 40% of the petroleum consumption from which conventional polymer materials are made can be easily reduced by recycling old and discarded plastic waste. Research has shown that post-consumer recycled resin has a much smaller carbon footprint than virgin plastics. The use of post-consumer recycled resin can also help solve one particularly important problem: microplastics in the environment. Microplastics derived from plastic waste dumped into the environment are small, artificial pieces of plastic with a diameter of 5 millimeters to 100 nanometers. These tiny pieces fill the oceans, seas and waterways, penetrating the organisms that live there. Microplastics have also been detected in the atmosphere, both in indoor and outdoor environments, as well as in our food chain [3, 4].

2. All the Benefits of Normal Plastic

Plastic is also used as a packaging material because of its superior performance. In comparison to other packaging alternatives, such as paper or cardboard, plastics offer a number of advantages, including:

• increased durability and product protection;
• stronger, rip-resistant packaging;
• greater water and weather resistance [5].

3. Improved Customer Relations and Retention

Sometimes all you need is good marketing. With over 73% of consumers saying that they will make a consistent effort to choose more sustainable products, there's no better time than now to switch to more consumer-friendly plastics. These customers are also more likely to continue choosing your brand and products in the future if you have a more eco-friendly message, allowing you to not only gain new customers, but also to keep the ones you already have.

Research has shown that consumers will actually pay more for products made from post-consumer recycled resin. According to an international study conducted by Nielsen, 51% of respondents between the ages of 50 and 64, and 72% of respondents between the ages of 15 and 20 said they would pay more for products and services coming from companies that are dedicated to making a positive impact on the environment. In essence, a producer who invests in the post-consumer recycled resin can realize a return, especially if this investment is properly published [4].

4. Higher ROIs

While companies once took an economic hit by choosing post-consumer recycled resin over virgin polymers, times have changed. In fact, companies can now expect a far greater return on their investment by choosing recycled plastics instead of virgin ones. As the costs surrounding petroleum-based materials continue to rise, the cost of post-consumer recycled resin is projected to stay the same. So, while other companies have to deal with rising prices for plastic, you can keep your costs steady and protect your bottom line.

The fee for post-consumer recycled resin has been a bit greater than for virgin polymer. This can be because of the considerable washing, sorting, and processing necessary for recycled materials. However, as the total cost of petroleum-based raw materials is constantly increasing, we expect the cost of post-consumer plastics to remain the same. In addition, as more consumers recycle plastics, the law of supply and demand will make post-consumer plastics very attractive compared to virgin plastics [4].

5. Better Margins

Not only are people more likely to choose the sustainable option when picking from a sea of products, but you can also use greener packaging to help justify a higher price point. The majority of consumers are also willing to pay more for sustainable products over typical plastics, highlighting the potential for increased profits.

There are many benefits of using post-consumer recycled resin that matter to business, including:

• better branding,
• better customer relations in fulfilling consumer demands for sustainable products;
• better margins with higher price points, again due to the demand;
• long-term sustainability for economic growth [6].

6. Long-term Sustainability

In addition to the environmental sustainability of post-consumer recycled resin, you can also achieve long-term economic growth and sustainability by choosing recycled materials over virgin resins. PCR will continue to be the better packing option over non-recycled plastics, both economic and branding.

Post-consumer recycled resin is becoming increasingly important when it comes to choosing sustainable materials. In the face of imminent environmental threats, the plastics industry is gradually being transformed to take account of environmental and economic sustainability. The need to develop methodologies that can help achieve long-term sustainability, such as recycling and upcycling, is more crucial than ever. This requires thorough integration over the value chain [7].

7. Regulatory Compliance

Every state and local government has its own rules and regulations surrounding packaging and recycled products. By offering a more sustainable option, the post-consumer recycled resin is more regulatory-friendly, allowing you to easily meet any ecological requirements put on your business by the government.

As companies around the world strive to meet sustainable initiatives, demand for food contact-compliant recycled plastics is increasing. Government and regulatory agencies around the world are calling for an increase in the percentage of recycled materials used in products and packaging to reduce the amount of solid waste sent to landfills. Due to strict legislation, some industries may be affected. Manufacturers of packaging for food, medical and cosmetic products that use products containing post-consumer recycled resin must ensure the safety of their products for the health of consumers and must comply with packaging regulations worldwide [8].

Did you know that our own brand products – Organko Daily and Bokashi Organko Essential – are made from post-consumer recycled plastics? This means that both loops are closed – the loop of reusing plastic and the loop of reusing organic waste as a new resource.

Source:

[1] Use of recycled plastic in concrete: A review

[2] Life Cycle Assessment of a Plastic Part Injected with Recycled Polypropylene: A Comparison with Alternative Virgin Materials

[3] Top 10 Benefits of Recycling Plastic

[4] The Benefits of Using Post-Consumer Plastics

[5] Top 7 Benefits of Post Consumer Recycled Resin

[6] Why should we focus on post-consumer recycled resins

[7] It’s Time to Use Post-Consumer Recycled Plastics in Products

[8] Recycled Plastics in Packaging: Safe Use and Regulatory Compliance

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Excellent results in the field of plastics manufacturing are a combination of a number of different factors. These require constant change and advancement that help us push our limits, develop new approaches and improve our processes.

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One of the factors that plays a key role in plastics manufacturing is the technological capability of a machine park. We take the importance of technological capability very seriously and are devoted to continually improving our services in the field of plastics manufacturing. Let’s take a more detailed look at the importance of technological capability and the technological capabilities we offer at Skaza.

Overmolding

Overmolding is a molding process with multiple steps in which two or more components are molded one over another. There are multiple different types of overmolding, such as insert molding, injection molding, two-shot molding…

The process of overmolding brings a number of new possibilities into the world of plastics manufacturing. It enables us to create stronger and more aesthetic parts and add function to a product. Apart from that, it also lowers the cost of production.

Computer Vision and Control Systems

Computer vision is a scientific system that is capable of understanding images taken by the camera. It is used to efficiently process the details of the images and compare them to the provided data, thus verifying whether certain requirements have been met.

This system is used in plastics production to check products and parts for certain characteristics. For example, the computer vision system can check whether all threads are present in a screw. Based on the image, it determines whether the part is suitable or not, marking it OK or NOK. If the part is not suitable, it is automatically removed from the further process, which guarantees excellent control over the production processes.

Ultrasonic Welding

Ultrasonic welding is a process of joining and reforming plastic materials with the help of the heat that is the product of high-frequency mechanical motion. In order to use ultrasonic welding, both thermoplastic parts that need to be bonded must be made out of chemically compatible materials.

The ultrasonic welding process brings a number of benefits: it’s clean, efficient and fast. It also requires very little energy while producing strong bonds in final products. It is also a great choice for assembling difficult materials.

Automated Assembly Lines (with Machine Vision Control)

In manufacturing processes that require a high quantity of production assembly, the most sensible option is to have an automated assembly line with machine vision control. The automated assembly lines enable high-quantity production, while the machine vision control ensures that the items produced to meet all the necessary requirements and standards.

Heat-stacking

Heat-stacking is a process of joining two different materials by using local heating and cooling. The process usually involves two or more parts, at least one of them is plastic. The first step is to raise the temperature of plastic components, which allows the plastics reforming to be carried out, creating the final product.

Heat-stacking is an excellent choice for bonding metal to plastic, so it is commonly used in a wide variety of industries, including the automotive, IT and consumer appliances industries. This technique has many benefits, such as the absence of vibration damage and the capability to work with hard-to-reach and restricted areas.

3D Laser Engraving

3D laser engraving is a CNC system that is capable of producing 3D reliefs from wood, steel or other materials. The laser within the system removes parts from the raw material to create the required image. Laser engraving in plastics manufacturing is commonly used for engraving buttons, but it can also be used in a number of different applications according to the needs of the client.

Ink-jet Marking

Ink-jet marking is a technique commonly used on automatic assembly lines or automatic processing lines. The main goal of this process is usually to mark the production date or QR codes. The device used in ink-jet marking is a small printer that uses similar technology as any other ink-jet printer used at home. It presents a quick and inexpensive solution for markings that are required on parts or packaging.

The importance of technological capability in plastics manufacturing is thus not to be overlooked, as it plays a key role when it comes to the quality, price and production speed of plastic products. With the right capabilities, the entire manufacturing process runs a lot more smoothly and efficiently. This is one of the main reasons why at Skaza, we pay special attention to making sure our technological capabilities always remain at the highest standard and continue to improve further every year.

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The right choice of materials for a specific plastic product is one of the most crucial design decisions since all final product characteristics are tightly related to the material. The material significantly influences product aesthetics, functional characteristics, lifetime, environmental impact, and price. This is why we at Skaza dedicate a lot of time and energy to this important question: how to choose materials that enable us to create the best possible products? Let's take a look!

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How to choose materials for different product characteristics

When designing a new plastic product, we have to consider how different materials influence all aspects mentioned above of the product characteristics. The most important thing is that the material properties meet the functional requirements of a specific product. Therefore, the first step is to define product requirements and boundary conditions of use precisely.

Depending on the product, the material should meet many different possible requirements. Some products need to be transparent, while others need to be opaque. The former group of products can be produced only from amorphous materials, such as polystyrene, polymethylmethacrylate and polycarbonate. In contrast, the latter category of products can be made from amorphous and semi-crystalline materials, depending on the requirements.

Products that need to have tight dimensional tolerances are preferably produced from amorphous materials due to the lower shrinkage of these materials. In general, products that need to have good mechanical and thermal performance are preferably constructed from semi-crystalline materials.

All products have a specific demand for certain mechanical and thermal properties of the materials, such as modulus, strength, toughness and thermal resistance. For example, some products should have low stiffness and high toughness, while others should be very stiff but not necessarily very tough.

How to choose materials that ensure product aesthetics

Product aesthetics are also tightly related to the material choice. Certain materials can be used to manufacture products with a high gloss surface and/or good scratch resistance. In contrast, others are only useful for not directly visible products or for which aesthetics are not an important characteristic.

How to choose materials that meet different industries' requirements

Different applications, such as medical, electrical and electronic, food and automotive, also have their specific requirements. Medical and food products require using materials that are not harmful to the human body, while electrical and electronic products require materials with suitable electric properties and flame retardancy. In such applications, these properties are not only required, but materials also have to be certified according to a specific standard so that the product can be put on the market.

Material life expectancy is also a fundamental issue for many demanding applications. While material physical properties can be obtained from technical data sheets provided by the manufacturer or by relatively simple testing procedures, lifetime prediction is a much more complex topic that often requires the development of specialized testing protocols that usually include accelerated aging procedures, material testing and predictive modeling.

How to choose materials that offer the best value for money

When a set of materials that fulfill the product requirements is defined, the material is usually chosen based on its price and environmental impact. As a general rule, around 60% of the product's final price comes from the material price. The choice of material based on the price seems pretty straightforward at first glance, but it is actually a complicated process.

Various polymeric materials have different densities. While the material price is given per unit weight, the same product from denser material will weigh more, thus resulting in a higher price. Furthermore, the mechanical and thermal properties of polymers also indirectly influence the product's final cost. When choosing between two materials that differ in mechanical properties, it is important to consider that the product thickness may be reduced by using better-performing material. Reduced product thickness results not only in lower weight but also in decreased production times (due to faster cooling), thus further reducing the final cost of the products.

Material thermal properties also influence production costs, as some materials require higher processing temperature, which in turn results in increased energy consumption and thus higher costs.

How to choose materials that reduce the environment impact of the products

Last but not least, the material's environmental impact is also a very important factor to consider, especially in modern times in which the ecological burdens of plastic materials resulted in a strong push towards the use of more environmentally friendly materials. The environmental assessment of different materials is a complex task that we have focused on in more detail in another article.

At Plastika Skaza, we take the products' environmental impact very seriously and pay a lot of attention to it. This is why we are often willing to come to terms with a higher price of the product if that means being able to create a product with a lower environmental impact, while at the same time keeping all the essential functional characteristics.

How to choose materials that are the best fit for your product

A good choice of material requires a broad knowledge and experience in many different fields, such as product design, materials science, processing technologies, legislation, economics and environmental management. At Plastika Skaza, we have more than 40 years of experience in plastics manufacturing and combine experts from different fields that closely collaborate with each other as well as with experts from other institutions. This helps ensure not only the optimal choice of the material but also optimal product design and manufacturing technologies. Contact us, and we will be happy to advise you on how to choose the best materials and technologies for your product.

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Superb quality has always been one of our main goals throughout the development and growth of our company. This is why we are constantly striving to improve our processes, bring the way we work to a higher level and always make sure our clients have the best possible experience every time they work with us. One of the ways that help us make all this possible is implementing KAM teams in our production processes. Read more about benefits of KAM teams bellow.

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What are KAM teams?

Key account management (KAM) teams in Skaza are basically an extension of our customers within our company. Established in 2015, these teams are responsible for taking care of absolutely everything our clients need, thus bringing our business relationships to a higher level. KAM teams significantly improve the quality of communication in a production process, help save time both on our and the client’s end and enable us to adapt to the client’s needs even more efficiently.

How are KAM teams created and how they function?

Our KAM teams are created as soon as we receive an inquiry from a new client. Members of the team are carefully hand-picked to fit the needs and requirements of each individual client and to ensure that the entire production process runs smoothly from the very beginning till the very end.

The KAM team responsible for the client is with them every step of the way, from the inquiry and offer stage, throughout the manufacturing process and later on during the optimization phase.

Who are members of our KAM teams?

Members of our KAM teams are all experts in their field with specific knowledge and experience needed to deliver the best possible results. All members of the teams are carefully selected to match the needs of each individual client, depending on their specific industry. The KAM teams generally consist of:

• Head of strategic sales and procurement
• Key account manager (for new clients) or business development manager (for existing customers and optimizations)
• Quality and technical director
• Technical business development manager
• Quality technologist
• Supply chain manager
• Key account assistant in procurement
• Head of quality

What are the benefits of KAM teams?

As already mentioned, dedicated KAM teams bring a number of benefits that significantly improve the customers’ experience as well as the final results. One of the main benefits of KAM teams is certainly improved communication. Our clients always know who to reach out to whenever they have a question and can always rely on their KAM team to be available when they need them.

Reliability is thus another important benefit of KAM teams. Our clients can rest assured knowing someone will be there to answer their calls, always providing them with all the information they need. All members of the team are experts in their specific fields, which means they are always able to offer the best solutions for any issues that may arise.

Working with a KAM team also helps save a significant amount of time – on both ends, both our end and the client’s end. Since the same team is handling the project in all stages, they always know what is going on. This means that long explanations are not necessary since the team members already know everything there is to know about a specific project.

One more of the many benefits of KAM teams is also the fact that working with a dedicated team significantly improves the process and helps optimize it to the highest possible level. Since the team is so deeply involved in the project, it is easy for them to recognize the points where things could be improved – then work hard to make this happen. This helps our clients become an even more competitive player in the market and significantly improves their business results.

Cost optimization as one of the key benefits of KAM teams

Apart from a number of other benefits of KAM teams, they also play a key role in optimizing production costs. Since one team is involved in the production process from the beginning to the end, they know the process very well. Their experience and expertise enable them to suggest changes, make improvements and further optimize the process. Our KAM teams are therefore constantly looking for new, better solutions that can also bring a significant reduction of costs while at the same time always keeping the quality of the final product a number one priority.

Always in good hands in the company of our KAM teams

Our clients can always rest assured that everything is taken care of when working with their dedicated KAM team within our company. At Skaza, our top priority is always making sure that the client is happy and satisfied both with the production process as well as with the final results, and KAM teams are there to make sure that this happens every single time.

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Companies looking to develop their first plastic products or find a new plastics supplier and partner to join their ventures in this field often face the same problem: how and where to start?

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What are the steps that need to be taken in order to get from initial contact to the final product? How to find the right partner that will embark on this journey with us and help us take our story to a new level? Let’s take a look at how we tackle this process at Skaza and what new partners can expect when first starting to work with us as their new plastics supplier.

Initial contact with a new plastics supplier: Finding common interests and conducting the audit process

Establishing a partnership with a new plastics supplier is a process that begins by finding common interests and discussing the potential for cooperation. This is the part where we establish whether we share common values and goals and if our companies are the right fit for each other.

If the potential for cooperation is confirmed, the next step usually includes an audit process of the new plastics supplier. Since the pandemic has made audit visits increasingly difficult, if not entirely impossible, Skaza found a way to ensure our potential clients still get all the required information. We have created an online audit protocol that enables us to build trusted partnerships with new clients and provides them with all the information they need to move ahead with the project.

We strongly believe that it is important for our clients to have the chance to ask as many questions as they need to make an informed decision about working with us. We want to provide them with an opportunity to do so regardless of the current circumstances.

The audit is successfully completed if the client finds us the best fit for their production needs and business cooperation is established.

Getting to know a new plastic supplier: Sending the RFQ and receiving an offer

Once a company establishes that Skaza could be the right partner for the project, it is time for them to prepare an inquiry and request an offer. Let’s take a look at what goes on in this process from the side of a plastics supplier.

As soon as an inquiry from a potential business partner is received, it is subject to a thorough review by our sales team and technologists team. The documentation included in the RFQ usually includes 2D and 3D models, plans, yearly quantities and specific characteristics of the products, if any. This is where our valuable knowledge and years of experience come in and help us begin bringing our clients’ projects into reality.

At this point, some questions may appear from our side, and our sales representatives contact the potential partner to gather as much information as possible in order to be able to prepare a complete offer. If the need arises, we organize a technical meeting to discuss details, also using this opportunity to suggest options to optimize the product. The technologists team that closely follows the project from the start until the end is therefore always available to offer their support, knowledge and expertise, from the very first step of our journey onward.

Once all the details are clear, the sales team and the technologists team work together to carefully review the inquiry and come up with the best, custom-made options for the client. If needed, they also keep in touch with the client throughout this process to offer additional support and ask for missing information.

The next step is submitting the offer to the potential buyer. Once the buyer has reviewed the offer and provided us with feedback, we carefully check the feedback and adjust our offer accordingly. After the offer has been confirmed, it is time to define the key account management (KAM) team that will be available to the client throughout the project, always making sure they are in good hands.

At Skaza, providing our customers with the best possible customer experience is one of our top priorities, and KAM teams play an important role in that process. The KAM teams are basically an extension of our customers within our company and are responsible for bringing our business relationships to the highest possible level.

Working together with a new plastics supplier: Preparing and producing a new product

The first steps of working on a new product are usually also the most demanding ones. First, we prepare the DFM documentation and the construction of the tool. When preparing the 3D/CAD models, we make certain to be as precise as possible in order to prevent any issues in the next steps of the manufacturing process.

At this point of the process, the technologists team works closely with the toolmakers and constructors to ensure the tool is made perfectly and on time. At the same time, the sales team is taking care of all sales requests, and the purchasing team is acquiring all important information, including the latest material prices and delivery times. All our teams are working hard to make sure everything goes according to plans.

As soon as the buyer confirms the DFM documentation and construction of the tools, it is time to start the manufacturing process. The next important milestone is the FOT, in which the buyer receives the first samples of the product. Once these samples are reviewed and confirmed by the buyer (this process can be repeated more than once until the product meets all of the buyer’s demands), the product is then sent to serial production, which successfully concludes the process.

With you every step of the way

At Skaza, we pride ourselves on combining our skills and experience with our effort and determination to create the best possible products for our clients. All our teams are committed to ensuring that all parts of the process run as smoothly as possible, always ensuring that our clients are in good hands and receiving the results they expected when they first chose us as their plastics supplier.

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Environmental sustainability principles have always been the driving force of our development. We strive to work and live in a way that promotes sustainability and reduces our environmental footprint to a minimum. Today, we would like to present you with a few of our practices that make this possible.

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Circular economy

At Skaza, we are dedicated followers of the circular economy principles and have been employing the ideas of reuse, share, repair, refurbish, remanufacture and recycle to create a closed-loop system. In the past years, we have been working hard to implement these concepts into our production process by effectively returning waste materials back into the cycle to create new products.

When introducing our own label, we took this idea to a new level and developed a system of the so-called multi-circular economy. This system enables us to close loops in more than one area. A great example of this are our Bokashi Organko composters: apart from being made with recycled plastic materials, they also play a key role in re-purposing organic waste, thus efficiently connecting and closing two loops.

Energy savings and emissions

We take energy savings seriously, so our energy comes from 100% renewable sources. Apart from that, we do our best to reduce our energy consumption whenever possible. Some of the methods we use for reducing energy consumption are a system for heat circulation across the production plants and equipping our machine park with electric machines.

Procurement, consumption and waste

Thanks to our precise and meticulous planning and procurement processes, we manage to keep our waste production to a minimum throughout our manufacturing processes. Whenever this is not possible, we do our best to recycle a significant part of the produced waste, giving it a new life in a new product.

Sustainable material choices

One of the hallmarks of our success in following environmental sustainability principles is choosing sustainable materials for our production processes. We mainly incorporate two groups of sustainable materials in manufacturing our products: recycled materials and bio-based materials.

Since 2014, we have increased the use of recycled materials by 150%. Nowadays, half of all plastic material that we use in our production process is recycled. This enables us to significantly reduce our CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions and save precious energy.

Constant research and innovation

When following our environmental sustainability principles, we constantly push for better solutions, search for better materials, and create better practices. This is why we are dedicated to continuously improving our supply chain and looking for ways to make it more sustainable. This includes constant efforts to find, source or develop even better materials that further improve the sustainability of our production processes as well as help lower the price and improve the quality of the final products.

Supply chain and sustainability

While we pay lots of attention to following environmental sustainability principles on our production plant, we also keep in mind what happens outside our facilities. Lowering the environmental impact of our supply chain is thus an important factor. This is why we are only working with partners who are able to help us improve our supply chain environmental impact by lowering the carbon footprint of the transport processes.

Quadruple bottom line

When monitoring our progress and evaluating our success, the economic point of view is understandably an important one, but never the only one. The triple bottom line as a framework with three parts, social, environmental and financial, has long been our main guideline when assessing whether our goals have been met. With further development of our brand’s identity, we have also added the concept of purpose that combines our mission, vision and values, and connects it to the 4Ps. The phrase people, planet, profit and purpose thus represents the four focal pillars of our development.

Our products

Apart from following environmental sustainability principles in our manufacturing processes, we also create products that help the general public live more sustainably, thus further reducing our joint carbon footprint.

One of the products that play the most important role in this process is the Bokashi composter. According to a study by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, our composter Bokashi Organko 2 enables a composting process that has a significantly lower carbon footprint than classic composting methods. The study showed that the carbon footprint of composting with Bokashi Organko 2 added up to 16.921 kg CO₂ eq. during its projected 10-year product life cycle, while the number for the classic composting method added up to 452.81 kg CO₂ eq. during the same period of time.

Environmental sustainability principles as Skaza’s focal point

At Skaza, we take great pride in both following the environmental sustainability principles as well as setting new standards of sustainability in plastics production. The practices we mentioned above are a big part of our efforts, and we are dedicated to continuously improving our processes and lowering our environmental impact even further.

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The automated production line is the latest stage in the never-ending pursuit of faster, more effective, and less expensive ways of manufacturing items we need and want in our everyday lives.

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It is in the nature of human beings to continually make improvements, especially when it comes to repetitive tasks. During the relatively short history of our existence, we have constantly demonstrated our ingenuity in optimizing every process within the society, most notably when it comes to production. We continue to do so, as there is always room for improvement.

Aims for the perfect automated production line

Our team at Skaza is following the same aspirations as we invest a lot of time and energy into finding new solutions and enhancements of our own automated production line of furniture components from sustainable materials.

Lowering costs and rising productivity have been the ultimate goal of every manufacturer ever since the first production lines were introduced during the industrial revolution in the late 18^th century. This motto is still being followed today when advanced technology helps us bring the automated production line to its maximal potential.

Eliminating the human factor

From a broader perspective of enhancing manufacturing processes within the society, automated production line represents an important step towards liberation from physical labor. People no longer need to perform hard, monotonous and usually lower-paid work since the ideal automated production line only requires a highly qualified supervisor. This not only improves cost efficiency but also introduces better job positions.

With the reduction or complete elimination of the human factor in the manufacturing process, automated production line proves to be more effective and reliable. Not only does an automated line enable faster production, but it also gives us the possibility of continuous operation, which is almost impossible where the human factor is involved. Furthermore, the quality of the product is normally more stable once the optimal solution is reached.

Automated production line allows more flexibility

Moreover, the automated production line gives the whole manufacturing process more flexibility. Since the work post no longer depends on human workers, the production line doesn’t have to be designed to meet human needs. The engineers don’t have to focus on the safety and comfort of workers when they plan an automated production line. Instead, they can pay more attention to its effectiveness, which opens a wide variety of possibilities when it comes to assembling such production mechanisms.

Once the manufacturing process is fully automated, it can be controlled remotely, which is another way of achieving higher levels of flexibility and lowering costs and/or enhancing productivity.

As you can see, the advantages of the automated production line are limitless, not just in manufacturing furniture components but also in other industries. With the aspiration for a better environment, we have high hopes that optimization of production lines in the near future will further focus not only on eliminating production costs but also its impact on our planet. Like we said in the opening, there is always room for improvement, and here at Skaza we aspire to find it.

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LCA analysis or life cycle analysis is a method for evaluating the environmental impact of products, processes or services during all stages of their life. With plastic products, the environmental impact is assessed from the resource extraction, material production, product manufacturing, distribution, product use and end of life. This holistic LCA assessment is called cradle-to-grave assessment, since it accounts for all stages of a product’s life, while in some cases, products are also assessed using a cradle-to-gate approach, where the use of the product and its end of life are not accounted in the analysis.

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LCA Analysis Plays an Important Role in Evaluating Products’ Environmental Impact

LCA analysis is a valuable tool in the eco-design of products since the effect of different product design options could be evaluated in terms of product environmental impact. There are four main steps in the LCA analysis of products: goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation. The environmental impact is assessed in terms of the product’s effect on human health, ecosystem function and depletion of natural resources.

LCA Analysis as Key Part of the Production Processes at Skaza

At Plastika Skaza, we are constantly striving to develop products that have the lowest possible environmental impact. Therefore, we are using LCA analysis to assess and optimize the environmental impact of our products in the early design phase. The choice of plastic material has one of the greatest impacts on the product’s LCA result. We found that the use of sustainable materials, such as recycled and biobased polymers, significantly reduces the environmental footprint of the products.

However, the evaluation of different materials is not as trivial as simply substituting material data as inputs for LCA analysis. Various polymeric materials also have different physical properties that also have to be considered in the process of product design. For example, when comparing the environmental footprint of two materials with different mechanical properties, we have to take into account that when using materials with better mechanical properties, we can design a product that has thinner walls and thus needs less material to fulfill the needed specifications. Both of these factors (material properties, product design) influence the manufacturing processes (e.g. energy consumption), which also have an impact on the product’s environmental footprint.

Another important consideration is also product’s end of life, in which product material choice also has a large impact. Here, products made of a single type of plastic materials are advantageous, since they are much easier to efficiently recycle than products made out of multiple materials. There are also differences between various polymeric materials as some types of polymeric materials (e.g. unfilled polyolefins) are much easier to recycle than others (e.g. fibre-reinforced plastics).

Future Plans for Further Improvement of Our LCA Analysis Processes

When the LCA analysis of the final product is finalized, it is important to correctly interpret the data and communicate the results to stakeholders clearly and transparently. In this respect, we are currently developing block-chain solutions in the scope of the EcoTrail project, in which an independent third-party evaluator will perform LCA analysis of the final product and store the results on the block-chain, thus ensuring and improving the reliability of the results.

Find out more about how we incorporate sustainable materials into our production process. Fill in the form and download the e-book with educational content.

While knowledge and experience have always been the main driving forces of our success, we could never achieve the results we are achieving without our vast machine park that offers superb manufacturing capabilities. Our current machine park consists of a wide variety of plastic injection molding machines with different clamping forces, including a number of multi-injection technology machines. It covers a total area of 15.400 m² and is able to manufacture over 5000 tons of granules per year. Let’s take a more detailed look at what Skaza machine park has to offer to our clients.

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Plastic Injection Molding Machines in Skaza Machine Park

Our machine park currently offers more than 50 plastic injection molding machines with different clamping forces, ranging from 50T up to 1000T. The majority of machines are fairly new, with more than half of all machines being less than 10 years old. However, even if the machines are older than 10 years, this does not present a problem when it comes to their efficiency and delivering excellent results. We regularly monitor their performance and act as quickly as any issues appear. All machines feature a counter that monitors the number of shots as well as the number of shots at which the machine needs to be serviced.

Our machine park features both hydraulic and electric machines; both of them bring a specific set of benefits that are important for certain products. The advantages (and disadvantages) of both types of machines mostly depend on the type of molding that needs to be done, the size of the machine, the cost of electricity, and personal preferences. The plastic injection molding machines in our machine park thus always offer the optimal option for each individual product.

As part of our effort to make our production processes as sustainable as possible, we also equipped our machine park with a range of five eco machines that are able to perform the same manufacturing processes with significant energy savings.

Working with Leading Brands of Plastic Injection Molding Machines Ensures Optimal Results

We always strive to be the leading provider in our field, and we do our best to partner with brands that are leading in their field. This is why we choose to work with machines from the best brands of plastic injection molding machines, as this gives us the opportunity to improve our production processes and provide our clients with the best possible results.

Demag is one of the leading companies in the industry and a specialist for injection molding machines for plastics processing. The brand successfully combines the wisdom of the Far East with the German way of doing things directly and logically, and has been a reliable provider of our plastic injection molding machines for years.

Wittmann Battenfeld is our partner for innovation and technological advancement in plastic injection molding machines. Their modern and comprehensive range of machinery helps us meet the requirements of the market as well as optimally utilize the applied energy.

Engel has been a reliable provider for plastic injection molding machines to Skaza for many years. Since conserving resources and promoting the efficient use of recycled materials has always been deeply rooted in the brand’s corporate philosophy, we found them to be a great partner in our efforts to move towards improved and increased sustainability in plastics production.

Multi Injection Technology in Plastic Injection Molding Machines

An important part of our machine park is composed out of multi-injection technology machines. This innovative new technology enables us to use two or three different components in one single process sequence. It also brings a number of important benefits, it improves our client’s products, and it makes the manufacturing processes easier, faster and more cost-efficient.

Gas Injection Technology in Plastic Injection Molding Machines

Another important feature of our machine park are gas injection technology machines. Gas injection technology functions by blowing gas, usually nitrogen, into plastic in order to mold it into specific shapes. This process enables us to create innovative, more versatile products of superior quality. Gas injection technology also brings a number of additional benefits, such as material savings, lower cost of the products, lower clamping force and a greener manufacturing process.

A Well-equipped Machine Park as Key Factor in Our Story of Success

Our well-equipped and well-maintained machine park plays an important role in achieving our goals and improving our results. We always strive to follow the latest trends in the field of plastic injection molding machines and make sure to provide our clients with the best possible manufacturing capabilities in order to fulfill their expectations, while keeping our processes as sustainable as possible.

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At Plastika Skaza, we are continuously striving to improve our production processes in order to achieve even better results. A part of this process is implementing new technologies that bring new advancements. Sometimes, a real breakthrough can be achieved by simply combining two existing processes that we have been successfully using for a while.

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Combining injection molding and 3D printing has turned out to be the ultimate crossover that has enabled us to improve our results significantly, shorten the production times and create complex parts that would have been nearly impossible to create by using conventional methods.

3D Printing and Injection Molding Working Together in Perfect Harmony

Both 3D printing and injection molding are modern, innovative technologies that have brought a number of improvements into the plastics industry. By combining them, we have been able to take a step even further and bring our production capabilities to another level.

How Does Combining 3D Printing and Injection Molding Work?

3D printing enables us to create special robotic end of arm toolings that are later installed onto the robot arm. This creates the optimal way for product pick-up and enables us to position and manipulate products in ways that we see fit. It significantly shortens the time from concept to end product.

3D Printing and Injection Molding Can Help Save Time in the Production Process

Another significant benefit of combining 3D printing and injection molding in one process is the fact that this can enable us to simultaneously perform both the prototyping phase as well as the mechanical testing phase, saving months of time and achieving excellent results sooner.

The most advanced printers enable printing of the tool cavity from the artificial mass. This part of the tool is exact enough to provide us with a prototype product. While all prototypes enable us to see the shape of the actual product, the main problem is that we cannot carry out mechanical testing on most regular prototypes.

However, when using the technique mentioned above of combining 3D printing and injection molding, it is possible to use the material we intend to use for the actual product already in the prototype production phase. This enables us to bring the prototype even closer to the planned final product, carry out the mechanical testing already in this phase and thus significantly shorten the entire duration of the project. While most known 3D printing is polymer-based in the last years, there has been a surge in metal printing and with using that technology, we improved processes in tooling that we couldn’t get with regular machining.

Using 3D Printing and Injection Molding to Our Advantage

In the world of plastic production, things are happening quickly. New processes are being developed, new technologies are being implemented and new products are being created every day. To stay ahead of your competition, it is important to move new products to the market as quickly as possible, while making sure not to compromise the quality of the final product. Combining 3D printing and injection molding offers just that, so it is an excellent choice for many cutting-edge projects.

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While the superb quality of products is and must always remain a number one priority in any production process optimization in the furniture industry, there are many other factors to consider. One of them is definitely cost optimization, which can help deliver the same excellent results with less invested funds. At the same time, a well-calculated and carefully planned cost optimization can also help shorten manufacturing times, improve the quality of results and help make the entire process a lot more sustainable. But in order to achieve all these benefits, it is important to approach the production process optimization carefully and reasonably.

Sustainability as an Essential Part of Our Brand’s DNA

At Skaza, we recognize that some of the biggest challenges our society and our planet are facing nowadays are closely connected to the environment, so we developed unique solutions to overcome those issues. Creating innovative products and building furniture components from sustainable materials has become our everyday task. Thanks to our vast experience and knowledge, we have been able to incorporate these materials into affordable solutions, thus creating sustainable products that manage to maintain the highest quality as well as keep the costs as low as possible.

Production Process Optimization in 5 Steps

Well-calculated and carefully planned production process optimization consists of five important steps, each playing a key part in finding the best possible solution.

Step #1: Problem Identification

The problem identification step is designed to comprise information related to the relevant response variables and control factors. This requires a group of experts, knowledgeable about the product who are able to make an informed decision regarding the process.

Step #2: Experiment Planning and Execution

This step focuses on exploring the technical aspects that need to be considered when making a decision regarding the experimental design.

Step #3: Modeling of Response Mean and Variance

This step mainly focuses on developing regression models for the mean and variance of responses, using one of the four available modeling techniques.

Step #4: Choice of Utility Function and Optimization Criteria

The choice of utility functions is primarily based on the criteria that need to be considered in the optimization process. This step focuses on choosing the correct utility functions in order to achieve the best possible optimization results.

Step #5: Optimization Proper

Once a suitable objective function (a utility function that combines responses and information that is relevant to them) is determined, a programming routine is performed to determine the settings for the control factors that best fit the optimization criteria. This final step thus enables a conclusion of the optimization process with the highest possible success rate.

Cutting Costs vs. Optimizing Costs – What Is the Difference?

While both processes, cutting costs as well as optimizing costs, clearly have the same goal, which is achieving more with fewer resources, there is an important difference in how a company can reach that result. While cutting costs focuses solely on reducing the financial input and disregards most other factors, a process of optimizing costs can also bring a number of other benefits. However, this process does require a deeper understanding of your business and customer’s needs as well as more time and resources, but the investment is definitely worth it in the end.

Cost optimization thus shifts and expands the definition of reducing costs, as it mainly focuses on developing and growing a business while also taking into account the ever-growing demand from customers to reduce their production costs.

Cost optimization requires careful planning and forecasting of both the production plant equipment as well as supply chain processes, increased focus on flexibility and agility, and willingness to slightly increase investment costs in the short term in order to achieve lower costs and better results in the long run.

Production Process Optimization for Lower Costs, Shorter Production Times and Better Quality of Products

We have already established that carefully planned production process optimization can help reduce production costs, but it also brings a number of other benefits. Optimization can also help shorten production times, thus enabling faster delivery and improving the final product's quality. And last but not least, production process optimization can also significantly improve the sustainability of the production process, which should definitely be one of the top priorities of every plastics manufacturer.

Cost optimization practices are an essential part of planning the manufacturing processes. While the quality of the final product always remains the primary goal, achieving that with the lowest possible costs for our client is also one of the key factors. But in order to optimize the costs in an efficient manner that does not bring negative consequences regarding the quality of the final products, in-depth knowledge and decades of experience are needed to be able to make an informed decision. At Skaza, we have both and we know how to put them to good use when it comes to cost optimization practices for our clients.

Decades of Experience in the Field of Plastics Manufacturing

The story of Skaza started in 1977 and ever since then, we have continued to grow and develop. We had grown from 250 m² to more than 15,400 m² and currently employ 50 times more employees than when we first started out. We work with most modern machines and technologies and possess excellent knowledge and high technology capabilities.

Our daring vision enables us to always set the highest standards in the design and manufacturing of plastics. We work with a number of different clients from all over the world and are constantly upgrading our skills and technology to be able to deliver the most demanding products on time.

With over 40 years of experience in the field of plastics, we are a reliable partner that delivers precision, quality and comprehensive support throughout the entire project. All this enables us to perform efficient cost optimization practices; thanks to our diverse and extensive experience, we know exactly where cutting costs is possible and wise – and where it is not.

Diverse and Well-equipped Machine Park Offers Excellent Capabilities in Plastic Manufacturing

A well-equipped machine park is another key factor that can significantly contribute to cost optimization practices. Our machine park features 50 injection molding machines and produces over 19.000 products per week. Our injection molding machines range from 50T to 1000T and we offer 2K and 3K multi-component technology with up to 420T clamping force. Our machine park features Demag, Battenfeld and Engel machines. We also provide GIT (gas injection technology). Our well-equipped machine park enables us always to provide our clients with the best results while keeping the costs as low as possible.

Process Optimization for Improved Safety and Reduced Workplace Hazard

Safety of our work environment and reduction of workplace hazards remains one of our top priorities when optimizing our processes as well as costs. We strongly believe that cutting costs does not come hand in hand with lowering safety precautions, so we always remain committed to providing all our employees and partners with the highest possible level of workplace safety.

We work hard to continuously reevaluate every single element of our workspace, thus generating a safe and creative environment. The backbone of our commitment to developing a secure and productive atmosphere is never-ending process optimization, resulting in a constant rise of efficiency and, most importantly – a safer place for everyone involved in the manufacturing process.

Over time, we found that improving and upgrading our processes not only lowered the production costs for our clients but frequently also led to improved safety of our workers and reduced workplace hazard. Today, we are continuously tackling new challenges in the field of process and cost optimization, confidently stepping towards achieving our high-set goals in plastic manufacturing practices.

Cost Optimization Practices that Help Us Build the Future of Plastics Manufacturing

Our knowledge and experience have led us to become one of the leading providers in the field of plastics manufacturing. Together with our partners, we are determined to push the limits further every day, finding new ways of doing things better, faster and with lower costs. Each step of the way in the process of creating and manufacturing a product is fully optimized, and we strive to improve our practices further every single day.

If you need a partner who can help you develop and manufacture an excellent product while keeping in mind cost optimization practices, please feel free to reach out and find out more. We are confident that our knowledge and decades of experience can provide you with the most effective solutions for your business needs.

Supply chains are becoming increasingly more complicated and complex, so maintaining efficient and well-organized supply processes is now more important than ever. In order to implement a well-controlled and systematic approach to sourcing the goods and services needed, good supplier relationship management is required.

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Today, we focus on seven main benefits of this vital process that we at Skaza pay special attention to, as they help us follow trends and improve our risk management systems. This enables us to provide our clients with a steady supply even in these uncertain times, thus allowing us to be a reliable business partner.

Supplier Relationship Management Benefit #1: Improved Cost Management and Reduced Costs

One of the main and most important benefits of good supplier relationship management is better cost management and reduction of costs. Efficient analysis of supply chain data can help proactively address costs, thus minimizing and rationalizing expenses as well as evaluating the supply chain for both costs and efficiency.

Supplier Relationship Management Benefit #2: Improved Operational Efficiency

Good supplier relationship management can significantly increase efficiency. Regular reviews of suppliers can improve the supply chain, thus reducing the time and effort needed for managing it. This is especially important as supply chains grow and become more complex; poor management can lead to inefficient processes, while good management can help keep things well-organized.

Supplier Relationship Management Benefit #3: Minimized Price Volatility

Fluctuations in market prices can be a big problem, and in many cases, these fluctuations are a result of the increased volatility of commodity prices. However, good supplier relationship management can help companies take advantage of fixed pricing or scaled increases. In turn, they commit to more extended contracts, larger minimum orders or other conditions. This allows them to set their own pricing structures with more certainty and makes their planning more manageable.

Supplier Relationship Management Benefit #4: Greater Consolidation of the Supply Chain

Good supplier relationship management can improve the consolidation of the supply chain, thus helping create a more efficient supply chain. Sharing plans for the future on both sides enables suppliers to provide better deals for longer periods of time as well as create special agreements on pricing.

Supplier Relationship Management Benefit #5: Stronger Supplier Relationships that Last Longer

One of the essential benefits of supplier relationship management we at Skaza pay special attention to is building stronger business relationships that last longer. Understanding each other’s needs and values helps build trust and mutual respect, leading to better relationships and improved business practices.

Supplier Relationship Management Benefit #6: Increased Potential for Outsourcing

Efficient supplier relationship management also helps create opportunities to outsource and transfer activities. This can help both parties reduce costs, optimize logistics and speed up the production processes.

Supplier Relationship Management Benefit #7: Reduced Waste

Waste is often a direct result of inefficiencies in the processes between the buyer and the supplier. As we move towards increased sustainability, one of our most important goals is also the reduction of waste in all our processes. Good supplier relationship management can help improve and correct these inefficiencies, identifying and eliminating sources of waste, thus reducing the amount of waste and making the entire process more sustainable.

An excellent partnership is a key to success. Fill in the form below and download our case study about milestones while building the future of energy with one of our biggest partners for more than 15 years.

At Plastika Skaza, we constantly strive to follow the latest trends in the plastics sector and use cutting-edge technology. Therefore, we invest our resources heavily in joint R&D projects with universities and other industries, incorporating the project results into our development and production. Our vision is to be a company known for setting new sustainable trends in the plastics industry. Therefore, all our R&D projects are focused on developing sustainable solutions to minimize the negative impact of plastics on the environment. Below we present three of our most interesting R&D projects that focus on sustainable development and have become a part of our sustainable portfolio.

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Sustainable Portfolio Project #1: Development of Green Materials and Products for Food Contact Applications Based on Waste Biomass (BioSeedPack)

The production and use of conventional fossil-based plastics currently present a significant environmental burden due to the depletion of non-renewable resources, greenhouse gas and other emissions. In addition, some plastic products, such as packaging, often end up in the environment, where they pose a major problem to fauna and flora.

Biomass is a promising renewable resource that can be used for the production of environmentally friendly plastics. In recent years, considerable efforts have been made to develop bio-based and biodegradable plastics based on biomass. However, a large proportion of these bioplastics are produced from biomass, e.g., from edible plants that can also be used as food, while there is still a large proportion of biomass that is currently not used and thus accumulates as waste.

The BioSeedPack project in our sustainable portfolio aims to develop green plastics by using biomass treated as waste to produce green composites. Specifically, the aim is to incorporate non-germinating seeds into various bio-based and biodegradable plastics. The incorporation of waste seeds will lead to better mechanical properties, better ecological food pressure and an interesting visual effect.

The materials developed will be used to manufacture cutlery products, which presents an additional challenge as the products must meet stringent migration requirements for food contact applications.

Sustainable Portfolio Project #2: Development of Transparent Recycled Polycarbonate (RTPSOS)

Polycarbonate (PC) is a thermoplastic polymer, ideally suited for manufacturing plastic products where transparency combined with excellent mechanical and thermal properties are required. PC is manufactured from fossil resources and therefore represents a significant environmental burden that can be reduced by recycling PC products.

However, there are many challenges in mechanically recycling a transparent PC. Any contaminants that enter the recycling process will be visible in the final material. In addition, PC will begin to degrade during the recycling process, resulting in yellowing of the material and degradation of the mechanical properties.

We addressed this challenge in our sustainable portfolio by developing a state-of-the-art automated PC waste sorting line that uses a machine vision system, employing artificial intelligence algorithms to detect contaminated waste material and separate it from the rest of the material.

The second challenge was to prevent the degradation of the material during the recycling process, which we addressed by developing a formulation of additives (to preserve transparency) that are integrated into the recycling process.

Sustainable Portfolio Project #3: Development and Demonstration of IT Solutions for Effective and Transparent Production (EcoTrail)

Modern information technologies (IT) promise to completely transform the manufacturing industry, so much so that experts say we are at the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution. Technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data analytics will enable greater automation and production efficiency. At the same time, blockchain solutions promise seamless value transfer, smart contracts and supply chain transparency.

Through the EcoTrail project, a part of our sustainable portfolio, we aim to implement these modern technologies with two main objectives.

First, the project aims to develop a system for accurately assessing the environmental impact of our products and communicate it to our customers clearly and transparently. The environmental impact of our products will be assessed by an independent institution using Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and the data will be stored in a tamper-proof blockchain system that will ensure the authenticity of the results. The results are communicated to customers in a clear and easy-to-understand way in a custom mobile application.

Secondly, the project aims to develop and implement a whole range of Industry 4.0 IT solutions that will enable us to increase manufacturing productivity and efficiency.

Find out more about how we incorporate sustainable materials into our production process. Fill in the form and download the e-book with educational content.

Plastic product design and components engineering in the furniture industry has long been one of the key branches in Skaza’s vast production catalog. We are very proud of our extensive collaboration with renowned furniture manufacturers who trust us not only with the production itself, but also with the product design and further process optimizations on many levels.

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Our latest plastic product design optimization achievement is a convenient pull-out frame for recycling bins that helps you sort waste in just a few easy steps. It might look straightforward, but we had to put in a lot of research, brainstorming and work to make it look so simple, clean and easy to use. Furthermore, our engineers also found new ways to lower the production costs, use more durable materials and even make it more sustainable. Let’s have a look at how we did it.

The first step is putting together an action plan

After winning a tender contract for this specific plastic product design optimization, our team of engineers started putting together an action plan which included comprehensive research of various aspects:

• Which materials should be used to lower production costs and impacts on the environment, but at the same time keep a high level of quality?
• How to make a final product as simple as possible for the final user? What is the minimal number of components we can use?
• How to properly secure the product during transportation?

The comprehensive list of proposals for the plastic product design optimization we have prepared for our buyer showcases our deep understanding of both industries (furniture and plastic molding) as well as the vision we share with the client. Our long-lasting collaboration on similar projects in the past, proved to be a key player in finding the best possible solutions on all levels of production.

Let’s have a closer look at the main proposals that made our optimization plan so successful.

The lower number of components means faster production and better user experience

First of all, our engineers effectively managed to lower the number of components for this item from 35 to 16. Our goal was to increase the presence of recycled plastics in the item, since this would considerably lower the costs of the final product.

Moreover, with the development of our own practical knowledge on this topic, we were able to implement a new system with four fastening corners. This innovation allowed us to remove conventional fasteners and create a simple click system assembly, which not only brought the assembling time from four minutes down to just one, but also contributed to the sleek design of the product and, therefore, greatly enhanced the customer experience.

Material optimization

Before our developers took over the optimization of this plastic product design, the frame was made from standard polypropylene (PP). However, we suggested the introduction of recycled polymers, which significantly add to the sustainable value of the item.

Additionally, the other major contribution of our engineers is the introduction of material which would considerably lower the production costs and therefore make the item more affordable for the final buyer. Initially, our client used the so-called PA6 plastic for their previous product, but based on our knowledge of the material properties and numerous further analyses, we found a better solution and proposed to apply standard recycled polypropylene with talc instead. The use of talc helped us increase mechanical properties quality and lower the manufacturing costs. It is true that the initial investment in the manufacturing tool, in this case, was higher, but nevertheless paid off, as the price of the final product dropped by an astonishing 25 %. Fiberglass was used for fastening corners which hold an important mechanical function, but all in all, represent just a tiny proportion of the entire product.

In the next step of the optimization process, the recycled material used was further mechanically enhanced and strengthened. Subsequent tests have shown that the frame is much more resistant to damage since we were able to bring the displacement value down from 3.6 to 1.2 millimeters, which also significantly contributes to a better consumer experience.

Optimization of packaging and transport

There are two more aspects of the whole process we invested a lot of thought in - packaging and transportation. Our goal was to reduce package size to its minimum, thus contributing to lower costs and even more importantly, lower the environmental impact.

In order to improve packaging optimization and reduce the size of the package itself, we created a special pin within the main framework. This plain sailing mechanism holds the whole package together by using force and no additional bolts are needed.

Based on the subsequent Finite Element Analysis Report, which served us to determine the fastening pin’s maximum carrying load, we implemented additional improvements to prevent damaging the packaging.

Why is Skaza the best partner in plastic product design?

As you can see, here at Skaza, we manage all stages of the production: from plastic product design to its assembly and final shipping. This demonstrates the great trust our client has in our abilities and collaboration. And rightly so, as we never cease to work on process optimization, even after the project has already been confirmed by the client. We took our collaboration on an even higher level in 2015 when we established a Key Account Management team (KAM) which serves as an extension of our customers within our company.

Based on the example of this fruitful collaboration presented in this post, we hope to secure the trust of other companies who share our vision. Therefore, we invite future partners in furniture or other industries to contact us with their projects. We are looking forward to developing custom-made solutions side by side, providing our comprehensive knowledge in precision injection molding and facing all the challenges that may come up.

Looking for a partner who will manage high demands in manufacturing plastic products? Get a quote and become our partner.

Overmolding is a process of combining various different materials, such as plastics and metals. Overmolding process offers a variety of important benefits, such as manufacturing products with multiple materials in a relatively simple way, lower costs in comparison to some other manufacturing methods and reduced need for product assembly. It often represents the best choice for a manufacturing method, especially for larger numbers of products.

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However, the overmolding process in the plastic industry also has certain limitations that we need to keep in mind when selecting the best manufacturing method. For example, the overmolding process has excessive upfront costs, so a large number of products is needed to distribute these costs. At the same time, the overmolding process can also be time-consuming, expensive and quite complex. That is why it is important to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of using the overmolding process for each individual product.

The General Benefits of Overmolding Process

• Overmolding process combines various materials into one unified product, which can increase the product value.
• Overmolding process improves bonding and adhesion between parts.
• Overmolding process can add aesthetics, ergonomics and functionality, such as multiple colors, ergonomic grips, improved structure and mechanical strength.
• Overmolding process fully or partially reduces the need for post-processing and assembly, which can positively impact the cost of labor and reduce waste from the assembly, such as waste as a result of cutting, drilling, screwing the additional parts or waste from packaging of the additional parts.
• Overmolding process also reduces assembly time for the end consumer and additional parts for assembly.

Alternative Methods to Overmolding and Their Disadvantages

Apart from the overmolding process, there are also a number of other options used for insertions:

• Ultrasonic welding, which is a process of thermally joining components with high frequency ultrasonic acoustic vibrations.
• Heat staking is a method of insertion by using a thermal tip and insert nut. This process is similar to overmolding; however, the end result is weaker due to less efficient bonding.
• Cold staking is a method of insertion by force. It can cause material stress and cracks.
• Fastening is a less reliable method due to insert nut thread fatigue or damage. However, the fastener is exposed to less stress because the bonding is weaker between the insert nut and thermoplastic material, which results in more flexibility and dampening.

And how does the cost of the methods mentioned above compare to the cost of the overmolding process? Overall, overmolding is the most expensive method in terms of implementation, but on the other hand, it eliminates the cost of assembly as well as ensures the quality and strength of produced parts, so it is usually the most cost-efficient method in the long run. The downsides of the overmolding process are longer cycle times and the fact that the stronger the bonding between the insert and thermoplastic material, the more rigid the insert, which exposes the fastener to more stresses.

Case Study: Overmolding Process in Manufacturing a Chair

One of our flagship products in the field of overmolding process is the plastic chair, manufactured for one of our clients. For this chair, the clients did not specifically request overmolding, but we chose it nonetheless. The main reasons for this were the following:

• Consistency and reliability of the process
• Improved control over quality and fewer missing parts
• Fewer complaints related to the produced and sold parts
• Less manual and human labor

We created a plastic chair with over-molded insert nuts onto which the metal legs are fastened. We also paid special attention to the design of the insert itself, as we were aware of its importance. Optimally, end-cap inserts, produced with good heat-conducting metal, such as aluminum, are recommended. The overall shape of the insert should be aimed towards increasing surface area and thus increasing the bonding strength. Features such as ribs or roughened/textured surfaces are added to achieve better bonding. All this helps to create a sturdy, high-quality end product that our clients were very satisfied with.

Chosen by Skaza, Recognized by Our Clients

We already mentioned that in the beginning, the process of overmolding was not specifically required by our client, but we chose the process because of all the above-mentioned benefits. However, the final product received such excellent feedback that our client began demanding that overmolding should become the standard method of use. Consequently, all of the other suppliers had to implement the system that our team at Plastika Skaza first used for production.

Contact Us and Let Us Help You Find the Best Solution for Your Product

We always strive to look for the best solution for our clients’ products and we look forward to hearing from you and working together on creating another successful business story.

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Since the global pandemic stopped the world in its tracks, things are changing every day and in order to stay ahead, we have to adapt to new circumstances quickly. Adapting our approach in new, innovative ways is something Team Skaza is used to doing every day, and this time is no different. Our agile environment and years of experience enable us to quickly find the most suitable solution for our clients, even when that seems close to impossible.

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In times when audit visits became increasingly difficult, if not entirely impossible, we found a way to make sure our clients still get all the information they require. We have created an online audit protocol that enables us to build trusted partnerships with new partners and allows them to enjoy the complete audit experience from the comfort of their office. Let’s take a look at how online audits work.

Step #1: Initial Contact and Discussing the Potential for Cooperation

Establishing a partnership is a process that begins with introduction meetings and presentations that serve an essential goal: finding common interests and discussing the potential for cooperation. Once the potential is established, the following steps comprise paperwork: signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), filling out a self-assessment questionnaire, and sending an informative request for quotation (RFQ).

If the potential for cooperation is confirmed, the next steps include scheduling meetings, defining teams on both sides, creating the agenda for an online audit and preparation of all required documentation.

Step #2: The Online Audit Process

The online audit process uses two different approaches. The first one, Classic Conference Call – Online Audit Supported by Video Material, is a simple yet highly efficient tool designed to check the documentation and review video content. The second one, Live Stream Online Audit, is significantly more extensive and offers the closest approximation to an actual live audit.

Classic Conference Call – Online audits Supported by Video Material

A conference call online audit is a simple and effective way for potential clients to review our processes from the comfort of their office. The clients provide us with information on what they would like to see and which parts of our production process they are interested in, and we create a video of segments they will build their assessment on. Additionally, we can also schedule an online meeting with our experts to discuss any further questions and review all required documentation. This enables our clients to quickly and thoroughly find out everything they need to know about our production process and capabilities.

Live Stream Online audits

A live stream online audit is an in-depth review of our production processes that enables our clients to fully experience and review how we work. It is basically an online meeting with two of our teams at the same time. One team is set in a conference room, providing the information and answering questions, while the other team is streaming a live feed from the manufacturing facilities and presenting supporting video material. The client is in charge of what we focus on during the tour and therefore has the chance to have a closer look at any point of the tour.

What’s Included in the Audit Process?

The virtual tour is organized for each individual customer separately, which enables a personalized audit approach. Nevertheless, all important elements, including manufacturing facilities with individual manufacturing processes, always form a part of the tour, taking the clients from the initial idea through the production line and all the way to delivery.

Our online audits protocol covers the following key areas:

1. General organization – management, key information, corporate strategies and KPIs.
2. Quality management – quality systems and problem analysis, production and quality performance, quality control and measurement laboratory.
3. Production and maintenance – manufacturing processes and production control.
4. Supply chain – forecasts and capacities, logistics and delivery management, inventory and warehouse management, purchasing and procurement processes, incoming inspection.
5. Engineering development support – R&D and project management.
6. People, ethics, health and safety – quality skills training, health and safety, social responsibility.
7. Customer satisfaction – customer satisfaction surveys and KPIs.
8. Environment – environment and energy savings, RoHS and REACH.

Step #3: After Audit Activities

Once the audit is successfully concluded, the client is invited to provide us with feedback on any potential non-conformances. After these issues have been eliminated, an action plan list is created. The next step is the definition of new potential business and ranking on the client’s supplier list. When all commercial points of the contract are defined, new business cooperation can be established.

Despite the fact that online audits are a relatively new approach, companies worldwide are using this opportunity to take a step forward to new business partnerships. In the past months, we have successfully passed 6 audits and formed trusted partnerships with new partners.

Join Us on Our Journey towards the New Reality

Even though the times are challenging, don’t let this stop you in your efforts to form new partnerships and improve your business results. We would like to invite you to take a look at our introduction video to get to know the online audit process even better and contact us for further information on cooperation possibilities.

Looking for a partner who will manage high demands in manufacturing plastic products? Get a quote and become our partner.

Finding and selecting the right partner for business cooperation can be a demanding process. At Team Skaza, we are determined to make this process easier for potential clients. One of the services we offer to showcase our work and provide potential clients with an insight into our capabilities is rapid prototyping services. This is a process that enables clients to make an informed decision about confirming their order. Let’s take a look at our rapid prototyping services and all their benefits.

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Introduction to the Process of Rapid Prototyping Services

When we receive an inquiry from a potential client, we strive to provide them with all the information they need to decide about partnering with us. A rapid prototype is one of the most important factors of that process in plastic industry. In recent years, the rise of rapid prototyping has made it both easier and more affordable to create a scale model of a required part quickly.

Rapid prototyping services enable the clients to see and touch a live version of the product, making it easier to provide feedback and implement necessary changes and improvements. This way, the clients have the chance to actually see the product before making the final confirmation and moving on to mass production.

Benefits of Rapid Prototyping Services

Rapid prototyping services bring a number of benefits that significantly improve business processes as well as results.

Rapid Prototyping Services Is a Quick Process

Our very precise printers provide us with the opportunity to offer our clients an actual prototype of their product in a matter of hours. This speeds up the entire process and enables the clients to make a quick decision to move forward.

Excellent Opportunity for Feedback

While it can be challenging to give feedback on hypothetical products, rapid prototyping services enable both the client and us to see what needs to be changed and improved in the final version of the product. Rapid prototyping services provide us with an opportunity to see and feel the product, thus making the entire feedback process easier and significantly more efficient.

Cost-efficient Solution for a Functional Prototype

Rapid prototyping is a relatively inexpensive process, so it does not bring high costs that could significantly impact the project budget. On the other hand, it also helps save a certain amount of money as it enables potential issues with the product to be discovered and tackled before the production process begins.

Easier and More Efficient Production Process

Rapid prototyping services make the production process a lot easier. Thanks to rapid prototyping, the products are production-ready, supporting the manufacturing protocols and thus enables a quicker and smoother production process.

Excellent Tool for Testing Different Versions

Every product starts with an idea, and clients sometimes have more than one idea. It can be difficult to determine which one is the right one, but rapid prototyping can make this process easier. It enables the client to work closely with our team to develop the best possible product and thus makes the transition from initial design to mass production less risky.

Best Choice for Small Series of Products

Rapid prototyping services are also a great choice in cases when only a couple of parts are needed, since they make it possible to produce parts in small series while keeping manufacturing times and costs relevant.

Find Out More about Rapid Prototyping Services

Prototyping is a necessary stage of any production process and it significantly improves the chances of creating a successful product as well as quickens the entire manufacturing process. Contact us to find out more about our rapid prototyping services and how they could improve the production of your next product.

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There are many things to consider when choosing the best plastics for the production of an indoor furniture product. The first thing that needs to be determined is the type of polymer that will be used for the production of a specific component of the furniture product.

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There are three main categories of plastic materials to choose from: thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomers. Each group of materials provides specific characteristics regarding final properties as well as the production process.

Thermoplastics are polymers that can be melted and reshaped almost indefinitely, although after several cycles properties start to deteriorate due to degradation. Thermosets and elastomers are polymers obtained by irreversibly hardening liquid prepolymers, also known as resins.

Thermoplastics are the preferred choice for production of sustainable products, as they can be easily recycled into new materials after the end of life, and these new materials can then be used for the production of new products. Moreover, they also exhibit high toughness, which is often needed in indoor furniture applications.

On the other hand, products made with thermosets and elastomers can only be incinerated or landfilled. Both of these options are inferior to recycling in terms of sustainability. This is also one of the reasons that nowadays, the vast majority of indoor furniture products are produced from thermoplastic materials. Even when there is a need for a soft and highly flexible material, the conventional elastomers can be replaced with modern thermoplastics elastomers, which combine properties of thermoplastics (recyclability) and elastomers (low stiffness and hardness as well as high flexibility).

A Wide Variety of Options Helps Create the Perfect Indoor Furniture

When the initial decision on the main category of material is made, for example, thermoplastic, there are still numerous options to choose from. The famous thermoplastic pyramid classifies materials based on their morphology and performance. On the left side of the pyramid, there are amorphous polymers, which are characterized by their random structure, while on the right side, there are semi-crystalline polymers, which exhibit ordered structure.

The bottom of the pyramid contains commodity plastics, which are produced in high quantities, have low prices, but also low thermal stability and mechanical strength. Moving up in the pyramid you can find engineering plastics, which are higher in price, but also have significantly higher thermal resistance and mechanical strength. At the top of the pyramid, there are high-performance polymers. These materials have a very high price, but also exhibit astonishing thermal and mechanical performance, which is not needed in indoor furniture applications.

Use of Amorphous Plastics in Indoor Furniture Production

Amorphous plastics are generally transparent to light (with few exceptions) and have very low shrinkage, which makes them perfect for a product that requires tight dimensional tolerances. In indoor furniture applications, this class is especially used for products that have to be transparent.

Polystyrene (PS) and styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) are transparent polymers with high brittleness; thus, they have only limited use in furniture applications due to lack of mechanical performance.

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) can be used for transparent interior furniture products that require good mechanical performance and high light transparency, while polycarbonate (PC) is the best choice for interior furniture products that have to be transparent and very tough.

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is an amorphous polymer, which is not transparent but is also widely used in indoor furniture products, due to its glossy surface combined with good scratch resistance.

Use of Semi-crystalline Plastics in Indoor Furniture Production

Semi-crystalline plastics are non-transparent and in general exhibit better mechanical performance (especially impact resistance) than amorphous plastics.

Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most widely used semi-crystalline plastics in indoor furniture applications as it provides high toughness and flexibility, combined with low price.

Polyamides (PA) are engineering plastics that are often used in applications that require excellent mechanical performance, such as high toughness and strength.

For most demanding structural applications, where very high stiffness and strength are needed, fiber reinforced plastics (FRP), such as glass fiber reinforced PP or PA, are usually employed.

Using Recycled Plastics for Production of Indoor Furniture

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for more sustainable products due to the high environmental awareness of the consumers and the interior furniture sector is not an exception. Implementation of recycled materials not only reduces the price of the end product but also results in a better environmental footprint of the final product.

At Plastika Skaza, we are using recycled materials in many furniture applications, such as plastic chairs, kitchen legs, waste sorting solutions, etc. As explained above, different products require different materials, and that is why we are using a broad scope of recycled materials that range from PS, PP and PA to FRPs.

These products currently contain at least 30% of recycled materials, but we are constantly striving to increase the content of recycled materials in our products to even higher levels, thus creating even more sustainable indoor furniture products.

Let Us Help You Select the Best Plastics for Your Indoor Furniture

With many different types of plastic materials available, choosing the right material for indoor furniture products seems like an overwhelming task, especially as all aforementioned plastics types come in many different grades that further range in properties.

At Plastika Skaza, we have more than 40 years of experience in the production of plastic products, which enables us to efficiently choose the best material for a specific product. Our technical team can help you not only with the material choice but also offer a holistic solution for your indoor furniture product, ranging from the idea and concept, prototyping and testing, product optimization and all the way to the final production.

Contact us for further details and let us help you select the best plastics for your indoor furniture.

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Plastic plays an important role in our daily lives and its role and importance in our economy have been growing consistently over the last 50 years. The global production of plastics today is twenty times what it has been in the 1960s, and it is expected to double in the next two decades. The fact is that plastic, with its wide variety of functions, helps us address a number of challenges that we are facing as a society.

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Innovative light materials used in the production of planes and cars help save fuel and reduce CO2 emissions, insulation materials reduce our energy bills, plastic packaging plays an important role in food safety and bio-compatible plastics combined with medical innovations can even help save lives. And while we can no longer imagine our everyday life without the positive effects of plastic, we cannot ignore the fact that there are also negative ones.

The current way of how plastic is produced, used and – most importantly – discarded too often harms the environment and has an adverse impact on our lives. This is causing growing concerns and requires urgent measures. The fact is that around 25.8 million tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Europe every year and what’s even worse, less than 30% of this waste is collected for recycling.

To curb plastic pollution, we need to take action at a global level to increase the sustainability of the plastics industry and move towards a more circular approach. In order to do that, the EU created a strategy for plastics in a circular economy that lays the foundations for a new plastics economy. Within this strategy, the production of plastics fully respects reuse, repair and recycling needs as well as promotes the development of more sustainable materials (eco-friendly materials).

Moving towards a More Sustainable Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy

Looking at the facts we have mentioned above, it became clear that Europe needs a strategic vision of what the role of plastics in a circular economy should look like. Here are some of the main points of that vision that closely relate to plastics manufacturing.

Changes in Production and Design of Plastics

Changes in the design and production of plastics allow for greater durability and the possibility to reduce and efficiently recycle plastic products. That is why one of the goals is that by 2030, all plastics packaging on the EU market is either reusable or recyclable in a cost-effective manner. At the same time, sorting and recycling capacities should be increased fourfold since 2015, ensuring that more than half of plastic waste produced in Europe is recycled.

Increased Value and Innovative Use of Recycled Plastics

Investing in improved, innovative ways of plastics recycling results in recycled plastics becoming a valuable source for a number of industries. This promotes cooperation between key stakeholders in the field and improves the integration of the plastics value chain. As a result, poorly sorted plastics waste is phased out or replaced.

Growing Demand for Recycled Plastics

Once the market for recycled plastics is established, more and more products will incorporate some recycled content, accounting for a clear growth of demand for recycled plastics. This provides a stable flow of revenue for the recycling industry as well as job security in the sector.

Reduced Dependence on Imported Fossil Fuels

Plastic products using more and more recycled plastic materials also translates into a reduced need for other source materials, ensuring a reduced dependence on imported fossil fuels. As new innovative materials are developed and used, this creates additional opportunities for growth and change.

Turning Visions into Reality: Concrete Measures for Plastics in Circular Economy

To move towards a more sustainable role of plastics in a circular economy, the EU proposed concrete measures to help make this vision a reality. These measures focus on four key areas.

Improving the Economics and Quality of Plastics Recycling

Focusing on recycling plastics is one area that can bring significant environmental and economic benefits, but this can only be achieved by improving how plastics are produced and designed. This calls for key players in the field of plastic manufacturing to work together in order to improve the design and promote innovations that make plastics more easily recyclable, to improve the collection of plastic waste, ensuring a quality input for the recycling industry, to expand recycling capacities of the EU and to establish markets for recycled plastic.

Curbing Plastic Waste and Littering

Curbing plastic waste and littering mainly focuses on preventing plastic waste in our environment, establishing a regulatory framework for plastics with biodegradable properties and tackling the rising problem of microplastics.

Driving Innovation and Investment towards Circular Solutions

Since achieving the objectives included in the strategy is something that will require substantial investments in terms of both infrastructure and innovation, this also means that a large financial investment will be needed. That is why one of the key points is also creating the framework that enables driving innovation and investment in the right direction. The EU has thus allocated certain funding to support these efforts, however, the scale of private and public investments will have to significantly increase.

Harnessing Global Action

Plastics in a Circular Economy: a Challenge or an Opportunity?

Definitely both, but by tackling these issues with an ambitious and bold strategy, we can turn challenges of plastics in a circular economy into opportunities that will bring us closer to our goal: a more sustainable future for everyone and a cleaner, safer environment for citizens in Europe and all over the world.

Source: A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy

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Multi-component technology is a relatively new technology that is becoming more and more popular and widely used in the field of plastic manufacturing. This innovative new technology can help improve your products, makes production easier, faster and more cost-efficient, and it brings a number of exciting possibilities as it develops further. Let’s take a bit more detailed look at multi-material injection molding.

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What Is Multi-component Technology and Multi-material Injection Molding?

Multi-component technology uses a number of different substances, paints, and/or materials in one single process sequence to create the products you need. It brings new perspectives and new possibilities in plastics processing and offers a high degree of flexibility. This makes it especially suitable for mass production in the plastic industry and it also ensures a more cost-efficient production of your products.

Multi-material injection molding is a process of molding products made out of different components. In this process, we use two or more injection devices in a series of steps. A number of different materials or different colors is subsequently added to the mold in order to combine various compounds and create a visually attractive and extremely functional composite part. This final part can feature a wide variety of complex functions and characteristics and can be used directly without any additional processing.

This process offers a number of new, exciting possibilities in the world of plastic processing, and it has been undergoing rapid development in recent years. Each new advancement in the technology offers more possibilities, further reduces costs, and improves the already superb quality of final products.

Where Are the Limits of Multi-material Injection Molding?

This is a difficult question to answer, as these limits seem to be moving every day. What was considered impossible only a few years ago, has now become a reality, and multi-component technology is evolving further every day.

While plastic products were once made out of one single material, we now can easily produce products that are made with two or more different materials. Two-component injection molding features two different materials or colors, while multiple-component injection molding can feature three, four or even more components. Currently, the most advanced machines enable using up to six different injections units, but as quickly as things are developing, this may change soon.

What Are the Advantages of Multi-material Injection Molding?

We’ve already mentioned some of the benefits of multi-material injection molding, but let’s take a more detailed look at all the benefits it brings.

Multi-material Injection Molding Is a Very Cost-effective Technology

Multi-material injection molding offers cost-effective production of complex final parts in one single step. It is able to manufacture products in a single production cell, which significantly reduces both initial investments as well as ongoing costs.

Improved Quality Control Thanks to a Replicable Production Process

Multi-material injection molding is an exact and fully controllable process, which enables us to replicate the same excellent results every single time.

Wide Variety of Different Designs and Options in Terms of Shapes, Materials and Colors

Your business is constantly evolving and advancing, and you need products that can keep up with that. Multi-material injection molding offers a great variety of different options so that you can find just the right one for your needs.

Custom-made Products with Tailored Product Properties

If you need very specific products with less common material combinations, you probably already know that sourcing them can be a problem. With multi-material injection molding, we can easily create the most demanding combinations, such as rigid-soft combinations or products with heat, chemical, or high-pressure resistance.

How Do We Use Multi-component Injection Molding to Create the Products You Need?

At Skaza, we are always keeping up with the most advanced technologies in the world of plastics manufacturing, so we are also successfully following the latest trends in the field of multi-material injection molding. Our vast knowledge, years of experience and modern equipment enable us always to stay a step ahead of our competition, thus giving you the opportunity to do the same with your competition.

We mostly use multi-material injection molding for the production of industrial components and housing for the electro industry. Our flagship products in this field include products such as counter housing of smart electric meters, made with 2K injection molding, and electrical cabinet housing of gas meters, made with 3K injection molding.

Find Out How Your Business Can Benefit from Multi-component Injection Molding!

If you think that multi-material injection molding is something that might be interesting and beneficial for your business as well, contact us to find out more! We are a trusted partner of many big companies from all over the world and we are confident that we can help you come up with just the solution you need as well.

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In the article Bioplastic classification, we learned about the definition of bioplastics and the distinction between biobased and biodegradable plastics. This article will try to explain the concept of bioplastic solutions further and dive deeper into its production, advantages and disadvantages, applications, and end-of-life of bioplastics.

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Global production of bioplastic

While global production of plastics amounts to a staggering 367 million tons annually, sustainable materials as bioplastics - bioplastic solutions - have only recently made their way into the market. Despite the increased environmental awareness, bioplastic still accounts for only about 0.6% (2.1 million tons) of total plastic production. However, the production of bioplastics is expected to experience steady growth to about 2.9 million tons in 2025. About 44.5% of all bioplastics produced are exclusively biobased, with the remainder composed of various types of biodegradable plastics that can be either fossil-based or bio-based. Starch blends have the largest share (21.3 %), followed by polylactic acid (PLA) (13.9 %) and polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) (13.4 %), which are mainly used in packaging applications.

Advantages and disadvantages of bioplastic solutions

Bioplastic solutions have significant advantages over conventional plastics in the sense that they reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the depletion of fossil resources. As such, bioplastics contribute to our ambitious goal of becoming a carbon-neutral society, not dependant on fossil resources. Unfortunately, bioplastics may also have worse environmental impacts than conventional plastics in some aspects due to the intense use of fertilizers in the cultivation of renewable raw materials used for bio-based plastic production. Therefore, comparing the environmental impact of conventional and bioplastic solutions is not a completely black and white story but instead depends on which environmental impact we consider to be more important.

An important advantage of biodegradable plastics is their ability to be broken down into non-harmful compounds, reducing the damage caused by plastics when they are unintentionally released into the environment. Even though the damage is significantly reduced because biodegradable plastics decompose much faster than conventional plastics, it is still a relatively slow process, so care must be taken to dispose of plastic waste responsibly. Biodegradability is also a helpful feature in various biomedical applications, where they are used for the controlled release of drugs and various therapeutic devices, such as implants and scaffolds for tissue engineering. While non-biodegradable bio-based plastics have similar physical properties to their fossil-based counterparts, the physical properties of biodegradable plastics are generally inferior compared to conventional plastics.

Applications of bioplastic solutions

Bioplastics solutions are being used in an increasingly wide range of applications, from packaging, agriculture, consumer goods, textiles, buildings, furniture, electronics, medical, transportation, and other segments. The largest share of bioplastics applications can be found in packaging, where more than 53 % of all bioplastics produced are used. While both bio-based and biodegradable plastics are used in most of the above applications, their market segmentation differs significantly. Biodegradable plastics are predominantly used in packaging applications, while bio-based plastics have a comparatively larger share in the production of various durable goods.

End of life

Efficient waste management is essential to achieve resource efficiency and meet the goals of the circular economy. A large proportion of non-biodegradable biobased plastics such as polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate can be efficiently mechanically recycled in already established recycling streams, as these types of plastics have the same composition as their fossil-based counterparts. Other types of bioplastics can also be mechanically recycled but suffer from the lack of established recycling streams as they are produced in small quantities. In case biobased plastics cannot be reused or recycled, they can be used as a renewable energy resource through various waste-to-energy technologies.

Biodegradable plastics can be subjected to a biodegradation process. With the help of microorganisms, they first break down into smaller parts, then into monomers and finally into biomass, carbon dioxide and water.

Biodegradation provides an additional waste treatment option that is particularly useful in bioplastic solutions such as compostable biowaste bags, food packaging, and cutlery. These products can be disposed of with organic waste and turned into valuable compost in industrial composting facilities.

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Investments in research, development and innovations are an essential part of our company's operations and a key to ensuring its growth in the future. To make these processes run even smoother and increase productivity, we wanted to define the role of R&I more precisely. Therefore, we have strategically decided to divide the typical R&D department into separated research & innovations and development departments.

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Considering the span of the nine-level TRL (Technology Readiness Level) scale, the role of R&I department mainly relates to following trends in plastic manufacturing and basic research up to about TRL 6. Further steps are then usually taken forwards by our development department.

Open innovation concept

In a world of widely distributed knowledge, research-orientated companies like Skaza can achieve much more if they don't rely exclusively on their own data, but invite other sources, especially start-up companies and education centers, to participate in the development of new ideas. That is why ensuring the open innovation concept is a vital role of R&I department at Skaza, which helps our partners participate in these processes more actively. Among the most fruitful ongoing collaborations are those with the Faculty of Polymer Technology from Slovenj Gradec, which Skaza also co-founded, and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, part of the University of Maribor.

The open innovation concept is fully endorsed especially when it comes to the research of sustainable materials, which represents one of the key pillars in Skaza's development. The main goal of these researches is to make the production of our plastic items more sustainable. Our partners' inputs during this process are highly valued since we realize that together we have a truly unique opportunity of developing entirely new materials.

Role of R&I in developing new materials

Connecting with our partners is an integral part of developing new and more sustainable materials, but the role of R&I is even deeper than that. As you already know, sustainability has been an important part of our company's identity for many years now. Our own knowledge and creativity have proven crucial to successfully target these goals, especially when it comes to more demanding products.

An important focus of sustainable devolvement is introducing eco-friendlier materials to the production of plastic items. Recycled materials include a mixture of our internal sources, as well as post-industrial and post-consumer materials. The base for developing better and eco-friendlier substances, where the role of R&I plays an important part, is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This methodology helps us determine all environmental impacts associated with numerous stages of our product, from raw material extraction and processing, through the product's manufacture, distribution and use, to the recycling or final disposal of its materials.

Once a product sample has been produced, our R&I team continues its work by checking the suitability of the material, both qualitatively and esthetically. Once all regulations are met, we usually need to tweak some formulation details, including additives and colorants. An important role of R&I is also to improve the production parameters, thus influencing the quality of the items and their impact on the environment.

Developing new technological processes

Parallel to developing new materials, an essential role of R&I is also to introduce new technological processes, which can significantly improve our working methods and lower the production costs. One of these innovative processes, often referred to as industry 4.0, is advanced UWB technology, which allows us to monitor numerous devices in the production line better. This doesn't not only help us optimize the production but built better B2B partnerships as well.

In the next step, these investments will further help us establish even better communication with our partners by combining UWB technology and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). This will eventually lead to initiating an effective and transparent production with traceability of recycled materials through the EcoTrails system.

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By their definition, polymers consist of a large number of repeating units. However, after adding certain supplements, they are no longer called polymers, but polymeric materials (plastic), which can be processed by various methods and are suitable for numerous products. In this blog, check out the classification of bioplastic to find out more.

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The first such plastics were produced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since then, global plastic production has reached approximately 367 million tons yearly, with only a small portion of the plastic (2.1 million tons) representing bioplastics. Recently, however, the awareness about the finiteness of fossil resources, which are the primary source of plastics, is growing. Although it is still unclear at what point this would lead to an acute shortage, it is widely believed that this could happen within the next 50 years. Nevertheless, it will probably not happen because of the use of fossil resources for plastics and chemicals, but mainly because of their use for energy and transportation.

Only between 4 and 6% of fossil resources are used for plastics and chemicals, while 45% are used for transportation, and 42% are used for electricity and heating.

(Read more about sustainable materials on our blog.)

Most common classification of bioplastic

The most broadly used classification of bioplastic differentiates between bio-based materials and/or bio-degradable materials. Depending on the biodegradability and biobased content, plastics can be divided into four groups:

• Group 1: Bioplastics that are biobased or partially biobased and non-biodegradable, such as bio-PE, bio-PET, bio-PA, and bio-PTT.
• Group 2: Bioplastics that are biobased and biodegradable, such as PLA, PHA, PBS, and starch blends.
• Group 3: Bioplastics that are fossil-based and non-biodegradable, such as conventional PE, PP and PET.
• Group 4: Bioplastics that are fossil-based and biodegradable, such as PBAT and PCL.

Bioplastic classification between bio-based vs. fossil-based materials

According to this classification of bioplastic, conventional plastics produced from monomer building blocks derived from natural resources are called drop-in plastics. They have the same properties as their fossil-based analog and can therefore directly replace conventional fossil-based plastic. The prefix bio- in this case only means that this plastic is biobased. On the other hand, polycaprolactone is produced from monomer building blocks derived from fossil resources and is biodegradable, even compostable. However, they are both called bioplastics.

A large group of materials belonging to the bioplastics group introduces a lot of confusion regarding the origin of the material and their decomposition. Therefore, it would be useful to consider a clearer or more detailed classification of bioplastic in the future. The biodegradability and compostability of a material are completely independent of the origin of the material but depend solely on the chemical composition. The potential of bioplastic will definitely shape the future of the plastics industry.

Guest-blogging by: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irena Pulko, PhD, Vice-Dean for Education

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When we think about great inventions that changed history, we usually think about computers, cars, and planes. However, we rarely ask ourselves how these innovations were created in the first place. We tend to take advanced manufacturing methods and tools for granted without realizing that all this fun stuff we have today, probably wouldn't exist if someone wouldn't first invent and later refine numerous production techniques, including injection molding processes.

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We could argue that injection molding processes have emerged as one of the essential means in modern manufacturing in the plastic industry, offering cost-effective, high-quality production runs and durable, corrosion-resistant parts and products. Investments in this technology have enhanced plastics' design and application possibilities in various feels, from the furniture industry to electronics and even medicine.

When did injection molding processes start?

The pioneers of injection molding processes were American brothers John and Isaiah Hyatt, who patented the very first injection molding machine back in 1872 and used it to mold buttons, combs, and similar items. Although the mechanism was very simple by today's standards, it represented an important milestone of the industrial revolution.

The plastics manufacturing industry quickly took off and in the following decades, various inventors from both sides of the Atlantic contribute towards its further devolvement. In 1903, German scientists, Arthur Eichengrün and Theodore Becker, advanced soluble forms of cellulose acetate that was much less flammable than previous alternatives, which significantly contributed to the safety of injection molding processes. It was eventually made available in a powder form from which it was readily injection molded.

Plastic boom

Injection molding processes really took off in the 1930s when numerous popular thermoplastics were invented. (polyolefins, polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride). And then came the second world war, which changed the history of humankind in so many ways. It fostered the wartime economy of the United States that would later drive the first phase of the postwar industrial revolution, which was based on high demand for inexpensive, mass-produced materials. And that is when investments in injection molding processes genuinely spiked.

Plastics filled the gap of material shortages in numerous industries in the post-WWII world, most notably rubber, whose production was disrupted by the war in Asia. As business leaders recognized the tremendous cost advantages over competing materials, global supply chains were re-evaluated and plastics spread through the entire world.

Modern injection molding processes

In 1946, American inventor James Watson Hendry built the world's first extrusion screw injection molding machine. Using a rotating screw, Hendry was able to control better the injection molding processes, which drastically increased the quality of the manufactured products.

In the next step, Hendry developed gas-assisted injection molding processes, a crucial innovation that enabled the production of longer and more complex hollow items. Because plastic had greater strength and lighter weight, its production almost completely overtook steel by the 1970s. Hendry is regarded as one of the most important names in the history of plastic manufacturing. Without his inventions, plastic injection molding would not be as advanced as it is today.

Thanks to the developments in computer science, the injection molding processes nowadays are even smoother and the results are more precise. Because of their low-cost and effective methods of producing high-quality products, their capabilities are used by nearly every manufacturing sector, even in advanced technological and scientific applications.

Sustainable ways of manufacturing plastic products

While nobody can deny the importance of plastic manufacturing in today's world, we also have to acknowledge its negative impact on the environment. Plastic waste is a big problem and more sustainable solutions should be the next logical step in the history of plastics. Skaza is showing great interest in taking the initiative by implementing eco-friendly materials into our production as well as developing other programs which promote the circular economy and meeting similar sustainable development goals.

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Are you developing a new plastic product and considering using sustainable bio-based materials? Maybe you have already decided to use bio-based materials but aren't sure which one to choose? To help you make this decision, we have prepared a list of the top five bio-based materials suitable for injection molding.

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Here at Skaza, we strongly believe in using eco-friendly materials and sustainable resources (recycled and bio-based materials) in our plastic products. We follow our vision by producing 85% of Skaza branded products from sustainable materials and aim to increase this number even more in the coming years. Our focus is on producing reusable plastic products that can be efficiently recycled, as we believe this is the right path to a sustainable future and keeps our planet green. Therefore, this article focuses on non-biodegradable bio-based materials as they are generally better suited for such products.

Low-density polyethylene

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is a material you've no doubt encountered, as it's a very common packaging material used for products like shopping bags. However, LDPE can also be used for injection molding of plastic products such as medical products, food containers, cosmetic and pharmaceutical packaging, furniture parts, toys, industrial parts, etc. LDPE is used in applications where a very flexible and tough material is required. In 2019, 17.4 % of all plastic products manufactured in Europe were made from LDPE and linear LDPE, making it the second most used material.

LDPE is traditionally made from fossil resources, but bio-based versions have also become commercially available in recent years. Bio-based materials are typically made from sugar cane by producing ethanol and then converting it to ethylene, which is used to polymerize LDPE. Skaza already uses bio-based LDPE to produce sustainable cutting boards from our Solo line.

High-Density Polyethylene

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is LDPE's bigger brother. It is made from the same basic building blocks but has higher stiffness, strength, hardness, and temperature resistance but lower flexibility. Like LDPE, it is used in many different industries for applications requiring slightly stiffer and stronger materials than LDPE. HDPE is also one of the most commonly used polymers, ranking third in terms of frequency. However, if we consider only the injection molding process, it is even more widely used than LDPE.

HDPE is also one of the most extensively used bio-based materials, here at Skaza, where we use bio-based HDPE to produce injection-molded plastic products. For example, the entire Viva 2.0 dinnerware set is made from bio-based HPDE, as are most of the products in our Pick & Go picnic set.

Polytrimethylene terephthalate

If you want to make a plastic product from environmentally friendly bio-based materials, but the mechanical and thermal properties of HDPE are not sufficient for your application, then polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) might be the right answer. PTT has similar properties to its polyester cousin polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), but is also made from renewable resources. However, unlike bio-based LDPE and HDPE, where the majority (about 95%) of the components are made from renewable resources, PTT is only partially bio-based (37%). Nevertheless, it is an excellent choice for more demanding applications, such as electronic components, automotive components and medical devices, as well as other consumer and industrial products. The advantages of PTT are high dimensional stability and low moisture absorption. In recent years, fully bio-based alternatives to PTT, such as polyethylene furanoate (PEF), have also emerged but are not yet commercially available.

Polyamide 11

Polyamides are a well-known class of engineering polymers with excellent physical properties. Polyamide 11 (PA 11) is a fully bio-based specialty polyamide produced from castor oil. Key advantages of PA 11 are low density, low moisture absorption, high dimensional stability, excellent chemical resistance, low permeability and high impact strength. Therefore, it is used in many demanding applications, such as automotive, pneumatic, aerospace, oil and gas, medical, food packaging and sports equipment.

Polyamide 6,10

Polyamide 6,10 is another popular item on the list of bio-based materials with excellent physical properties. Compared to PA 11, it offers higher strength and temperature resistance, but is only partially bio-based (bio-based content of about 60%). PA 6,10 has similar mechanical and thermal properties to fossil-based PA 6, but has lower moisture absorption, making it more suitable for applications where plastic parts are exposed to moisture. Since PA 6,10 is partially bio-based, it is also a more sustainable alternative to PA6.

Still not sure which bio-based materials are best for your product? Contact us and we will be happy to help you find the best solution for your product.

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While industrial development has led to a more comfortable life for human civilization by providing us with unimaginable resources in an agrarian society, it has also brought us an enormous environmental burden in the form of depletion of non-renewable resources and pollution.

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Only recently, we fully realized that the current path of industrialization would destroy our precious planet, which led to increased environmental awareness, reflected in focus on sustainable development and greener trends in plastic industry.

Circular economy is one of the most important trends in plastic industry

The plastic industry is also one of the main contributors to industrial pollution and resource consumption. However, the situation is getting brighter since a sharp shift from linear towards circular economy became one of the main trends in the plastic industry and is expected to grow stronger in the future.

The first step in this direction is developing greener plastic products by utilizing the principles of eco-design, a systematic approach to designing more environmentally friendly products. Here several different strategies are adopted, usually comprising of:

• the use of sustainable materials,
• reducing total use of materials,
• optimizing production techniques,
• decreasing product impact during use, and
• considering the product's end of life.

While eco-design is definitely one of the most promising trends in plastic industry, it cannot fulfill its role without efficient waste management. That is why in recent years, we see a shift in focus to employ the hierarchical waste management approach, which aims to treat waste according to the following order (from most to least favorable): prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal.

More sustainable trends in plastic industry are also the core focus of Plastika Skaza's vision and mission. We always strive to decrease the negative environmental effect of plastic products on the environment, which is reflected in our product line. We aim to reduce the use of single-use plastic products by replacing them with multi-use plastic products designed and produced in a way that presents the least possible environmental burden. We achieve this by using renewable energy and sustainable materials that can be efficiently recycled.

Industry 4.0 technologies

In the 18^th century, the development of manufacturing machines that are powered using steam and water gave rise to the so-called first industrial revolution, which transformed the global economy by substituting manual labor with machine labor. The second industrial revolution happened in the 19^th century by the installation of the extensive railroad and telegraph networks, which allowed the fast transfer of people, ideas and electricity. The development of computers in the late 20^th century gave rise to a third industrial revolution, where extensive automation of manufacturing processes occurred. Currently, we are witnessing the implementation of a fourth industrial revolution or so-called Industry 4.0.

Industry 4.0 is the ongoing automation of manufacturing processes using modern smart technologies, such as machine-to-machine communication (M2M), the internet of things (IoT) and big data analytics. Like previous industrial revolutions, which completely transformed the global economy by introducing new technologies, Industry 4.0 promises to change how things are manufactured by introducing smart machines, which can operate autonomously and present new trends in plastic industry.

The biggest potentials for new trends in plastic industry lie in

• mass customization,
• efficient and flexible production,
• prediction of process and product quality.

Mass customization refers to a business strategy that offers highly customized products without the high costs by using flexible computer-aided manufacturing systems and novel production technologies, such as additive manufacturing (3D printing). Increased automation with flexible production technologies will result in more efficient processes, which don't require manual labor, thus decreasing production costs and offering humans to avoid repetitive tasks and focus their work on the things where they excel. Prediction of the processes and product quality will improve the quality of the products and prevent products with defects from entering the market, contributing to the increased reliability of the products.

Metal replacement

The early 20^th century trends in plastic industry resulted in a huge success story where global plastic production increased from 2 million tons in 1950 to nearly 360 million tons in 2018 and is expected to triple by 2050. This global rise of plastics resulted from its unique properties, such as low production and processing costs, high design flexibility, low density, good corrosion resistance and unique mechanical properties.

Plastic materials gave rise to entirely new products, which were not possible to produce using traditional materials. On the other hand, they also started to substitute traditional materials (such as metals) in existing products. While replacing metals with plastic materials began shortly after the invention of synthetic polymers, it has still not realized its full potential. As typical plastic materials have significantly lower strength and stiffness than metals, the metal replacement first only began in less demanding applications. However, advancements in polymer and material science and engineering gave rise to new high-performance plastic materials, such as fibre reinforced plastics (FRP), which have physical properties that enable metal replacement in increasingly more demanding applications that were unimaginable a few years before.

Metal replacement is still one of the strongest trends in plastic industry, and polymers are still finding their way to a new application in different fields, such as mobility, aerospace, energy production, medical, furniture, sports equipment, etc.

Lightweight construction

Lightweight construction is another one of the more promising trends in plastic industry with a similar goal as a metal replacement. The lightweight construction aims to decrease the weight of the products by utilizing various methodologies, for example, by intelligent material combination, biomimicry (cellular and sandwich structures, fibre composites), functional integration (e.g. integration of sensors and actuators on a material level), etc. Decreased weight of the products offers many benefits, such as higher performance, increased resource efficiency and lower environmental impact.

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Never before in the long history of humanity, we had technology at our disposal that would allow us to collaborate so closely with each other as we do today. On the other hand, the human race has never been in a situation where such close collaboration was as necessary as it is in today’s globalized world. To address the international challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change and environmental degradation, United Nations General Assembly set 17 sustainable development goals (SDG) back in 2015, which are intended to be achieved by 2030.

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Like its predecessor, the so-called Millennium Development Goals agenda lasted from 2000 to 2015. These new sustainable development goals serve as a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all the people on Earth.

What are sustainable development goals?

The list of 17 sustainable development goals set by the UN seemed very broad at first. That is why two years later, the agenda was amended by identifying between 8 and 12 specific targets for each of the listed SDGs. Furthermore, the success of achieving each target can be measured with up to four indicators.

Let’s have a look at the list of the sustainable development goals set to make our world a better place by 2030.

(1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender Equality, (6) Clean Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable and Clean Energy, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reducing Inequality, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production, (13) Climate Action, (14) Life Below Water, (15) Life On Land, (16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, (17) Partnerships for the Goals.

Several concerns about achieving sustainable development goals were raised, including critiques that there are too many of them, making us lose focus. However, it is hard to argue that some goals are less important than others, and it is really up to every one of us to find inspiration and contribute to seeking solutions following our abilities. Here at Skaza, we can easily identify a few categories where we can make a difference.

Responsible production and consumption

Responsible production is definitely one of the concepts in strong harmony with our vision, and we are always looking for partners who share our values and put sustainability high on their agenda. In recent years, Skaza has become synonymous with the circular economy in all segments of its operations. Our sustainable policy first and foremost revolves around the circulation and reuse of materials, which is also demonstrated in our commitment to the use of more sustainable next-generation materials.

Furthermore, other focal points of our sustainable policy include ensuring sustainable management of electricity and other types of energy, transport and logistics of our materials, and, last but not least, contributing to sustainable household habits with our products. Moreover, the notion of circular economy has been further implemented into our operation with the introduction of our “New Life Project”, which was also designed to include our customers to participate in the joint effort to make consumption more responsible.

Sustainable communities

This is one of the sustainable development goals we can all actively contribute to. With a bit of initiative by local governments, every community can work together to make the world a better place. A great example is an urban garden in South Korea, where people gather their bio-waste and later use it to fertilize public gardens.

Skaza is trying to take a more active role in bio-waste management by introducing several composting bins, making indoor composting accessible and widely available. This is a great way to effectively deal with food leftovers individually and participate in the never-ending cycle of taking from nature and giving it back. It will not just lower household’s bio-waste volume by 25% and this contribute to fewer emissions, but also provide users with natural fertilizer for their crops.

Other sustainable development goals we can take action in

There are several other sustainable development goals set by the UN, Skaza is taking an unofficial but active part in achieving them. With our focus on sustainability, we believe in making considerable contributions towards better climate conditions and cleaner water. Furthermore, in the not-so-distant future, we intend to broaden our recent involvement in smart meters technology and thus leave our mark on the clean energy sector.

Moreover, with our undying desire to help our partners optimize their production processes to the maximum, we also contribute a lot to innovations in numerous industries and help shape a better tomorrow for everyone.

As you can see, it is not hard to find a way to participate in achieving sustainable development goals set by the UN with a bit of self-initiative. Hopefully, we have also inspired some of you to address the global challenges we are facing. We can only do it together.

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The idea of circular economy as a flow of materials and energy is far from new. We can trace its origin as far back as 1966 when English-American economist Kenneth E. Boulding first explained the benefits of a cyclical production system. However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the term circular economy appeared for the first time and was further developed in the following decades, especially with the rise of raw material prices in the 2000s, the Chinese embargo on rare earths and the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008.

Nowadays, the term circular economy characterizes a production system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. As opposed to being just a great way of exhibiting a company’s sustainable policies, the circular economy became more or less a must in every industry in recent years. With the climate emergency and environmental challenges strongly influencing companies in various industries to rethink their consumption and production patterns, the circular economy model presented itself as a more effective answer to these challenges.

Circular economy at Skaza

Skaza is no stranger to the circular economy and employing ideas of reuse, share, repair, refurbish, remanufacture and recycle to create a closed-loop system. We have been implementing these concepts into our production for the past few years by effectively returning waste materials back into the cycle of new products.

With the introduction of our own label, we took the idea even further and developed a system of the so-called multi-circular economy. In addition to the classical reuse of waste materials, this advanced scheme allows us also to implement our own products into the cycle. Such Skaza’s items are, for example, our sustainable plastic tableware made from bio-based recyclables (drinking cups Viva 2.0 and picnic set Pick&Go) or Bokashi Organko composters from recycled polymers.

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New Life Project

With our “New Life Project”, we also wanted to invite our customers to participate in the circular economy system. Although we strive to produce only high-quality products, there is no denying that every item has its expiration date. When that day comes and consumers don’t need it anymore, we encourage them to return their Skaza’s products back to us. As manufacturers, we know all about materials in our products and can easily sort them by type and color. This way, we get a high-quality secondary raw material not contaminated with dirt or other types of plastic, which means the recycling process is faster and more economically and ecologically efficient.

Participating in the “New Life Project” is entirely free for our customers in Slovenia. All we ask from them is to fill in the pick-up form and get the item cleaned and ready before the courier service collects it at their home. Furthermore, as a token of our gratitude for taking part in our circular economy system, we grant them a discount for their next purchase of Skaza’s items.

Bokashi Organko composters as an example of a double circle

With the implementation of the circular economy concept into our production, Skaza aims to contribute towards a sustainable society based on recyclable and renewable resources. We believe in a model that is no longer considering resources as infinite. Another great example is the story of our Bokashi Organko composters, which play an equally important role in the never-ending cycle of bio-waste. These innovative composter bins allow us to process food leftovers through fermentation and turn them into Bokashi mass which is highly beneficial to our garden soil. In addition, home composting with Bokashi Organko also provides a special fermentation liquid that can be used as a bio-detergent to clean the kitchen drain or - when diluted with water - a fertilizer for plants.

In this case, we are talking about a double circle with plastic recycling on one part and food composting on the other. We add to every material a new way of life. For that reason, we get an infinite circle that exhibits a new and advanced example of circular economy, minimizing the use of resource inputs more comprehensibly and with that efficiently lowering pollution and carbon emissions.

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The use of sustainable materials such as bio-based and recycled plastics is increasing; although many people still believe they are only suitable for undemanding applications like packaging and non-technical plastic parts. However, the rapid development in recent years have given us very promising results, which means that sustainable materials can also be used in more demanding industries like furniture manufacturing or even medical equipment.

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To prove our claims, we have prepared a list of five widespread presumptions about the superiority of conventional over sustainable materials and provide comprehensive evidence why these statements are merely myths.

Myth #1: The quality of sustainable materials is lower than that of conventional ones in terms of physical characteristics

There is a common misconception between biobased and biodegradable materials. The term biobased means only that material is obtained from renewable resources (usually plants), while the term biodegradable means that under the presence of microorganisms (found in nature) the material will decompose faster than conventional non-biodegradable material. There is also a common belief that biodegradation of plastic material is always desired in terms of sustainability, however, scientific studies suggest that proper waste management combined with recycling is a more sustainable approach compared to the end of life by biodegradation, since it preserves the precious resources.

There are two major advantages of using biobased materials in plastic products. The first advantage is that the production of these materials is truly sustainable, as it doesn’t deplete the limited fossil resources. The second advantage is that biobased materials can be mechanically recycled in the same way as conventional materials, thus promoting the concept of a circular economy. However, recycling can’t be repeated indefinitely due to degradation processes occurring during the mechanical recycling process, and sooner or later the material must come to the end of its life cycle, usually by incineration. When biobased material gets incinerated it releases into an atmosphere the carbon dioxide that has been recently accumulated into material from the atmosphere by plants, thus being carbon neutral.

Myth #2: Bio-based materials have a shorter lifespan than conventional materials

Science shows us that bio-based materials can have the same chemical structure as their fossil-based counterparts, which means their physical characteristics are entirely equivalent. What's more, in some cases physical characteristics of biobased materials are even superior to the similar fossil-based, which has been proven in the recent study carried out by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana.

Scientists compared the performance of polymeric gears produced from conventional fossil-based Polyoxymethylene (POM) and Polyamide 66 (PA 66) and a novel biobased Polyamide 6.10 (PA 6.10) material and the results were more than encouraging. The biobased (PA 6.10) gears exhibited a 3,5-times longer lifespan than POM ones and a 10-times longer lifespan than PA 66 gears when tested under identical conditions. This strongly indicates great potential for replacing fossil-based plastics with more sustainable materials not just in the case of gear applications, but also in other industries with severe operational conditions.

Myth #3: Recycled materials are only suitable for undemanding products

To be completely honest, this myth can’t be debunked as easily since the usage of recycled plastics remains limited in some industries, most notably in food packaging. In terms of sanitary and technical issues, the re-use of plastic in packaging that has direct contact with food presents greater challenges than certain other materials like glass or metal.

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That said, the beverage industry claims its interest in the broader use of recycled PET since it reduces CO2 emissions and the environmental impact in general. At this moment several brands already offer bottles in partially recycled PET and the situation is likely to improve even more in the near future since some reports suggest that certain recycling are already capable of supplying recycled PET with a purity level that is equivalent to or higher than that of virgin PET.

Myth #4: Recycled materials only come in black color

Recycled plastic material is usually made from a mix of numerous plastic objects which come in various colors. Once they are mixed, the material gets a dark brown tone which prevents the items made from it to be colored anything else than brown or black. However, new technological advances in this field now also enable the production of recycled plastic material in white color, which allows us to add colorants, thus producing plastic products in various colors. Skaza’s has already timed up with partners who can provide us with such advanced recycled sustainable materials, which we use for manufacturing colorful seat shells.

Myth #5: Characteristics of recycled materials are not equivalent to those of conventional ones

This might have been true until a few years ago, but new approaches to reusing plastics are emerging every day and debunking this myth. One of the most promising solutions seems to be chemical recycling, which enables the production of high-quality sustainable materials. They can be used as drop-in solutions in all current applications of fossil-based alternatives. Furthermore, chemical recycling also gives us the opportunity to recycle a wider range of waste plastics than what is possible with traditional (mechanical) recycling.

We hope these arguments were convincing enough to make you believe the future of plastic manufacturing is brighter than it looks. To further support our claims on the superiority of sustainable materials (biobased and recycled ones) over fossil-based plastic, we invite you to check out the wide range of our projects. You can see that we developed unique solutions to some of the biggest challenges society and our planet are facing.

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The energy and electro industries are challenged to address a sustainable future in terms of product manufacturing and finding suppliers who live the same story.

A successful partnership that lasts more than 15 years and builds a future of energy

The right attitude and cooperation everywhere, especially in the plastic industry, write successful partnership stories in the electro industry for more than 15 years. In the meantime, this is supported by the legislation that has tended primarily to the right and sustainable direction of energy consumption and green management.

A partner who trusts those who know the game rules

The development of innovative products and the promotion of sustainability are important focuses of our company's strategy. We prove this through many years of cooperation with the company, an energy management leader, for more than 125 years. Through all this time, we have learned together, developed and strengthened our trusted relationship.

We started writing the story with the first project based on tool transfer and a small annual series. We believed it was a ticket into the electro industry, which later proved correct – it was the beginning of the successful partnership. After a successful project, we became a trustworthy supplier and got more and more projects. Together, we developed meters housings and improved existing products.

Our progress has been reflected in the constant integration of new technologies into the manufacturing process. We reached the important milestone with the partner receiving the entire series for manufacturing electric meters, where we added new technologies such as color injection molding, ultrasonic welding, and tampography. This way, we helped the customer with the development and improvements that are the foundation of any good optimization.

High goals and responsibility, which are reflected in every aspect of our business, led us to a project that was considered the first in the field of smart metering housings. Together with technologists from England, we collaborated on joint development and became the main supplier of a new smart meter line.

Teamwork that shows results

The key for a successful collaboration was assigning a key account management team specialized in the electro industry. The team consists of a group of experts who take care of the business development and management at all stages and in all areas. This way, we show confidence and experience, besides, together, we develop ongoing new innovative projects.

Customer satisfaction, a foundation of every relationship, is monitored with the annual survey, where customers express their opinion and build action plans based on them. This way, we constantly strive to increase the level of satisfaction.

»Very competent people and good cooperation. «

The statement above is just one of the statements that the customer wrote us through all these years of cooperation.

In the future, we at Skaza plan to be the partner's key supplier in smart metering. To already acquired know-how in plastic injection molding, we added full box build assembly to represent the complete service for our key customers.

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Here at Skaza, we take great pride in following our strong belief in sustainable production while also setting green transport and logistics standards. However, our sustainable policy's focal point is characterized by eco-friendly materials used in many of Skaza's products. We are dedicated to developing reusable plastics and targeting as low an environmental impact as possible.

The eco-friendly materials or sustainable materials we use can be divided into two main groups - recycled and bio-based plastics. Let's have a closer look at both groups to find out which products are affiliated with them.

Recycled materials

Since 2014, Skaza increased the use of recycled materials by no less than 150%. Every year, we process more than 5 thousand tons of plastics, half of which is recycled. To put this into perspective, take note that by using one ton of recycled plastic instead of oil-based plastic, we reduce CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions by 494 kg and save 10,000 kWh of energy, as evident in the LCA (life cycle analysis) of our products.

Here are the principal recycled plastics we use in our production:

Glass fibre reinforced recycled polypropylene (PP GF): A common recycling material, polypropylene (PP) is nowadays primarily found in milk jugs, bottle caps, bins, detergent bottles, and other items marked with recycling symbol. For applications that require a stiff material, such are seat shells (Chair #1) from our furniture department, PP can be further reinforced with glass fibres. Short strands of glass are embedded into the material, which significantly increases its mechanical properties.

Recycled polyamide (PA): Polyamides are firm and thermally resistant polymers. These properties make them useful in automotive components, but they are also widely used in textiles, carpets and sportswear. Among Skaza's products that feature recycled polyamide (PA6) are kitchen legs optimized for carrying heavy loads.

Because of their specifications, polyamides are also used in ropes and fishing nets. Both can be fully recycled and reformed into new products, excellently demonstrated in our star item Bokashi Organko 2 Ocean, a convenient kitchen composter made from hand-picked and recycled fishing nets.

Bio-based materials

Here at Skaza, we are very proud of the fact that some of our products are made from bio-based polyethylene (PE). What makes this PE so unique? It is entirely produced from sugar cane, which is one of the most efficient and productive crops, making it a perfect source for bio-based polyethylene.

The bio-based high-density polyethylene (HDPE) we use is essentially identical to oil-based HDPE in terms of mechanical properties, appearance, and chemical resistance, which means they can be used and recycled interchangeably. This makes bio-based HDPE especially suitable for manufacturing it into kitchenware, such as our innovative Pick & Go set and our Viva 2.0 line. Furthermore, in terms of sustainability, its bio-based content (up to 96 %) gives it a distinct advantage over oil-based HDPEs and makes it an essential item on our list of eco-friendly materials.

Smart grids are energy networks that can automatically monitor energy flows and adjust to energy supply changes and demand accordingly. In combination with smart meters technology, smart grids enhance the energy market by providing information on real-time consumption, which makes them particularly beneficial for integrating variable renewable energy sources, like solar and wind power. In addition, smart grids open up the possibility for consumers who produce their own energy to respond to prices and sell excess amounts back to the grid.

That said, it is easy to see why the development of a smart grid is one of the most important milestones on the road to a sustainable future in the plastic industry. These new networks will not only provide the necessary energy infrastructure for a dynamic, decentralized energy supply system but also offer the opportunity to increase energy efficiency, optimize energy use and decarbonize the power supply.

Implementing smart meters technology

The first step towards the use of smart grids is the introduction and acceptance of smart metering. This technology forms the basis for energy management; whereas traditional energy meters could only measure consumption, smart meters are essential operating components in the distribution network.

The introduction of smart meters is a paradigm shift for the energy industry and a significant change for society as a whole. Smart energy infrastructure will create jobs through the development and implementation of new technologies, improve European competitiveness, as well as support key energy policy objectives to ensure that Europe has a clean, efficient and reliable energy supply system.

Smart meters technology in European Union

Although the European Union has legislated in the area of energy policy for many years since its formation, the concept of introducing a mandatory and comprehensive EU energy policy was only approved in 2005. Today, there are two directives regarding common rules for the European Union's electricity market (since 2009) and its policy on energy efficiency (since 2012), both regularly updated. The directive on energy efficiency is essential when it comes to introducing smart meters technology.

The 2012 energy efficiency directive (2012/27/EU) established a set of binding measures to help the EU reach its 20 % energy efficiency target by 2020. In 2018, as part of the Clean Energy for all Europeans package, the new amendments were agreed to update the policy framework to 2030 and beyond. The key element of the amended directive is a headline energy efficiency target for 2030 of at least 32,5 %. The target, to be achieved collectively across the EU, is set relative to the 2007 modelling projections for 2030.

What do changes mean for energy companies?

The decision to invest in smart meters technology means that an energy company will replace its entire meter fleet within a short period of time. To reduce business and technology risks, energy companies are looking for interoperability in their systems. The EU's Smart Meter Coordination Group, operating under the M/441 mandate, defines interoperability as "the ability of a system to exchange data with other systems of different types and/or from different manufacturers." The Smart Metering Coordination Group combines the forces of European Standardization Organizations (ESOs), CEN, CENELEC and ETSI with industry and utility stakeholders to coordinate the development of European standards.

Achievements and future goals

Initially, in 2012, the planned rollout of close to 200 million smart meters for electricity and 45 million for gas by 2020 was set. A study from the end of 2019 on the deployment of smart meters in the EU found that close to 225 million smart meters for electricity and 51 million for gas will be rolled out in the EU by 2024. Furthermore, it is expected that by 2024, almost 77 % of European consumers will have smart meters for electricity and about 44 % will have one for gas.

What about the costs and savings?

The installment of smart meters technology represents a potential investment of 47 billion euros since the cost of installing one smart meter in the EU averages between 180 and 200 euros. However, smart meters have proved to save an average amount of 230 euros for gas and 270 euros for electricity per metering point (distributed amongst consumers, suppliers, distribution system operators, etc.) as well as an average energy saving of at least 2 % and as high as 10 % based on data coming from pilot projects.

How does Skaza fit in here?

Participating in such a great Pan-European project which brings new sustainable jobs and is overall beneficial for the environment, is exactly what our values are all about. That is why Skaza is looking for a way to take an active part in rolling out smart meters in the near future.

We are already heavily involved in manufacturing plastic housings for electricity, gas and water meters, but at the same time looking for new challenges to take on. As of this moment, we assemble simple electronic components, but our goals are much higher. We have all the necessary knowledge and experiences to manufacture complete assemblies of smart meters and therefore look for new projects and distributors who share our values and enthusiasm.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/markets-and-consumers/smart-grids-and-meters_en

The prevalence of plastic materials in medical device manufacturing has increased dramatically in recent years due to advances in technology and how diseases are diagnosed, treated, or managed. Since the cost of manufacturing electronics in large quantities has decreased, it has become possible to intergrate them with complex plastic consumables that meet the high traceability and safety requirements of the medical industry.

Challenge in medical device manufacturing

The development of medical device manufacturing consumables is unique, highly regulated, and extremely complex compared to any other market. Not many contract manufacturing companies have the expertise and experience in developing the manufacturing processes to produce components in high volumes while ensuring the required quality and reliability. A prominent example of this is product-specific process automation, which involves designing specialized and complex electromechanical or robotic systems that must meet a variety of technical and product-specific requirements.

Another noteworthy challenge in medical device manufacturing is ensuring a quality control process that enables consistency and traceability since these items combine several complex components, substance delivery systems, sensoring equipment, digital elements and many more. Each of these parts presents a technical challenge and adds complexity to the manufacturing process as a whole.

Experts in precision injection molding

As medical devices get more complex, so do the manufacturing techniques. At Skaza, we fully understand the healthcare industry’s high stakes; therefore, we offer our expertise from the field of precision injection molding. Our knowledge and long-year experiences led us to where we are today - among the best in our field.

We help our partners to focus on the realization of their projects through different stages. Each phase of the process is appropriately optimized since our professional team of experts provides full support in all of them. With each new project, we adapt to the requirements and provide the most effective solutions for our partners.

Automation of medical device consumables

With the rising complexity of the manufacturing process, the likelihood of human error increases significantly. Therefore, the assembly process must be effective and at the same time repeatable. Manufacturing service providers can benefit significantly from automated processes that help them meet mass production demands while effectively managing costs. At the same time, automation can also help with quality control.

With continuous improvements in various manufacturing processes at Skaza, we strive to achieve and adhere to the ultimate lean manufacturing principles. As part of the plan for the factory of future, we design each process to be as autonomous as possible, automating everything from material flow to final product assembly. As the product portfolio varies, we design everything with flexibility and future technologies in mind.

Implementation of ISO 13485

The strict standards in the medical industry require distinct processes and comprehensive routing controls. Skaza follows all the necessary procedures very closely and will implement ISO13485 standard for medical device manufacturing.

With all the required standards in place, including the guarantee for cleanroom conditions, we invite future medical device manufacturing partners to contact us with their projects. We are looking forward to developing the solutions side by side, providing our comprehensive knowledge in precision injection molding, and facing all the challenges that may come up.

Alongside the electro and furniture industries, in recent years, Skaza is also progressively establishing its role as an innovative medical device components manufacturer. Together with our partners, we create pioneering solutions in the challenging field of the medical industry.

There are not many areas where the exigency for precision and details is so important and valued as it is in medicine. We are honored to be able to contribute towards the progression of medical science and the pursuit of patients’ wellbeing.

Plastic handle RX35 is one of our most successful medical device components

An excellent example of collaboration between Skaza and our partners in producing beneficial medical device components is constructing a plastic handle RX35. This vital part of the hair removal system with additional aesthetic applications was initially made of metal. However, the manufacturer wanted to optimize its device since the plastic handle is much lighter and therefore much easier to operate than its metal counterpart. Furthermore, plastic handle proved to significantly lower the costs of its production, which lead the manufacturer to contact us in search of a better solution.

The development process required close collaboration

To fully comprehend our partner's needs and assist them in this project with our strongest asset - precision injection molding - we first needed to establish a functional communication process. A wholesome transfer of information on a regular basis between both parties proved to be a vital part of this productive collaboration.

Skaza’s first output was a comprehensibly designed model of the handle, which served as a draft for the toolmaker to develop a concept of the molding instrument. This process was heavily supported by commonly-used methods, such as MoldFlow and FEM analysis. In the next step, the additional ideas and uncertainties on both sides were effectively resolved using 3D print prototypes. Finally, the two successfully completed trial series resulted in the finished product meeting all levels' requirements.

Which material was proposed based on requirements?

As stated above, the main goal of this partnership project was to efficaciously exchange the metal handle on the elaborate hair removal system with a more convenient plastic counterpart. Based on our partner’s input that the handle is daily exposed to disinfection with alcohol and the general requirements to use material type PC/ABS in medical device components, alongside our many years of experiences in the field of plastics injection molding, we proposed that Bayblend® FR3010 would be the most optimal solution for this item. A crucial feature of this particular material is its high resistance to different chemical substances, particularly disinfectors. Furthermore, Bayblend® FR3010 proved to be highly unaffected by UV rays, meaning its color will not fade after years of exposure to the sun.

What other requirements and wishes did we have to meet?

In order to successfully meet all our partner’s needs, we also had to take into account other essential components of the plastic handle RX35, such as its surface structure and color. To match the original metal handle’s appearance, we modified the plastics injection tool, which allows us to project various visual effects on the surface. For this particular item, we used VDI 3400 texture standard and granulation 36, which resulted in a rough surface. As for the color, a specific ratio between the base material and added dye had to be calculated to get the required RAL9003 color shade.

Certifying ISO 13485

This particular item is essential to us. It represents Skaza’s pilot project in certifying ISO 13485, an international standard laying down requirements for a comprehensive quality management system in designing and manufacturing medical devices. ISO 13485 requires the certified organization to demonstrate that the quality system is effectively implemented and maintained.

What does this mean for the future of medical device components manufacturing at Skaza? It centrally puts us on a world map of healthcare equipment providers and represents a starting point of another success story. We are eagerly looking forward to meeting new partners who will make our knowledge and long-year-tradition in plastics injection molding useful in addressing their patients’ needs.

Last year we started with the box build assembly process service for our customers. These assemblies are focused on a full service for the customer where we accomplish all sub-processes in an electromechanical assembly, other than the production of the printed circuit board (PCB).

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All box build processes in the plastic industry are specific to each project and may vary in complex steps, including enclosure fabrication, installation of sub-assemblies, routing, installing cabling or wire harnesses, and installing other components.

Our box build assembly service includes:

• product Assembly,
• sub-Level Product Assembly,
• packaging & Labeling
• warehousing, Order Fulfillment, and Traceability.

To accomplish optimum and successful box build assembly process, several things are mandatory and require close cooperation between development departments and customers.

1. Product Dimensions: The details on size and weight gives us the information on how to handle the complete box build assembly process.
2. Bill of Materials (BOM): This shows us the whole product structure.
3. Assembly: This helps to visualize the final product through the provided 3D model or Drawing from the customer.
4. Sample Unit / Prototype: When other sources of information (3D model/Drawing) are unavailable, a completed product assembly can be an essential physical tool to plan the box build.
5. Packaging and Shipping Info: The information on how the complete assembly will be packaged and shipped helps us manage and optimize the whole box build process.

With our knowledge, we are leaning to the field of Box building and can offer you a stable and lean process, which makes us a perfect partner for any Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS).

Currently, we are assembling high voltage electrical distribution and metering cabinets, which include wired distribution panels and packed/delivered as sub-level product assembly.

Our trustworthy customers have the needs for box build for several years, giving us the opportunity to have a high impact on optimizing the supply chain by joining two different branches under one roof.  Plastic supplier plus EMS supplier as one can drastically optimize and lower the logistic process costs and have a direct impact on product sales value and CO2 footprint. 

Sources:

• https://www.acceleratedassemblies.com/blog/5-things-to-consider-for-box-build-assembly-process
• https://versae.com/what-is-included-in-a-box-build-assembly/

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It should go without saying that the only workplace good enough for our employees is a safe one. At Skaza, we are continually revaluing every element of our workspace, generating a safe and creative environment sparking with new ideas.

The backbone of our commitment to developing such a productive atmosphere is the never-ending process optimization, resulting in a constant rise of efficiency and, even more importantly - a safer place for everyone.

A great example of a successful process optimization in our plastic industry that brought us closer to achieving our risk-free plastic manufacturing goals has recently been performed in our furniture industry department. Soon after we acquired a ten-year-old tool with lower performance capability for producing high-quality office chair components from a long-term partner, we realized that this unit's manufacturing process does not meet our high safety standards.

Demanding high standards of our production process

It didn’t take us long to apprehend that in order to sustain top-quality production on the newly obtained machine, we need to invest in its upgrade. Moreover, our operators were exposed to safety hazards during the manufacturing process, which proved to be even more challenging than maintaining the high standards we like to affiliate our products with. The principal problem proved to be in the so-called injection gate points, whose sharp edges presented a cutting risk to the operators. Normal injection point management was not an option for such an elaborate component as it did not yield high-enough quality of the manufactured product for our customers. Furthermore, this method did not align with our process optimization policy of keeping production line waste to a minimum.

In order to improve sharp injection points removal after molding, we needed to implement additional heat treatment to the production process. This required the implementation of new equipment from our engineers, which added an extra step, proving beneficial when managing sharp injection gates.

However, this upgrade didn’t come without further hiccups. Heat treatment presented a new, even higher risk to the operators who were now exposed to the danger of being burned. With the implementation of this process, the product's quality elevated and proved acceptable to the customer.

However, this extra step had a negative effect on our production, as the volume of waste actually grew and manufacturing costs increased. Besides, the process's stability was unreliable, as there could be a risk of producing lower-quality products due to the human factor. All these new challenges needed our immediate attention if we were to smooth out the production process for good.

To effectively approach the health hazard challenge, our engineers first had to carry out mould modification, which then allowed them to implement a pneumatic hot nozzle.

This innovative upgrade ensured a clean injection point without presenting any burn risk to the operators. Furthermore, with additional modifications to the process optimization, we decreased the production scrap rate from 7% down to only 2%, which yielded much lower material waste.

Feeling accomplished by introducing these pioneering tools that resulted in further optimization of our production process and severe health hazard reduction, we are confidently stepping towards new challenges in achieving high-set goals and exemplary plastic manufacturing practices.

Nowadays, global trends tending back to nature, from food to textile industry, and material science are no exception. Sometimes a small amount of bio compound is added to enrich the standard material grade. What is more, with the addition of some bioparticles, we consequently bring nature closer to the end-user.

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Two different concepts of bioplastics

Recycled and "bioplastics" are new members of the broad plastic family and describe two different concepts [1] (you can read a more detailed classification of bioplastics on our blog):

• Biodegradable plastics: Microorganisms degrade these into the water, carbon dioxide (or methane), and biomass under specified conditions and can be made from organic and/or fossil resources.
• Bio-based plastics: These are materials made of biological and renewable resources such as grains, corn, potatoes, beet sugar, sugar cane, or vegetable oils.

The global market for biodegradable polymers increased from 0.2 to 0.6 billion kilos between 2006 and 2013 and still growing. [3]

Bioplastics in other industries

Many of those sustainable materials are coproducts or even waste products of other industries. Like John Deere [4], world corporations started using bioplastics in some exterior panels a decade ago. Their plans for the future are to develop more biomaterial parts based on soya. Another example is LEGO, where material scientists are trying to find replacements for more than 20 types of plastics by 2030. Lego's criteria for replacement plastics are i) no undesirable chemicals, ii) sustainably sourced and manufactured feedstock and iii) minimum waste. [5]

Harvard's Wyss Institute's researchers developed a totally biodegradable plastic made of chitin (biopolymer), a precursor of chitosan, mainly isolated from crustacean wastes and with unique properties, like reproducibility, biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity and excellent adsorption properties. Also, other examples using bioplastics improve the quality of the products, e.g., starch makes the plastic soft touch and wood or natural fibers gives the plastic products a natural look and pleasant structure.

Trends in bioplastics

The synthesis of traditional polymers by utilizing biological sources (bio composites) is a new trend that emerges in the global market. Advances in biotechnologies have helped in commercializing many polymers that are obtained from petroleum feedstocks. Besides bio-based plastic materials, a trend in science is also bio-inspired materials, which imitate properties from nature and are always lighter, thinner, more flexible, but strong enough to resist external influences. Nanostructured surfaces are known from the environment, e.g. superhydrophobic properties of the lotus leaf and exceptional adhesion of the gecko leg. They can be imitated using nanomaterials as a filler (polymer nanocomposites) or nano-surface films.

Figure: Adhesion structure of the gecko leg [B. Bhushan, Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology, 2016]

Materials researches focus on carbon nanotubes and graphene with superior properties, such as lightweight, high electrical conductivity and extraordinary mechanical, optical and thermal properties. With the use of carbon nanomaterials as a filler in polymer matrix, mechanical properties are significantly improved. However, the use of polymer-based nanocomposite is still limited for commercial use because of the costs. The most commercially used additives for plastic are nanoclays, also named nanominerals, where montmorillonite is widely used.

In the last few decades, polymer–nanocomposites have become global research interests for developing polymeric materials with improved/desired properties by incorporating nanoscale materials into a polymer matrix. The selection of nanoparticles depends on the desired thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties of the nanocomposites. For example, Al nanoparticles are often selected due to their high conductivity. Calcium carbonate particles are chosen because of the relatively low cost of the material. Silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles are used because of their high hardness, corrosion resistance, and strength, TiO2 nanoparticles are used for UV adsorption and photocatalysis. Despite all superior properties, composites cannot be used for recycling.

Future of bioplastics

Looking a little further into the future, and at the same time summarizing the blog, a great potential is observed in high-performance biopolymer nanocomposites material (recyclable), also called green composites. It will open new dimensions in plastics and composites. If we can take advantage of these properties, we can achieve new dimensions with plastic products that possess superior properties and replace them with other market materials. Industries that will adapt and follow the trends and development of new materials will be the leading in the field of plastics.

Founder of the LEGO Group, Ole Kirk Kristiansen: »Only the best is good enough«.

References
[1] http://www.plasticseurope.org
[2] Belboom and Léonard, Biomass and Bioenergy 85 (2016) 159-167
[3] Azeredo et al., Industrial Crops and Products 97 (2017) 664-671
[4] https://www.deere.com/en_US/regional_home.page
[5] https://www.lego.com/en-us/

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In recent years, Skaza has become synonymous with circular management in all segments of its operations. Our sustainable policy; first and foremost, revolves around the circulation and reuse of materials, as well as ensuring sustainable management of electricity and other types of energy, of our transport and logistics, of our materials and, last but not least, by contributing to sustainable household habits with our products.

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How is the sustainable policy noticed in materials we use?

The company uses three types of polymeric materials (pictured below).

We incorporate two groups of sustainable materials in manufacturing our own brand products: recycled polymers for our Bokashi Organko composters and bio-based polymers (bio-based materials) for our sustainable plastic tableware and the innovative Pick & Go picnic set. Products from the Viva 1.0 line, which were made from conventional oil-based polymers, have been updated and upgraded in to the Viva 2.0 line, both of which are made entirely from bio-based polymers.

All our products are suitable for re-use and recycling after being used and do not pollute or impact the environment when properly sorted and disposed of. The products have a Mobius loop embossed on the bottom, which indicates that the product is recyclable, while the number in the middle gives the information about the material and within which group it is separately collected and processed into a new product.

The Mobius loop

The Mobius loop, a triangle of three arrows and is an internationally recognizable and standardised symbol for recycling, where each of the arrows represents one of the steps of recycling: collection, processing and repurchase of the product.

The materials we use at Skaza for injection molding of our own brand products are thermoplastic polymers. Polypropylene (PP) is thermoplastic polyolefin (polymers produced from alkenes) and is a product of macromolecular polymerization of propylene (CH3-CH = CH2), which is recyclable after use (Mobius loop with the number 5). Bokashi Organko 1 and Bokashi Organko 2 composters are mostly made from recycled polypropylene.

The new Bokashi Organko 2 Ocean line is also made from fishing nets, which is recycled polyamide 6.

Another material we use is polyethylene (PE), which is the simplest polymer synthesized from ethylene with the chemical composition (CH2= CH2). The innovative Pick & Go set and the Viva 2.0 line are made from bio-based high-density polyethylene (HD PE). The HD PE we use is not oil-based, as the ethanol which is used as the feedstock instead of oil is produced from sugar cane. Bio-based HD PE has essentially identical properties as oil-based HD PE, consequently they can be used and recycled interchangeably.

Materials are the key

While all our materials are suitable for recycling, it is necessary to further separate all products that users have separated in the Mobius loop marked as "other". It is a common misconception that all products marked with the number 7 are dangerous to health because they contain bisphenol A (BPA). It is true that those marked with a 7 also include products made from polycarbonate, whose basic monomer unit is bisphenol A (an organic compound with two phenolic rings), but this is just one of the materials classified under this mark. The Mobius loop no. 7 also includes all other polymers that are not labelled with the first six marks, as well as polymer mixtures that cannot be classified under any of the other six options.

At Skaza, we do not use polycarbonates, for products that come into contact with food and drinks, and all our products that are suitable for contact with food and drinks are "BPA free" and "melamine free".

All of the products of our own brand are sent for testing to an independent accredited laboratory (usually abroad), where in addition to standard durability tests, they also perform migration tests. The results of these assure us, and our users, that all our products are suitable for contact with food and drink and are harmless to health. In addition to the overall migration of plastic substances into food and beverages, we are particularly focused on testing the migration of phthalates(1), heavy metals, BPA and some other harmful substances, as this is the only way we can say with certainty that our products do not contain these substances and are not harmful to health.

In addition to making sure that our products are made from environmentally friendly materials, we also ensure that their use is pleasant, that they have an extended service life and at the same time that the products are recyclable after the end of their use. Skaza strives to change people's habits, both with our products and the actions that can be taken at the end of their useful life. It is important to separate them properly and not just throw them into the environment, as ordinary plastics take hundreds of years to decompose and are, in addition to being a pollutant to the environment, also dangerous to animals who mistake them for food. Plastic products can also find their way into agricultural machinery and cause injuries, damage and inconvenience. At the same time, pieces of plastic can get into animal feed, which ultimately leads to people consuming them through the food chain.

At Skaza, we are committed to ensuring that all our products are recyclable after use and that we can turn a used product into a new product.

Branka Viltužnik, PhD, Head of Research and Innovation

(1) Phthalates: volatile liquids, which are added to polymers in plastics to increase their flexibility. They are also known as softeners or plasticizers.

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We can exploit the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic as a unique opportunity to plan an excellent future, reshape our business, and motivate humanity to invest their time and energy to a better world. History has taught us that “real leaders are forged in crisis,” and that the best innovations thrive in difficult times. Likewise, this time is a great time for the next generation of modern companies to breakthrough.

The crisis has always been and will be an initiator for changes, it shifts markets and accelerates innovations. Over the years, we at Skaza have proven that we know how to adapt quickly to any changes. We bravely face challenges and continue towards high goals, while following our mission, caring for a better and more beautiful future. However, the task is even more difficult at this time, as we must not only identify risks on time and react correctly but also perceive opportunities that are emerging in the market and seize them.
 
The company is currently in the implementation phase of the EFQM model. This is our path to EXCELLENCE and our SUSTAINABLE achievement of SUCCESS. The model enables us to achieve excellent results and successes on our path of transformation with measurement methods. We recognize our opportunities for improvement and with the help of the EFQM model we look for possible solutions to improve the company's performance.
The knowledge and principles of the model have already helped us to adapt more easily to the current situation due to the pandemic.
 
Let me list a few key parts that will have a big impact on business transformation in the future:

AI - Artificial Intelligence

Adopt cloud technologies for aggregation, intelligent transformation, and transparent presentation of product and process data from production lines directly into supply chains. This will allow us to optimize production and product quality and reduce total production waste. A tremendous digital revolution is waiting for us.

Sustainable Development

In the future, carbon footprints will be considered socially unacceptable, much like drinking and driving today. Individuals, businesses, and countries will look for the fastest and most affordable ways to achieve the lowest possible carbon footprint. Here, too, the digitalization of business processes will help us, and we at Skaza have already successfully tackled it, as we reduce emissions in all areas of business through various measures.
 
We also take care of consumers by using sustainable materials and researches in the field of fermentation of organic waste. Even before the pandemic, we perceived an opportunity in the healthcare sphere and expanded our portfolio (furniture, electrical industry, and our brand) with a new pillar of the industry, focused on the development and production of plastic industrial products for the medical industry that will be even more important in the future. The current situation in the world clearly shows that we "depend" on healthcare and technology, and the thought that we will also make an important contribution in the medical field motivates us that our excellence is at the highest level.

Smart production

Smart production strategies are made possible by higher quality data, more accessible technology, and employee creativity. These changes are leading us to growth and higher productivity, while at the same time we reduce waste and improve sustainability. By using smart production methods, the company becomes more flexible and ready for the future.

People and their potentials

Every company is all about humans, regardless of the fact that production is enabled by machines, robots and computers. That is why the creativity and imagination of employees are so important for constant innovations. Some jobs will disappear due to technological developments, as employees will do what they do best by using smart production processes. For innovations, they will use imagination, creativity, analysis, communication and, above all, work in a team.
 
At Skaza, we have various approaches to strengthen the potential of our employees: we develop competent staff for the future – talent management, we develop organizational culture and leadership, and we take care of empowered, committed employees.
 
No matter where we are on the path of business excellence, it leads us to achieve greater added value in all areas of business.

In spring, when coronavirus hit Slovenia as well, everything has changed. It changed the department of Strategic Sales and Procurement and the entire company. But change is the only constant in our lives, so we had to adjust certain processes and ways of communicating with our partners.

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After the coronavirus, we had to switch to online meetings and audits with our partners. Our home desk was our office, and although it all went smoothly, I admit that getting back to work at our office is always a pleasure.

I have to admit that internal collaboration between departments is much faster and with less disruption if done live than it is if we communicate via telephone or via e-mail. I am a supporter of face-to-face problem-solving. There are fewer misunderstandings, fewer conflicts, less writing, and more oral communication.

During online communication, we lose an important aspect, which is non-verbal communication. This way, it is more difficult to establish personal contact with partners, and this is a key part of creating genuine relationships. These are developed during coffee times or after the official parts and they contribute a lot to easier and more effective communication later when challenges arise.

In the meantime, we have also made steps forward at the internal level that no one had dared to undertake before. We updated the presentation for our new customers, we completed our catalog, we are working on the renovation of our company’s website, we added new, more creative, and more innovative ways of addressing customers, we revived old contacts … Adaptation to the new challenges was quick, which indicates agility of our whole organization.

The change was also a trigger for new opportunities that need to transform into opportunities. The supply chain is now shorter and more customers are turning from The East back to the European Union to make new partners. We have noticed that companies are currently more open to new collaborations and are still aiming for a bright future and new ingenious ways of cooperation. It is true, however, that in the future communication with some of them will continue as a combination of the old and the new way, but our job is to adapt to them and get to know our partners well enough to find out how we could write new success stories together.

Nonetheless, our 2020 target is still the same – and this is what encourages and motivates us. The sales target of the acquired deals with new partners, despite the virus, remained the same. We are currently very close to this goal, and given the fact that there is a whole quarter in front of us, we are sure that we will exceed it, which will mean a positive and optimistic entry into a new year.

Can we talk about everything collapsing during the corona crisis? Now we can say that it did not, but we were challenged by some changes. Opportunities shifted to the current time and to the last quarter, which is definitely good for us. Surviving the global crisis does not depend on how big or small a company is but is due to flexibility and agility.

What do we expect from the future? I can say that we expect growth, new customers, and a stronger medical part of our industry. Will we succeed? Definitely!

Klemen Slemenšek
Head of Strategic Sales and Procurement

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We are a manufacturer of plastics industrial products, a company that by injection molding creates new, technologically advanced and innovative solutions to approach and aim one of our goals – save the planet. We have shown our courage, commitment to ecology, agility, responsiveness, knowledge and experience by developing a new product. We proudly introduce you Bokashi Organko 2 Ocean, an innovative kitchen composter, made from recycled fishing nets.

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We spoke with Sebastjan Kotnik, Head of R&D and Operational Quality, who presented the skills, competencies and knowledge, necessary for the successful launch of a new product in every plastic industry.

1. How was the idea for such an environmentally friendly product born?

Sometimes, in plastic production, we hear that the world has to survive without plastic, abolish it, remove it from our homes, which is far from being easy and necessary. All we have to do is to "spin" used synthetic products correctly and give them a new life, a new environment and a new purpose. And that’s exactly what we did with Bokashi Organko 2 Ocean – we recycled fishing nets that originally served to fishermen and, after being used, endangered species and oceans, so now they can serve us in our households.

2. Could you briefly present the whole process from idea to implementation?

The idea arose one year ago on an internal Hackathon. We entered into a partnership with a technological processor of waste materials. It is a renewed synthetic material PA (polyamide), which previously was in the depths of the oceans for many years. A huge amount of testings followed, both in the lab and in the real environment. Based on the conclusions, here in plastic production, we improved the material recipes several times until we reached the desired result. The procedure was followed by experimental and 0 series, and now it is done. The first big series of Bokashi Organko 2 Ocean will see the light of day in October 2020.

3. Which materials were added during the process of recycling fishing nets? What is the process in general and how is it different from recycling “ordinary plastic”?

It all starts with collecting fishing nets in ports, at fishermen, as well as shipyards that carry out the renewal of the fishing fleet. The nets are then brought to a special plant, where they are ground into fine pieces, about 2 millimeters in size, followed by fractionation procedures. Simplified, we could say that fishing nets are "cooked" to a certain extent, de-polymerized, and then all impurities are removed (these are later used in the production of asphalt). Additives that refresh it are added to the cleaned material (UV resistance, thermal resistance, toughness additives), and then it is processed into granulate - into a form that can be processed with injection molding machines.

4. How fishing nets plastic differ from virgin plastic in terms of quality, composition and processing options?

The advantage of the certificate we have for this granulate is literally a guarantee that the synthetic plastic material was in the depths of the oceans many years before being used to make our Organko. It was a danger that was hundreds of meters deep and was constantly filling our plates, together with the seafood we eat. At the same time, the certificate ensures that all "technicality", i.e. mechanical, chemical and thermal properties, are fully returned to the material, and therefore it can easily compete with new, newly formed materials from crude oil.

5. Is the whole process of recycling fishing nets more expensive or cheaper than other processes?

In terms of cost of creation and the current corona situation we find ourselves in, where crude oil literally boils out of full storage at low prices, it is really hard to compete with other processes as far as affordability is concerned. But we are firmly determined that we should no longer produce only plastics industrial products from raw plastics. The time has come to properly recycle already used plastic, de-polymerize it and prepare it for new purposes.

6. How do we maintain the quality of the final product, given the fact that it is recycled from fishing nets?

In any case, the certificate alone does not guarantee that all the synthetic mass from the recycled material will always be perfect. Therefore, we have our own laboratory where we perform sampling and detailed testing of each shipment, such as material flow index, color properties, UV resistance and also mechanical properties. For this purpose, we also use the laboratory at our co-founded Faculty of Polymer Technology in Slovenj Gradec. There is no need to worry about material properties deviating too much because we take care of them every time.

7. What challenges do we face in the process and how do we solve them?

The challenges are healthy because they constantly remind us that we need to live our mission – not only to process synthetic masses but also to properly collect, process and obtain synthetic masses from end-of-life and brand-new products. FDA certification also plays a special role in the entire cycle. It is a food contact permit where we try our best and we are really close to reaching it, we will succeed!

8. How brave and daring is the project?

Anyone can pour new "virgin" synthetic material from the shelf or from the warehouse and by injection molding manufacture it without fear of changing its mechanical and aesthetic properties. But we are different. We want to challenge ourselves and live boldly. We are systematically delving into, for others, the delicate areas of recycling and regenerating waste materials. Of course, we do not do this blindly. We are prepared and well equipped with our knowledge and experiences. In this way, we are happy to find new areas of recycling and to take care of a cleaner environment. When will it be enough? When we become trendsetters in the field of recycling when we find recipes for all already used plastic products. So, we still have a lot of work and there is a lot of daring challenges ahead.

More about the Bokashi Organko 2 Ocean on our website..

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In July 2019, Skaza decided to merge two departments into one unit - strategic sales and strategic procurement. One year after, we present you the advantages and disadvantages of this strategic move.

Sales are key to a company’s turnover and growth

The strategic sales department is focused on new customers, on nurturing the existing ones and on monitoring the sales plan, defined at the beginning of a fiscal year. For the strategic sales, risks, savings and events in the raw material market are not significant. For them, the most important job is to achieve the goals and company growth. Every salesperson thinks he has the biggest impact on the company’s turnover and growth.

For the company’s growth, savings are an important factor

While the company’s growth and achievement of its goals is important for strategic sales, the main focus for strategic procurement is where and how to get cheaper raw materials that would bring a lower TCO. They are not just money-saving experts, but also good at risk reduction, the introduction of new raw materials and market monitoring. Also, cooperation with suppliers, quality and services that support the development projects are also crucial to them. There is also a constant desire to validate new materials and finding a way to involve customers’ needs. Every strategic procurement specialist thinks he has the biggest impact on the company’s EBIT.

The merging process - how and why?

Let’s move on to a different interpretation, namely, what is the basic goal of each individual unit. Before the merging process, we had questions about how to bring all the interests of these two departments together and how to understand each other, but still, maintain a focus on sales results.
 
The role of the individual is one of the most important here. They are motivated people, eager to prove themselves. Facing more ambitious people might lead to a clash of interests between departments and competition over who is stronger and who is more important. However, this was not the case in our company.

Why is the combination of strategic sales and procurement a formula for success?

In July 2019, we merged two departments that might have been completely pointless to merge before. It turned out the opposite. We got a team of employees where the information is shared faster and where success in sales is immediately reflected in the success of the procurement and vice versa. We got the department of experts where they understand each other better than before. Above all, the level of respect has developed, which is, after all, the most important thing.

Can we also talk about the weaknesses?

In any case, each team must have its own time and space for bad moments that occur sooner or later. It is extremely important to understand and recognize situations that can lead a team to apathy and a lack of motivation. It is necessary to pay extreme attention to this.
 
It is important to keep in mind the desire for the progress of the individual, the team and the company. What is good for each of them, is good for us all.
 
One year after the merging process, I can say we made the right decision back in July 2019. We have accepted certain compromises, forgot about our egos, and a result only indicates the bright future of the company.
 
Plastika Skaza
Klemen Slemenšek
Head of Strategic Sales and Procurement

Strategic procurement basically means planning and implementation of all activities related to the identification and specification of needs, identification of decision criteria, initial evaluation of the selected supplier, selection of the supplier and monitoring of implementation to achieve long-term goals, not just the lowest raw material price.

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The strategic level of procurement in Skaza could include activities such as: creating savings at the level of departments and the whole company, long-term planning, cost optimization and finding alternative suppliers, negotiating with existing and new suppliers, concluding contracts, developing suppliers and subcontractors, research of purchasing and forecasting availability, determining and following the procurement policy or some kind of code of ethics that we have established.

Like any other department, the strategic procurement department has set monthly and annual GOALS, the achievement of which is checked with the help of a large number of indicators. We set them ambitiously and high, so that they serve as a motivation and a tool for focus throughout the business year.

What do we pay attention to at our work?

One of the most important workdays that we pay attention to in our work is risk assessment or risk management, which can be brought about by the “wrong” choice of supplier. We control this part with the help of the Queen's matrix. The aim of using this matrix is ​​to reduce the risk of purchasing products/suppliers while maximizing purchasing power. With the help of this, we purchase all the materials or. suppliers according to their estimated impact on profit and purchasing risk, divided into four groups. These are strategic, leverage, standard and critical suppliers. Each category in relation to suppliers requires a different approach, which we take according to the appropriate protocol.

In recent years, suppliers have also paid much more attention to the environmental aspect or care for NATURAL RESOURCES. In choosing suppliers, the supplier's attitude towards the environment, compliance with current legislation in this field, as well as self-initiative and a desire to be responsible for the environment and the resources it uses in its operations, play an important role. This part is also extremely important because in the company we really strive for all our stakeholders, together with us, to contribute to a more beautiful planet and care for it. 

The strategic purchaser must be well informed in all areas when searching for a supplier or only certain purchasing materials, and his actions and decisions must be RESPONSIBLE with regard to the entire company. It is necessary to thoroughly review the financial condition, past operations, references and any other available indicators in the operations of potential business partners. In particular, this area will be one of the most important in the current period due to the onset of a potential crisis for some companies. It is also very important to have a very good knowledge of the technical and quality capabilities of this supplier, which should be viewed in parallel and compared with the needs of Plastika Skaza.

Cooperation as an important part of strategic procurement

A special area that we cover in the strategic procurement department is also cooperation. This means business cooperation or organization of production, usually by the division of labor, in which several members/companies participate.

The field of cooperation in terms of cooperation in the company Skaza has been going on for many years. In the last few years, this form of cooperation has moved to a higher level, but there is certainly room for improvement in this area. From the confirmation of subcontractors with end customers to the development of current subcontractors to a higher operational and quality level to the connection or. establishing business with some new subcontractors, which we have already added to our portfolio in the market review process, etc.

In the literature, we can see that cooperation is divided into four areas: development, technology, marketing and production cooperation. In the past, Skaza used only production cooperation, which means that the company was looking for subcontractors with a desire for a better production price, to increase available production capacity, sometimes at the expense of shortening delivery times or simply fulfilling all orders in a given period. In the future, we want to expand our field of activity to the field of medicine, which will require a lot of COURAGE, and at the same time this is an opportunity for cooperation to develop in technological and developmental form, and no longer only in production.

In our work, the field of cooperation and relations is extremely important. We want to establish a mutual, correct relationship with each of our suppliers, in which both parties are satisfied, and at the same time with our more than 40 years of EXPERIENCE, we can also help our suppliers. We are a kind of "trustees" of suppliers. We want to establish a set of competition, negotiations, mutual benefits and, above all, joint cooperation with suppliers. To transform and develop all this into as many strong, long-term strategic connections as possible.

Throughout the work in the department, we are guided by the values ​​of the company, in which we strongly believe. The criterion of strategic procurement is therefore not only the price, but above all the selection of appropriate suppliers, planning needs and resources and managing the supply chain, ensuring delivery in the right time, in the right quantity and quality. In my work, I want to connect with experienced individuals in our company in areas that I have not fully mastered since I joined Plastika Skaza. I believe that with the common values ​​we live and the transmission of knowledge between us, we can achieve many more and exceed many more expectations.

An excellent partnership is a key to success. Fill in the form below and download our case study about milestones while building the future of energy with one of our biggest partners for more than 15 years.

In Skaza we strive to increase quality at all levels of the company. Therefore, in 2015 we established a Key Account Management team (KAM) for our most important customers. KAM teams are an extension of our customers within our company. These teams are turning our customers into business partners and are putting our business relationships on the higher lever. How? We present to you with 6 benefits of KAM teams, which we recognized during working that way.

Download the case study about one of the strongest partnerships we build for more than 15 years >>

1. Excellent communication

KAM team is a bond between people responsible for certain areas within companies, which work together. When someone is faced with a challenge, it's only a matter of one phone call and on the other side, there will be someone who will be able to help this person to find the right solution. Long explanations won't be necessary, since the KAM team member is working for business partners on an everyday basis and understands the situation.

2. Speed

All team member master their fields, so the communication between business partners is extremely fast. Nowadays, saving time is as important as saving money. Resolving problems and proactively searching for new business ideas as fast as possible is the competitive advantage of each company and its business partners.

3. Reliability and security

Good and fast communication, quick response to challenges and proactive search for new ideas make us a reliable business partner. Once you can rely on your colleagues you will also feel safe.

4. Experts

Only the best experts in different fields can offer you the best solutions, for example, 120 experts in the fields of development, technology, customer service, purchasing and production.

5. Customized integrated solutions

The everyday key account management team is looking for comprehensive solutions to client's problems and for the best-integrated solutions for new products, that can become a client's competitive advantage.

6. Excellent partnership relations

KAM teams will quickly change the seller-buyer relationship into a trusted relationship between two business partners who support and assist each other so they can be as competitive as possible on the market.

An excellent partnership is a key to success. Fill in the form below and download our case study about milestones while building the future of energy with one of our biggest partners for more than 15 years.