Clearview 264 - November 2023 | Page 82

Machinery & Manufacturing

Pioneering recycling initiative named finalist in window industry Oscars

» AN INNOVATIVE post-consumer glass recycling initiative developed jointly by leading integral blinds manufacturer Morley Glass and Saint-Gobain Glass is in the running for a G23 Award after being shortlisted in the Sustainability Initiative of the Year category .
Under the initiative , post-consumer IGUs are collected from installers by Morley Glass drivers at no cost when they deliver new Uni-Blinds ® integral blind units , and these are then crushed to create cullet ( crushed glass ) back at its Leeds site . The cullet is bagged into one-tonne bags which are collected by Saint-Gobain Glass who then transport the cullet to their glass factory at
Eggborough near Selby . Here , they process the material to remove any impurities in their state-of-the-art plant before using it as a raw material in place of finite materials including sand .
After starting life in 2021 as a small scale internal operation to recycle waste glass such as off-cuts from the Morley Glass factory , the initiative has quickly grown . Today , it has become a nationwide service to installers of Uni-Blinds ® integral blinds , as well as many local window installers regardless of whether they buy products from the company .
To date , more than 1,300 tonnes of cullet has been diverted away from going to landfill which has saved
the need for more than 1,700 tonnes of sand in the glass-making process and cut CO 2 emissions by over 1,000 tonnes . The service is also helping installers save thousands of pounds every year on their waste disposal costs because they require fewer landfill skips .
Another unique dimension to the glass recycling initiative is that every penny generated through the production of cullet is placed into a fund called GreenVision to help charities , groups and individuals who are working to improve their local community through environmental or social projects . Grants of £ 500 are awarded to anyone who qualifies , and so far , it
has benefitted good causes ranging from ‘ village in bloom ’ groups to budding sportsmen and women and a scheme to support young entrepreneurs .
www . g-awards . com
www . morleyglass . co . uk

Apprentices Strengthen The Team

» THE EMMEGI ( UK ) ENGINEERING team has been given a major boost with the company ’ s two young apprentices Dan and Will successfully completing their four-year training programmes to become NVQ qualified Mechanical and Electrical Engineers .
They are both now carrying out machine servicing and repairs independently and are already out visiting customers across the UK .
Ian Latimer , Emmegi ( UK )’ s Managing Director , said : “ Dan and Will are great apprenticeship success stories . They ’ ve done well at college and in the practical training they ’ ve received here . They particularly benefited from the fact that we gave our experienced engineers time and space to train them on jobs where they could learn and practice their skills .
“ The whole team here has been invested in their progress and they ’ ve been immersed in our positive work culture , so they have also learnt all those other important life skills such as time management and customer communication . “ One of the biggest strengths of Emmegi ( UK ) is the stability and vast experience of our team , but we do recognise that we need to invest in bringing on new talent as well . Dan and Will have proven that , done properly and with the right level of commitment on both sides , apprenticeships are a good way to do that .”
The Emmegi ( UK ) team is arguably one of the most experienced in the UK machinery sector , with the sales team boasting a massive 100 + years ’ industry experience between them , the servicing department boasting 150 + years , and the business management team an impressive 20 +
Ian Latimer added : “ Emmegi ( UK ) was established in 2010 and many of us , including Sales Managers Martin Linnell and Andrew Jones have been here since the very start . In terms of industry experience through , all the other key figures , such as Jim O ’ Connell , our Sales Manager in Ireland , Wayne Hunter , our Operations Manager , Giulia Furgeri , our Business Manager , Tracey O ’ Callaghan , our Service Administrator , and Craig Smith , our Spare Parts Manager have also spent the majority of their careers in machinery .”
www . emmegi . com
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