Planning on plastic - Patrick Connolly .
Plastic ’ s been his passion all his working
life - and now Patrick Connolly aims to prove three into one DOES go .
Since 1990 , plastic has been Belfast-born Patrick ’ s business calling - 30 years making “ all sorts of weird and wonderful things ” and picking up huge experience along the way .
And now he ’ s drawing on all that experience to run three complementary , but all plastic-based , businesses - including two in the North-East region .
Hull-based Apollo Plastics , which he took over last year , has been vacuum forming quality plastic parts and products - everything from cutlery trays to shower trays and basins - since 1960 .
B2B - which Patrick took out of administration around the same time - uses the injection moulding process to make , for example , cable trunking , as well as parts for the Ministry of Defence and NHS , from its base in Throckley .
And his most recent acquisition - street furniture manufacturer Theme Bins International , based on the Felling Industrial Estate , Gateshead - is about to undergo a radical transformation .
To reflect its vastly expanded product range after diversifying into street and education furniture , including seats , lockers and even bins for PPE equipment , it will get a new name : Plastic Furniture Co .
But it will also get a big relaunch , including a new website and an increasing focus on ecommerce .
And it all adds up to exciting business opportunities for dad-of-three and grandadof-three Patrick and his wife of 29 years , Frances .
After graduating in chemical engineering
Plastic ' s fantastic
Plastic at the heart of North-East three-in-one business
from Belfast ’ s Queen ’ s University , Patrick first came to England in 1989 to work for the Department of Trade and Industry in Stevenage .
He moved north to work for Linpac in Hartlepool - and that ’ s when his love affair with the North-East began .
Working for such firms as Linpac and Speciality Filaments , then owning Bishop Auckland-based Custom Profiles , he learned all about the plastic industry .
While he spent 2014 to 2019 back home in Northern Ireland with plastic profiles firm Boomer Industries , the call of this region proved too strong .
Now he and Frances are back in the North-East , eager to use Patrick ’ s vast knowledge to become a market leader in all things plastic manufacturing .
There ’ ll be a general manager at each of the three sites which , between them , provide 35 jobs and a turnover of £ 2m - although the aim is to boost that to £ 3m- £ 4m .
With each business specialising in different processes within the plastics industry , they should complement each other perfectly .
Patrick said : “ I want people to phone us if they want things made in plastic because , between the three firms , I ’ m sure we ’ ll find a way .
“ For example , parts for Theme Bins we can make at our other sites . That helps open up our development opportunities and the speed with which we can respond .”
Patrick also has a keen eye for the environment - and particularly the increasing use of recycled plastics .
He explained : “ Plastic can be recycled easily , providing you separate the different types . But you can ’ t effectively reuse plastic if it ’ s all mixed .”
To that end , he ’ s developing a bin with sensors which will only allow the right type of plastic to be deposited in it - and that , in turn , should make plastic recycling much easier and more efficient .
He said : “ There ’ s enough people out there demanding plastic isn ’ t put into landfill for it to be economically viable .
“ We ’ ve got the bins and the expertise to do the identification . We now just need to connect the two .”
So these are exciting times - and Patrick ’ s even confident the pandemic situation can help , not hinder his developments plans .
He said : “ In some ways , this is exactly the right time because I ’ ve got time to develop the products and plan for the future . We see it as a big opportunity .”
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