With over 100 people in attendance, INX International UK Ltd. hosted a grand opening event at its new manufacturing facility in Heywood, England on April 16. 

The 40,000 square-foot complex was built to accommodate the company’s increasing market share, support a long term commitment to the metal decorating industry, and satisfy a desire to expand business in the beer and beverage can markets throughout Europe and the Middle East. It features what the company calls “the most efficient ink producing equipment for two-piece metal decorating inks,” and future plans include manufacturing three-piece inks.

Guests who attended the event were treated to speeches by company leaders and tours of the structure, which is 75 percent larger than the building it replaced in Rochdale and employs over 60 people. Delivering comments to mark the occasion were Kotaro Morita, president of Sakata INX and Chairman of INX International Ink Co.; Rick Clendenning, president and CEO of INX International Ink Co.; Jonathan Ellaby, VP International Operations for INX International Ink Co.; and Peter Tresadern, managing director of INX International UK Ltd.

“This facility was nearly four years in the making so today was a great and fulfilling occasion. We began planning in late 2009, broke ground in March 2012, moved in last August and we were running full production by the end of September,” remarked Ellaby after the event.

“The extra space allowed us to install more state-of-the-art equipment which can be dedicated to producing certain colors. It also provides us greater efficiencies in regards to production up time and the elimination of waste, and our warehousing capabilities has three times the number of racking bays as the previous factory,” said Ellaby, in reference to the Rochdale location where INX’s blending and storing of ink for printing beer and soft drink cans began in 1992. 

The greater efficiencies extend to include the latest in energy saving technology. The factory is served by a highly efficient chilled water system that uses an automatic monitoring system to ensure optimum conditions. The chillers incorporate free cooling coils and inverter driven fans that can save as much as 40% compared to a conventional chilled water plant.

More energy consideration benefits exist in the office area, which includes a large 2900 square-foot (270 meters) laboratory to conduct local R&D work. A unique heat recovery system is used to heat domestic hot water, and the ventilation system uses heat recovery modules for fresh air and is fully integrated with the air conditioning system. 

The warehouse area is served by energy saving, condensed gas-fired unit heaters to provide the highest efficiency levels. The building also has a fully automated lighting system that takes advantage of low energy luminaires, occupancy sensors, pre-set lighting levels and dimming features.

“Many people spent a tremendous amount of hours planning to design and construct a truly modern complex that works very well in today’s business world,” said Ellaby.