Collaborative Research , Case Studies

Mayo Healthcare Ltd

Mayo Healthcare Ltd.

Total funding – €95,000 (EI Innovation Voucher, EI Innovation Partnership)
Collaboration with the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Trinity College Dublin)

Jan 2010 – July 2011.

Mayo Healthcare Ltd. is an indigenous company specialising in the manufacture of minerals and controlled release trace elements for large animals.

The traditional approach to production of controlled release devices in the Animal Health sector has centred on direct compression of powders/granulates, a labour intensive technique subject to segregation problems during the tableting process.

Polymeric materials were modified and blended using a continuous high-throughput process. Research included design, validation and optimisation of test procedures.

This proof of concept R&D developed prototypes with the potential to revolutionise the way that animal supplement delivery devices are manufactured, replacing the current state of the art compaction process which is time consuming, inefficient and expensive.

Within a very short space of time tremendous progress has been made in developing a
commercially viable product; … (we) would encourage other companies to explore this kind of option for new product development.

The Shabra Group

The Shabra Group

This research was co-funded by Shabra and AIT via an AIT president
Seed Fund project (company contribution €25,000).

Shabra are global market leaders in integrated plastics recycling, reprocessing, manufacturing and supply of recycled products. Shabra is totally committed to promotion of recycling and reprocessing in Ireland, reducing waste plastics going to landfill and helping companies to reduce their carbon footprint

Many issues currently exist with the supply of recycled polymer that deems it unsuitable for use in some commercial product ranges. If the properties of these polymers can be enhanced to bring them into line with those of a virgin material then the recycled material may part or wholly replace the virgin polymer and thus enable the recyclate to be used in a higher value product. The quality of the post-consumer PET is of critical importance as this will determine the end user markets in which it can be used. The main focus of this research involved developing a standard testing protocol for PET recyclate for the Shabra group and investigating methods of adding value to the material so that it could be used in higher value products.

This research included a review of PET specification sheets currently employed within the recycling industry and established test techniques most suitable in addressing Shabra’s current needs. All the testing and analyses were carried out in accordance with recognised international standards. The research established the techniques most suitable to Shabra in terms of reproducibility, equipment cost and ease-of-use. Following this phase of work, the quality of the PET recyclate was determined. To date this has yielded valuable information relating to the efficiency of each step in the washing process and resulted in cost savings and improved quality recyclate. Efforts are on-going to further improve the quality of the recyclate so that the material may be sold to higher value end markets and reduce material reaching landfill.

This research will enable the Shabra group to put measures in place so that it can improve the overall quality of its recyclate so as to comply with the new EuCertPlast. The aim of EuCertPlast is to accredit Plastic Recyclers whose activity complies with high quality standards. This certification will give an assurance to suppliers and customers that any input waste plastic is processed by a certified recycler via best practice. Simultaneously, it ensures that the recycler respects the environment and acts in accordance with European Standard (EN 15343:2007) and national legislation. EuCertPlast advocates environmental friendly recycling of plastic and concentrates on traceability and evaluation of conformity and recycled content of recyclates.

Mergon International

Mergon International

Mergon are innovators in technical plastic moulding solutions for the Automotive, Industrial and Healthcare sectors. They use the latest material and technologies to design, manufacture and test plastic components that meet the most demanding requirements.

At Mergon, the number one cost constraint is raw material. In order to remain competitive Mergon has undertaken a variety of projects with AIT to reduce raw material costs either though the incorporation of low cost fillers, reducing the density of the moulded parts or through the use of recycled polymers. These components are introduced into the polymer raw material through a compounding process. Once the materials have been homogeneously combined, they are injection moulded into test specimens in-house prior to running a battery of polymer characterization techniques including mechanical, thermal and chemical testing techniques.

APT successfully identified novel methods which can be utilized to reduce raw material costs. APT continues to develop these methods in order to produce a commercially ready additive for on-going manufacturing use.

Mergon works in a highly competitive manufacturing industry and is constantly under pressure from low cost economies. However, they have built long lasting relationships with their key customers to allow them to flourish. In the context of the research carried out at APT these research findings have allowed Mergon to stay ahead of their competitors and remain the supplier of choice of some of the world’s most recognized brands.