In Profile: Paul Edwards, managing director of Pentagon Plastics

Paul Edwards, managing director of Pentagon Plastics talks high engineering grades of thermoplastics

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Paul Edwards, managing director of Pentagon Plastics, a plastic injection moulding business based in Horsham West Sussex. We have enjoyed trading for over 43 years and our business continues to go from strength to strength. Our comprehensive range of injection moulding services include design assistance, development, toolmaking, injection moulding and post moulding operations. 

How would you sum up your company?

We are experienced in technical moulding and processing high engineering grades of thermoplastics.  Tailoring our services to the individual needs of the customer we are dedicated to delivering quality components in an efficient and timely manner. We are part of a small circle of businesses that run our own on-site toolroom facility in addition to the moulding services with the capacity to provide low cost tooling solutions right through to dedicated multi-cavity mould tools. We are able to produce volumes as low as 10 off up to the higher end of 100,000 off which means we can cater for a vast range of customer requirements.

Name a business achievement you are most proud of.

We are very proud of the transition that has occurred in the family business from first generation to second generation leadership. The infrastructure of the business has been reshaped during this period of transition and the profile of the business within the Industry has grown.

What excites you about this industry?

The last couple of years have seen companies sending products overseas for manufacture. Looking to claw back control and quality of their production parts, companies are turning back to UK manufacturers for both new projects and to re-shore existing projects from overseas. 

Far East manufacture will always have its place and can be of real benefit to those looking for cost effective high volume production however for technical products the UK is and has always been strong in its capabilities of both tooling and manufacture. 

It excites us greatly to see both the confidence and demand for UK manufacturing continue to rise. Seeing the skill set that looked to be diminishing come full circle with younger generations taking an interest in engineering careers brings new ideas in to our long standing and skilled industry.

Where do you predict industry growth will come from over the next 12 months?

As new medicine evolves and with continued research in to life threatening illness we are confident that a good portion of industry growth will come from the medical moulding sector.  With people living longer there is more demand than ever in the medical industry to care for our ever increasing population and as medicines and medical technology continues to evolve we are sure that it will bring with it and increasing demand for injection moulding manufacture.

Which medical plastic device do you wish you had invented and why?

It would have been fantastic to have been involved in the design and development of the syringe  - it would have been a springboard for many more systems within the industry.