Plastics processing, including injection moulding, is an important sector of manufacturing industry for Ireland. With the demand for plastics components, particularly in the medical sector, set to grow, companies are giving significant thought to their ability to access a sufficiently well-trained workforce.
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First Polymer Training Skillnet (FPTS) delivers current, best practice training which meets the demands of employers and employees in the plastics industry.
ENGEL UK has provided an energy-efficient, next-generation e-mac injection moulding cell to the training centre. This all-electric injection moulding machine combines flexibility with a minimum footprint and offers absolute cleanliness, together with perfect repeatability which ensures consistent high quality of the parts produced.
Nigel Baker of ENGEL UK said: "With the broad spectrum of medical moulding in Ireland, in addition to all the other sectors, we anticipate that this versatile machine will be an extremely useful addition to the training centre. It is also hoped that FPTS will also be able to take advantage of the online training and webinars offered by ENGEL to all their customers.”
The machine includes many key features which are new or unique to FPTS.
According to Alan Harrington, technical training specialist at FPTS, Ireland has a very "buoyant and busy" injection moulding industry, which is growing each year.
He added: "The sector boasts a highly technical workforce and training has played a huge part in supporting the industry. Demand for injection moulding training has been strong, despite the absence of face-to-face training and we have been successfully delivering injection moulding training on-line. We believe this will allow us to deliver blended training in the future if required. We are looking forward to hosting a virtual opening of our newly refurbished and extended centre, in the early summer.”