Technology & Design Trip to Brett Martin
May 2010
Objectives
- To enhance pupil awareness of business and enterprise activities within a locally based company.
- To focus upon the energy efficiencies and recycling of materials within a manufacturing environment.
- To identify the application of automated machines to manufacture commercial products.
Introduction
Year 9 pupils were given the opportunity to win a place on the Technology & Design Business and Enterprise visit to Brett Martin Plastics, Mallusk, Glengormley. All pupils had to design a recycled product produced from an everyday item or household waste. The ideas were vast with some excellent ideas. Everything from recycled leather from used sofas and furniture to produce new shoes and handbags to Tin cans used to make garden furniture. The list was wide and displayed some inventive thinking from our young entrepreneurs. This enabled a link to be formed with the processes undertaken and outline in the visit and was indeed a main component of the good practice of Brett Martin in their product development and machine processes.
Experiences
The visit took place for the best part of the day to Brett Martin Plastics. This company has been in operation for the past 52 years, specialising in formed and sheet plastic products. It employs 800 people throughout the UK and exports to almost 80 foreign countries. Definitely an impressive statistic! Brett Martin is a local producer of extruded formed and sheet plastic products with two distinct product lines. Poly ST (Sheet polycarbonate plastic, predominantly used in roofing products) and Waste disposal (Formed polypropylene plastic, used in guttering, plastic plumbing fittings and subterranean waste conduits).
After being briefed on the schedule for the day, pupils received conference style presentations from production managers from both the Poly ST production line and Waste Disposal line. Our group was then provided with lunch and then given a tour of the two separate production areas. The tour highlighted the distinct environment of a factory with a focus on the heavy duty machinery and process used. Tim and Noel, the technical managers of both lines gave informative and professional tours, showing the complexity and vast quantity of material produced on the production lines.
The pupils found the experience very worthwhile as it was the first time, in many cases, that the group had seen a large scale manufacturing and industrial process in action. It was also good to note the aspects of recycling used materials that are processed back into manufacturing process meaning there is literally zero wastage. How many companies can say that!
Learning Account
This visit would be ideal for an interest visit for the occupational studies group. A significant part of the business captured by Brett Martin as a supplier is the push-fit plastic plumbing fittings. Whilst the assembly of these products is left to qualified plumbers, it may be of value developing an awareness of how these items are made.
Summary
The visit was indeed worthwhile and beneficial and achieved the aims, although the content of the presentations was at times very technical for a Year 9 group. The hospitality and welcoming approach of the staff made the visit very pleasant and our pupils were made to feel at ease. We would like to express our thanks to Kate Sloan (Personnel Dept) & Tim and Noel the technical managers for there time and giving us so much useful information.
