Key Strengths

The UK has a formidable position in the global plastics industry stage. 

The local availability of raw materials and their feedstocks
The chemical building blocks from which plastics raw materials are made are largely derived from oil and gas. The UK is a significant oil and gas producer. The UK government is encouraging further oil exploration in the North Sea and has announced a favourable tax regime for the development of shale gas deposits elsewhere in the UK. Additionally the UK’s rich and varied geology helps to provide a wide range of additives, specialist materials, compounds and masterbatch to enhance the development and performance of plastics products manufactured in the UK.


A strong pre-existing industrial base
Key pre-existing raw materials were readily substitutable by plastics. For example the West Midlands engineering industry gradually abandoned metals in favour of plastics and the textiles industry in Lancashire and Yorkshire gradually steered away from cotton and wool towards products based on nylon, polyester and polyvinyl chloride. This process continues and the paper industry has now begun to convert to plastics, with the publishing industry moving to electronic books.


A strong indigenous chemicals industry
The chemicals and plastics industry in the UK are closely interlinked and represent a supply chain which is a national economic strength. This business activity in the UK finds a unity in the plastics industry. Indeed the plastic sector accounts for approximately 7.5% of the UK demand for chemicals.

A commitment to Innovation
The plastics processing sector in the UK is renowned for innovation both in terms of product design and process development. It was the UK which created the  commercial plastics industry in the 19th Century and which discovered polyethylene in 1933. Now, the most widely In addition to the native creativity within the industry the sector is supported by firstrate academic institutions which specialise in materials science or polymer engineering and these include Bradford, Napier (Edinburgh),Loughborough, Leeds, London Metropolitan and Queen’s Belfast Universities. Leadership in innovation is provided by the Technology Strategy Board which is responsible to the UK Government’s Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). This has created sophisticated ‘Knowledge Transfer Networks’ which are very easy to access and free of charge for most fields of industrial knowledge. They ensure cooperation between universities and private companies on research and development and they marshall and communicate the sum of knowledge available. To access the Material KTN Polymer Sector visit www.connect.innovateuk.org



Access to a world class design industry
The industry is able to harness the talents of the world class UK design sector where organisations like Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London are internationally renowned. Industrial design in plastics in the UK is also encouraged by the BPF’s Horner’s Award for Plastics Innovation and Design. This is the oldest known award in the plastics industry and has been competed for annually by leading plastics designers since 1947. www.hornersaward.co.uk The Horners are also working to ensure a constant flow through of design talent to the UK plastics industry through its organisation of the Student Design Awards: www.designinnovationplastics.org


Relentless attention paid to continuous improvement
As a leading example of how the UK plastics industry is constantly raising the bar of achievement, the annual Plastics Industry Awards recognise excellence
in most branches of attainment, such as in training initiatives, environmental performance, energy saving and product design. Visit www.plasticsawards.com



An extremely easy supply chain to access
The British Plastics Federation The UK plastics industry is highly accessible. The whole sector is co-ordinated by its single leading trade association, the British Plastics Federation. The BPF itself is a one stop shop as it unites under one umbrella all the different branches of the industry. The best initial point of contact with the industry is through the medium of the BPF’s website (www.bpf.co.uk) which contains an Industry Directory (www.bpf.co.uk/directory.aspx) which signposts viewers to those companies in the industry which can fulfill their precise requirements. Companies wishing to engage with the plastics industry on an international forum can do so at www.plastbook.com which is the first online, dedicate network for the plastics industry. Companies can also download a collection of ‘Buyers Guides’ on the UK plastics industry at www.bpfbuyersguides.co.uk You can make contact with the BPF through it’s international trade fair participation as it regularly exhibits at major global plastics industry exhibitions such as ‘K’ (Dusseldorf, Germany), Chinaplas (Guangzhou, China), Plastindia (Delhi, India),
Plastivision (Mumbai,India), Arabplast (Dubai, UAE), Plasteurasia (Istanbul, Turkey) and Interplastica (Moscow, Russian Federation). The BPF also organises a series of market based seminars which explain the key developments in each of the sub sectors of the industry. For a programme of upcoming events see www.bpfevents.co.uk


UK Plastics Industry Trade Press
The UK has a strong and well developed trade press which provides a daily commentary on the competencies of the UK plastics industry. The leading journals are:

• Plastics and Rubber Weekly  - www.prw.com
• British Plastics and Rubber - www.britishplastics.co.uk

UK Plastics Industry Exhibitions
Two major exhibitions provide an opportunity for overseas customers to make contact with the UK plastics industry.

• Interplas - http://www.britishplasticsshow.com held every 3 years at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, UK.
• Plastics Design and Moulding (PDM) - http://www.pdmevent.com/ currently held annually at the Telford International Centre, Telford, UK.

Consultants who can help you
If you need additional help in developing a product which uses UK plastics industry expertise, or if you want more help in sourcing a particular product then you might need consultancy advice, available from a number of competent sources in the UK. A wide range of expertise is available in the BPF’s Plastics Consultancy Network www.pcn.org


Expertise in sustainable manufacture
No country understands how sustainability applies to plastics materials as deeply as the UK. The industry has a strong tradition of positive dialogue with balanced environmental organisations such as Forum for the Future (www.forumforthefuture.org), the NaturalStep (www.thenaturalstep.org). and the National Non Food Crops Centre (www.nnfcc.co.uk). A guide to the expertise available on the sustainable manufacturing of plastics in the UK is available at  www.sustainablemanufacturing.co.uk. This also signposts the vibrant plastics recycling sector in the UK. Energy efficiency is a specialism of the UK plastics industry, partly prompted by a Climate Change Agreement entered into by the British Plastics Federation and UK Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). This has been responsible for the generation of considerable information about how to reduce energy consumption in plastics processing and this has led to considerable savings.The UK is a global leader in all branches of resource efficiency including optimising raw material usage, minimising the application of energy, using recycled materials and the responsible treatment of plastics products throughout their entire lifecycle.



Clear strategic leadership of supply chains
For industries of strategic importance to the UK, the UK Government is exercising leadership to ensure that sectors are organised to deliver exactly what overseas customers require. This is very sector where the Government has set up an Automotive Council. See www.automotivecouncil.co.uk/


Strong UK Government Support
UK Trade and Investment (UKT&I) facilitates contact with UK manufacturing sectors and individual companies, if you wish to do business with a UK company or invest in the UK. It has commercial posts in most countries of the world and to help you locate one near to you please visit www.ukti.gov.uk/export


Strengths in Key Sectors
The industry is a key innovator worldwide. The three core sectors that make up the plastics industry are:

• Automotive
  The automotive sector in the UK is one of the largest in the world with over 1.5 million cars being produced per annum. Investment in R&D in Automotive is huge with £1.3 billion being spent on it in 2010. A major shift towards a low carbon economy will see an estimated £150 billion being invested in low and ultra-low carbon vehicle technologies over the next 20 years. Plastics is set to play a huge role in this shift

• Construction
  Over 20% of plastics materials are used in construction applications in the UK. The concept of sustainable construction is well developed here and UK plastics products have achieved the highest ratings in the BRE’s ‘Green Guide to Specification’ and they lead the way in helping to achieve the aims of UK Government’s groundbreaking ‘Code for Sustainable Homes’.

• Packaging
  The packaging sector which accounts for over a third of polymer consumption in the UK is driven by the needs and desires of the world’s most sophisticated retail sector which includes such retail giants as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer. Packaging remains a strong area of growth with innovations in PET and other materials pushing the boundaries of usage with ready meals and smart packaging creating new opportunities.

Plastics Consumption in the UK by Application