PASKAL Group, a manufacturer of agricultural plastics products, produces more than 4 billion clips and hooks annually through continuous injection moulding production. With such high output volumes, the company needed a stable and accurate dosing solution that could reduce colour consumption, improve consistency and support uninterrupted manufacturing.
For manufacturers operating in high-volume plastics production, dosing accuracy can have a major impact on material usage, product consistency and overall manufacturing cost. This is particularly important in 24/7 production environments, where even small inaccuracies can quickly lead to significant waste over time.
The Challenge
PASKAL was experiencing inconsistent dosing, particularly at low dosing percentages of around 0.5%. The existing system was creating fluctuations that led to overdosing, colour drift and unnecessary masterbatch consumption.
In agricultural plastics manufacturing, colour consistency is critical, especially when producing low-opacity products where even minor changes can be visible. For a business producing at this scale, small variations in dosing accuracy had the potential to create quality issues, customer complaints and increased production costs.
The customer needed a solution that could provide much tighter control, reduce material waste and maintain stable production without requiring constant operator intervention.
The Solution
To improve dosing accuracy, PASKAL implemented the Movacolor MDS Balance gravimetric dosing system.
Unlike volumetric dosing systems, which dose based on volume, gravimetric dosing measures material by weight. This allows for much greater accuracy and consistency, especially when working with low dosing percentages or materials with changing bulk density.
The Movacolor MDS Balance system is self-calibrating and automatically adjusts during operation to maintain stable dosing performance. It also provides real-time compensation for bulk density changes, helping to ensure that the correct amount of colour is added throughout production.
This made the system well suited to PASKAL’s 24/7 manufacturing environment, where the dosing process needed to remain reliable after start-up and continue running with minimal operator involvement.
Fast Testing and Proven Performance
The benefits of the system were quickly recognised during testing. After just two days, PASKAL could see that the Movacolor system was delivering the level of precision and stability required for its production process.
Jack Belmacher, Production Manager at PASKAL Group, said:
“After just two days of testing, it was clear that the system delivered the precision and stability we needed.”
This fast validation gave the customer confidence that the technology could support both production efficiency and product quality in a demanding, high-volume environment.
The Results
The implementation of the Movacolor MDS Balance system delivered clear and measurable improvements for PASKAL.
Dosing accuracy improved from ±0.5% to ±0.05%, providing far greater control over colour usage and reducing the risk of overdosing. This improvement helped the company reduce colour consumption and material waste, contributing to an estimated £138,000 in annual savings.
The system also supported stable 24/7 production, with a quiet and reliable process that created no interruptions or complaints. Most importantly, PASKAL achieved zero colour drift complaints, helping maintain consistent colour quality across its agricultural plastics products.
Improving Stability in 24/7 Plastics Manufacturing
For manufacturers producing at high volumes, dosing accuracy is not just a quality issue. It directly affects material usage, production stability and long-term operating costs.
By moving to precision gravimetric dosing technology from Movacolor, PASKAL was able to reduce waste, improve consistency and support continuous production with greater confidence.
The results show how a relatively small change in dosing accuracy can deliver a significant commercial impact, particularly in 24/7 injection moulding environments where every percentage point matters.
Movacolor dosing technology is available to manufacturers across the UK and Ireland plastics industry through Summit Systems, helping processors improve dosing accuracy, reduce masterbatch consumption and achieve more stable production.