Episode 43 -- Matt Holloway and Jim Prior from Holloway Group
Manage episode 354526838 series 3367321
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Matt Holloway and Jim Prior, CEO and COO respectively of injection moulding specialist Holloway Group.
Episode guide
0:30 – The second-generation company’s history, beginning in the mid-1980s.
2:35 - Jim Prior, COO, joins company via acquisition of Biax in Sept 2021
4:50 – What the company does and what its products are.
7:04 – Are people procuring locally? What they are noticing. “I think there is a degree of parochialism that is alive and well here, too, with some of the flagship businesses that have come to us and openly stated around this table their appetite to support more. There’s always going to be a commercial and financial driver, but they’ve been pretty candid about the fact that they just sort of feel like it’s just right as well, which has been really encouraging.”
8:20 – Recycled polypropylene is “by far” their most used resin. Some is procured in-house (cyclic recycling) and reused. Also buy in recycled PP from post-industrial waste.
9:28 – Developing their in-house blend of PP, designed for specific applications.
10:18 – Void formers are overwhelmingly made of polystyrene, a low-grade product with a high impact on the environment.
14:30 – The role of innovation at the company and how it’s understood.
16:02 – Challenging the staff “to think a little laterally” about what they can do. “No question or suggestion is stupid, and we want to hear more and more of them.”
19:02 – Rigid, injection moulded plastics are a different thing to single-use items like straws and shopping bags, but there are many ways they can be made more sustainable.
20:08 – Governments need to think differently about plastic and “which are the more evil of the evils.”
23:10 – What are the skills shortages felt at the company – engineering and toolmaking – and how are these being addressed?
25:10 – The difficulties in getting heard by government.
Relevant links
Holloway Group's website
https://www.hollowaygroup.com.au/
Most Innovative listing
https://mostinnovative.com.au/past-winners/holloway-group/
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