Dr Nick Henwood has joined 493K’s new global consultancy service for the plastics industryas an associate technical advisor.

Announcing the partnership, Dr Gareth McDowell, 493K’s Managing Director said: “Nick brings nearly 20 years experience in rotomoulding to the 493K consultancy team. He is recognised as a worldwide authority on the rotomoulding process and we intend to use his specialist expertise to help roto-moulders tackle many of their current challenges.”

He added: “Record high gas prices are hurting rotomoulding margins, and improved production efficiency is absolutely crucial to securing manufacturing profitability, Nick’s input will further  enhance 493K’s roto efficiency process.”

Nick Henwood’s involvement in rotomoulding began in the mid-1980’s, working for the Dow Chemical Company in Europe. His initial sales role developed into the marketing / technical area. He became the prime mover in building a technically and commercially competitive grade slate for Dow.

From Dow Europe he moved to their UK and Ireland rotomoulding distributor, Rotec Chemicals, this time taking the role of Commercial Director. In 1992, he founded his own company, Matrix Polymers, with the vision of building a materials supplier that would set a new standard for the European rotomoulding market in the fields of customer service, technical support and innovation. Over the next fourteen years Matrix became one of the leading suppliers of materials and services to rotomoulding across the whole European market. Following the incorporation of the succession countries (former Eastern Bloc) into the European Community, Matrix was the first supplier to build a rotomoulding materials plant in Poland.

In parallel with the commercial development of the company, Dr Henwood spearheaded an aggressive and highly focused R&D programme, which resulted in the development of a number of innovative products and process modifications for the benefit of roto-moulders. Today, Matrix is still seen as a leading rotomoulding supplier..
In mid-2006, Dr Henwood sold his shareholding in Matrix and resigned as its Managing Director and Technical Director. He now operates independently as a researcher, consultant and an educator, through his new company, Rotomotive Limited.

A commitment to education and training for roto-moulders has been a major theme in Dr Henwood’s career and he has been the presenter and trainer at many in-house and industry events. Most notably, he now runs an extremely popular “Materials Masterclass” seminar on behalf of the Association of Rotational Molders (ARM) International (the rotomoulding industry’s global trade body).  An additional seminar programme, “Process & Quality Control” will be showcased at the forthcoming meeting of ARM’s South Asia Region Division’s conference in Goa, India.  This new seminar is a joint presentation with Dr Gareth McDowell of 493K.

Dr Henwood is a member of the Society of Plastic Engineers, Rotational Moulding Division. He has served on the Board of Directors of ARM International, is Vice-Chairman of that organisation's Polyolefins Committee and is an active member of their International Development Committee.

Dr Gareth McDowell commented: “Until now, 493K was best known for its industry-leading temperature measurement systems. Our site visits, throughout the world, convinced us that roto-moulders are facing a unique set of production efficiency issues. 493K’s consultancy service is focused on these issues, and is specifically designed to optimise cycle times and reduce costly wastage.”

Contact - Dr Gareth McDowell

Call +44 (0)28 9335 9922
Email: gareth.mcdowell@493k.com
Website: www.493k.com