Manufacturer invests £1m adapting vineyard technology

WIRE manufacturer D R Baling has invested £1m in machinery, and the development of a trademarked wire which originated in South African vineyards.

Plasloc is based on a plastic wire that was produced for use in vineyards to support the grape vines, as traditional metal wire would bend and rust.

Managing director Peter Robinson patented the wire-making process with industrial adaptations, and is now undergoing trials at a recycling centre in Hull.

The Barnsley manufacturer makes about 15,000 miles of steel wire at its plant at Oxspring, near Penistone, which is used by the recycling industry to tie together bales of cardboard, paper or plastics.

It currently employs 19 staff, but the firm predicts this will increase by another 12 if the product is a success.

The company is currently expanding production facilities by constructing a new 10,000 sq ft building to house a second Plasloc machine.

Managing director Peter Robinson said: “At the moment waste firms are baling unrecyclable waste with steel wire and plastic wrapping. But when that gets to the incinerators in Holland that has to come off before the bales can be burned and that is a really messy and expensive job.

“This plastic wire means the bale can just be burned whole and that could save the waste industry literally millions a year.”

D R Baling, which has a turnover of £7.5m, has been given marketing advice by Enterprising Barnsley, which is run by Barnsley Council.

Paul Tinsley, of Enterprising Barnsley, which has given D R Baling free advice on areas like marketing and tenders, said: “It’s fantastic to think that a ground-breaking invention is being developed here in Barnsley.

“It just shows that we have some amazing business brains in the borough and can be at the forefront of manufacturing in the UK.”