Resilient in a
changing world
Zotefoams plc
Annual Report 2020
Zotefoams plc
Annual Report 2020
In June 2020, Zotefoams’ largest UK customer secured
a government contract under the ‘make’ initiative to
supply visors for frontline workers battling the COVID-19
pandemic. The material specified for the headband was
Plastazote
®
LD33 from our AZOTE
®
polyolefin foams
range – long recognised for its suitability for medical
and skin-contact applications.
Over 26 weeks between June and November,
Zotefoams supplied over 750,000 sheets of material,
achieving record output at our UK manufacturing plant
in several successive months. This was supplemented
with material extruded and nitrogen-saturated in our
USA facility and expanded in the UK.
Zotefoams was instrumental in assembling a
consortium of UK fabricators to meet the demanding
project timelines. Some 1,200 truckloads of material
were produced for the project to create over 71 million
reusable visors, with all post-fabrication waste
recycled into applications such as carpet underlay and
sports flooring. Among the many remarkable aspects
of this project, the skills, responsiveness and dedication
of the Zotefoams team stood out.
Resilient.
Agile. Focused
on delivery.
Chris Endres
Polyolen Sales Manager, UK
The effort and the hours put in by all involved was
astonishing and I doubt it will ever be surpassed.
I’m really proud of the efforts that we put in as a team,
firstly to help our customer win the contract and then
to deliver on such an extraordinary scale. It was also
wonderful to see so many of our UK customers join
forces in this incredible effort.
AZOTE
®
Naveed Khan
Process Quality Manager, UK
I interpreted our customer requirements into
a specification covering product, packaging and
processing conditions. We updated our processes to
fast-track product made in both the UK and the USA
through Inspection, so that we could successfully
supply the product to the end-user in a very
short timeframe.
Andy Millward
Production Manager, UK
It was remarkable how quickly Zotefoams geared
up for this project, with new staff, new processes
and a concerted effort to maximise output while
maintaining a COVID-19 safe working environment.
The team’s enthusiasm for the project was wonderful
to see: knowing that our materials were going straight
to the frontline of the fight against the pandemic was
extraordinarily motivating.
Martin Ernoult
Forklift Operator, UK
It was my job to unload frozen slabs coming in
from the USA. Often processing two trucks per day,
I would offload, check and then load the stock into
our freezers. It was an essential part of the overall
process to ensure the slabs were correctly put away,
in batch order, ready for use.
Liz Papadolambakis
Customer Service Manager, UK
When the last truckload of material left our site, I sat
back and thought: "Wow, this is the end of a massive
undertaking, and we have managed to get it through
the plant and dispatched on time." It was a sense
of relief and pride that we had performed so well.
This was a demonstration of team effort at its best, and
it brought out so many great qualities in our colleagues.