H&T Presspart’s Blackburn manufacturing site have been awarded the runners-up position in GlaxoSmithKlines (GSK) prestigious Supplier Sustainability Awards for 2017 for the small to medium enterprise category.

The submission for the awards from H&T Presspart Blackburn centred on a three year project that began in 2013. The project was to replace the 40 year old metered-dose inhaler canister wash plant equipment which used a hydrocarbon based solution. This hydrocarbon solution not only generated a large amount of CO₂ emissions, but it also used thousands of litres of water a year in the process.

H&T Presspart’s solution was to invest in new wash plant equipment which used a new solvent washing process, which was emissions free and also negated the usage of any water. The new process also removed the need for the disposal of thousands of litres of the old hydrocarbon based degreaser, as the new solvent based degreaser’s quality is maintained by additives.

H&T Presspart were competing against nearly 40 other submissions from GSK suppliers around the world in the awards, and managed to gain the runners up position with the GSK judging panel stating:

‘H&T Presspart stood out because of how successful its project has been at reducing emissions. By switching from using a hydrocarbon-based degreaser for cleaning MDI canisters to a solvent process, H&T Presspart is able to reduce CO₂ emissions by 1,015 tonnes per year. The judges were also impressed by the level of staff engagement and teamwork, with many departments being involved in the project’

We would like to congratulate everyone at H&T Presspart Blackburn for this award, especially the project team who managed this project.