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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Diary of a Graduate: Katie Pepper

I have joined ITW Performance Polymers Europe (PPE) as a R&D Placement Student, taking a year out from studying Chemistry at Aston University in Birmingham. I am originally from a little village in the Peak District and have moved to Northampton for the duration of the placement year. Outside of work my hobbies include playing Gaelic football and skiing.

I will continually be updating my diary blog with my time at ITW PPE, but for the first few weeks’ here’s a quick run through…

My first week start as expected, a tour of the facility - office, laboratory and warehouse including introductions to the staff. I was then set up to carry out some E-Learning courses, so I could gain further understanding of the ethos of the company, and finished of the week with training on the Plexus, Devcon and Korroflex ranges and how to deal with customer queries.

My visit to our manufacturing facility in Shannon, Ireland was interesting with a tour of the site from the Chemical Process Engineer and introductions to staff in production. Whilst in Shannon I also meet the team from the ITW Wind Group and given an overview of products and service they provide.

Back in the UK I spent time with the various departments within ITW PPE from Customer Services to Accounts to understand how all aspects of the business come together. There is a lot to learn and look forward to the year ahead and the challenges it will bring with it.


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Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Sunday, November 11, 2012

Meet the Technical Department

Meet the experts…the Technical Department here at ITW Performance Polymers Europe (PPE), is a resourceful and experienced team, always on hand to support and offer advice. Here’s the chance to meet the team of four that will help you with your projects.

Dr Matt Savage
Technical Manager

After graduating from Loughborough University with a PhD in Polymer Chemistry, I have continuously worked within the adhesives industry, supporting the Automotive OEM’s and Tier 1 suppliers as well Truck & Bus manufacturers. I have held roles as diverse as R&D Chemist, Technical Support Chemist and Technical Sales prior to my current role as Technical Manager for ITW Plexus. My background in a wide range of adhesive technologies and applications means that I am able to support your technical enquiry no matter how unique.

George Green
Technical Support Engineer

I started working in the Technical Department at ITW PPE 5 years ago following graduation from an Earth Science Degree. The best part of my job is visiting customer sites to discuss the test work I have completed and talking through the results and recommendations. My role is varied, I can be found in the lab conducting test work for projects submitted by the Sales Team, handling enquiries, researching or supporting future development projects.

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Tom McNally
Product Support Technician

Since leaving school, I have worked as a Laboratory Technician for a specialist analytical testing company. After spending almost 3 years testing consumer products (shoes, gloves, personal protective equipment etc.) for chemical due diligence I moved to ITW. In the year I have been with ITW, I have been integral in a wide range of projects, testing and also manning the Technical helpdesk, acting as your point of contact for both adhesives and MRO products. This experience means I can assist you with any technical enquiries you may have.

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Katie Pepper
R&D Placement Student

I joined ITW in September as a placement student as part of my Chemistry degree with Aston University. My main focus will be with the R&D team, both in Europe and the USA, working on developing unique high performance products.

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As a team we offer a wealth of experience and knowledge from a diverse range of backgrounds and we look forward to working with you on your projects to ensure that you select the best possible materials and have the confidence to use them.


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Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Monday, October 08, 2012

ITW World Environment Week

This year saw the first ITW World Environment Week take place between 4th— 8th June in Shannon, Ireland. The focus of the week was based on energy and the slogan issued was ‘Preservation for Conservation’. As part of commitment to this week, the Environment and ISO14001, ITW Performance Polymers Europe took the opportunity to raise and promote energy awareness amongst the staff by carrying out a few simple actions;

Energy Awareness Campaign
a) Switch off everyday email campaign. The focus of the email campaign was to draw attention to equipment that may be left on and draw energy unnecessarily overnight.
b) Posting interesting energy facts on the notice board and making them available on tables in the canteen. Information that was posted was designed to be informative and raise people’s interest in the area of energy and energy awareness. Information was updated during the week to keep it fresh so that it would become a ‘talking’ point over the week.

• Poster Competition
c) A poster competition was held where active participation from family members was strongly encouraged.

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Poster competition entries received above.

Congratulations to the winners

1st Place: Fergal Ginnane (Fintan Ginnane)
2nd Place:Brian McNulty (c/o Noreen O’Neill)
3rd Place: Eimear Ryan (c/o Kay O’Gorman)


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Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Changes within the ITW Plexus Business

ITW Plexus has recently undergone some changes within its structure, which includes;

Kevin Lacey’s promotion to the new position of ITW Plexus Business Manager. Kevin has worked with ITW Plexus for the past 10 years and brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience of the adhesives industry to the position. Commenting on his appointment as Business Manager, Kevin said ‘I am delighted to have the opportunity to build and develop the business to the next level throughout Europe and ROW. I am excited about the opportunities we have and feel fully equipped to meet the challenges we will face growing the business with a strong and dedicated team’.

In addition to the change in management, ITW Plexus has appointed two new members: Michael Reynolds who has joined the company as a Business Development Manager. Mick will be responsible for both the Solid Surfacing and Sta-Put businesses. Also, Zafer Apaydin has recently joined ITW Plexus team as the new Sales Manager looking after the Turkish market.


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Posted by Gurpreet Pawar, Marketing Executive, Rushden, UK
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Friday, May 28, 2010

Charity Head Shave

Technical team member Gary Coldwell has been busy raising money for charity.

Crazy Hats Breast Cancer Appeal is a Northamptonshire charity that supports women and men who are going through treatment for breast cancer. They raise money for work at the two major hospitals in Northampton and Kettering and they work with the Breast Reconstruction Team at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Gary took part in a charity head (and beard) shave on May 16th 2010 at Bugbrooke Rugby Club. So far Gary has raised over £400.


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Thursday, March 18, 2010

NCS Resins Four Cities Tour

Once Kevin Lacey (Western Europe and ROW Manager) managed to arrive to a hot South Africa (30oC) we got started. Apparently the M25 was congested, causing him to miss his flight. The M25 (for those that do not know) is a UK motorway as Kevin tried explaining to us South Africans who travel on sand roads.  grin

The joint NCS Resins and ITW Plexus four cities tour kick started in Johannesburg last week at the 5-star Silver Start Casino.

The three hour workshop had a great reception with over 40 in attendance. The workshop began with a presentation from Kevin Lacey about himself and the business. Kevin then continued with my team discussing the benefits of Plexus structural adhesives, how they can improve manufacturing processes, reviewing and advising on application techniques as well as a practical demonstration giving customers the opportunity to bond different substrates.

The visitors enjoyed the opportunity to discuss the use of adhesives and existing customer’s found it helpful to know how they can further improve production techniques.

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Plexus Demonstration: Ross Harris (NCS Sales Rep); Debby Burns and Customers

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Paul Heunis (Johannesburg Branch Manager); Andre Immelman (MD); Shane Savage (Sales Rep)

The tour continued during the week to Cape Town, Port Elizabeth finishing in Durban on Monday 15th. Judging by the number of enquiries we have already received the tour was a great success.


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Posted by Debby Burns, Accessories Product Manager, South Africa
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Monday, March 01, 2010

ITW Plexus European Championship

The ITW Plexus European Championship rolled into Shannon last week. A sensational advert for the beautiful game, although maybe not for the purist’s. If ever goal line technology was required, it would have made no difference here and therefore saved a few quid (or Euro’s).

Forget South Africa, Shannon was the centre of the football world last Tuesday night (and most of Wednesday morning in the world of Paul Wright). Teams were drawn out of a hat to ensure a degree of fairness and Frank’s approval.

A mix of nations on each team ensured a good blend of football styles for the first 10 minutes, and then coughing and spluttering in a mix of languages for the remaining 50 minutes. Team Wright raced into a 7-1 lead in the first 20 minutes aided mainly by 2 players with good fitness and a resolute refusal to defend from Team Coll. The deficit was slowly clawed back through the rest of the game, despite Tomek’s preoccupation with kicking Mike Howard again, but time ran out and Team Wright were triumphant, and smug.

A fantastic evening’s football, good, robust play from both sides, and a sure recipe for revenge the next time around. 


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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

It’s a wrap. Another successful show for ITW Plexus and Vaber Industriale Spa

By now you should be familiar with the show, if you’ve been reading my posts. Seatec, the largest marine show in Italy certainly provided suppliers with the platform to display and demonstrate their product offering. Everything you need, from boat designing software, manufacturing materials to furnishings were on show.

Over the course of the three days, our stand saw a large number of people taking a look, conversing with the team about applications, looking at products and moving on. However, it did mean we were able to address the needs of existing customers and seek the solutions to the manufacturing challenges presented by prospects.

The show ended on a high. I was invited to the Champagne reception at the British Marine Federation (BMF) stand. Accompanied by Simonette Pegorari (Italian representative of the BMF), the evening was enjoyed by all whilst discussing the challenges facing the Marine Industry and the success of the show, as well as drinking (not a lot) of champagne.

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On that note, ciao from Massa Cararra. See you next year.


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Posted by Paul Wright., Territory Manager, Italy
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