Goliath by name, sustainable by nature

Contact Originators introduces European-first super still for platemaking

Flexographic platemaker, Contact Originators, has unveiled its giant 24,000 litre distillation unit housed at the company’s new site in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester.

Goliath, as the still is affectionately known by the Contact team, is the largest in use for platemaking in Europe. It offers three-times the capacity provided at Contact’s previous site in Bredbury, Stockport, which was damaged by fire in January 2020.

Unlike the one at Stockport, the new still is heated by steam instead of oil as part of Contact Originators’ commitment to creating a wholly sustainable platemaking operation.

Steve Mulcahy, CEO of Contact Originators Group, said: “When developing the new site, as well as ensuring we could meet the needs of all our customers now and into the future, we were completely dedicated to ensuring that our plates are manufactured in the most resource-efficient way possible. Changing the way our still is heated has been a big part of that commitment, while at the same time enhancing health and safety on site too.”

The still is housed in a separate building to the platemaking production halls on the 32,000ft² site and the company is now investigating ways to reduce and overcome the challenge of waste produced in the platemaking process, to improve sustainability even further.

“We have one of the best equipped prepress sites and one of the most sustainable large-scale operations in the UK today,” said Steve. “From motion-activated lighting to best-in-class machines and advanced technologies to create greater efficiencies in production, our new site is game-changing for sustainability and the environment. We are always looking at ways to do things better, whether that be in our customer care, our plate quality, cost or waste reduction.”