Celebrating 30 years in 2022, The Box Factory honours three decades of creativity, growth, and delivering high-quality packaging to customers across industries.

PG Optimise 2025 may have concluded, but it has left lasting impressions on the impressive number of our customers who attended. Showcasing and demonstrating the latest in the Siemens Factory Automation portfolio, PG Optimise was a series of events hosted at prestigious venues in what has effectively been termed a stadium tour of the UK: Aston Villa Football Club | Siemens Manchester | Leeds United Football Club | Newcastle United Football Club | Murrayfield Stadium | Gloucester Rugby Ltd | Swansea City Football Club | Swansea Football Club | Mercedes-Benz World. Customers left enthralled by the professionalism of Team PG Feedback from our customers has been phenomenal, personifying exactly what Parmley Graham and its intrepid team of experts bring to them in terms of technical knowledge and service. Couple that with a mix of some of our main partners, including Siemens, Rittal, Stäubli and Festo showcasing their solutions within the Marketplace – it has ensured PG Optimise 2025 has been extremely successful and rewarding for all parties concerned. To coin a phrase from an esteemed member of the Siemens team, “Big Crowds = Big Venues!!!”

Introducing the first in a series of white papers by Dr. Benjamin J. Deadman, focusing on the groundbreaking PI QFlux® system—a major advancement in fast-batch reactor technology. This installment highlights its superior thermal performance, which enhances productivity and selectivity in chemical processing. To support this innovation, ReactorPy, a Python-based modeling tool, has been developed to simulate dynamic thermal conditions, enabling precise control and optimization of reactor performance. Future papers will delve deeper into reaction kinetics and volume modifications, further unlocking the full potential of the PI QFlux® system.

This second white paper in Dr. Benjamin Deadman’s series focuses on the performance of the PI QFlux® fast-batch reactor—a technology offering a major leap forward in thermal efficiency for batch processing. Building on the first instalment, which highlighted the PI QFlux® reactor’s ability to heat faster than conventional systems, this paper explores how that thermal advantage translates into significantly reduced reaction times for bimolecular processes. The results show where the PI QFlux® system delivers the greatest productivity gains and lays the groundwork for future studies on its impact in more complex and exothermic reactions.

This third white paper in Dr. Benjamin Deadman’s series examines the PI QFlux® fast-batch reactor’s ability to control exothermic reactions under semi-batch conditions. Building on previous findings, this study uses the hydrolysis of acetic anhydride to show how the PIQFlux®’s superior cooling enables tighter temperature control and 62% faster dosing compared to conventional systems. The results highlight the reactor’s value in boosting efficiency and safety for challenging processes, paving the way for future work on selectivity and complex chemistries.

This fourth white paper by Dr. Benjamin J. Deadman continues the exploration of the PI QFlux® fast-batch reactor’s capabilities. Previous papers demonstrated significant reductions in reaction times; here, the focus shifts to reaction selectivity. Through a simulated tandem reaction, the study shows how the reactor’s rapid heating and cooling can improve product purity—reducing total process time by 51% and decreasing impurity formation. These findings further highlight the PI QFlux® system’s potential to enhance both efficiency and quality in batch processing.

Dr. Benjamin J. Deadman’s fifth white paper highlights how the PI QFlux® fast-batch reactor overcomes the heat transfer limits that traditionally slow scale-up. Delivering 1,000 L performance equivalent to a 10 L conventional vessel, PI QFlux® makes safer, faster, and larger jumps in scale possible—unlocking new opportunities for process development and production.

The sixth white paper from Dr. Benjamin J. Deadman explores the scale-up of a highly exothermic benzylation of aniline and demonstrates the exceptional thermal performance of the PI QFlux® fast-batch reactor. Shown through process simulations, the PI QFlux® system delivers up to 71% faster dosing and significantly improved temperature control compared to conventional batch reactors. These findings highlight how fast-batch technology overcomes traditional heat-transfer limitations, enabling safer, faster, and more efficient chemical scale-up.

Scaling up chemical processes often exposes a critical weakness in traditional batch reactors: limited heat transfer. As vessel volumes increase, thermal control becomes more challenging—slowing processes and increasing risk. The PI QFlux® fast-batch reactor is designed to overcome this barrier. By combining enhanced heat-transfer performance with the flexibility and throughput of a conventional batch vessel, it offers a powerful alternative to both standard batch and continuous flow systems. In a simulated 1,000 L cooling study, the PI QFlux® reactor reduced cooling time by 74% compared to a traditional jacketed batch reactor. While idealised flow reactors can achieve extremely rapid heat transfer, they face practical limitations in productivity and scale. PI QFlux® delivers dramatically improved thermal performance without sacrificing batch capacity, operational familiarity, or scalability. For manufacturers seeking faster heat removal, improved process safety, and production-scale throughput—all within a batch framework—the PI QFlux® reactor represents a compelling step forward.

The magnetic-inductive flow sensor PITe is used to measure the volume flow of liquid, slurries, pastes and other electrically conductive media with minimum pressure drop. Pressure, temperature, density and viscosity does not affect the volume measurements. Any solid particles and small gas bubbles should be avoided. The sensor PITe has the following significant characteristics: • simple design • maintenance free • compact design • minimum pressure drop

Detergent and cleaning product manufacturer HG closed their production site in Almere, the Netherlands. The 14,500 m² plant needed to be fully cleared and a total of 600 machines had to be removed, sold and relocated. Among these machines were blow moulding, filling and packaging lines.

The project arose from an imminent closure of an Italian production facility. A producer of food additives, natural colors and caramels was acquired by a major player in additives in the food industry. The parties decided to consolidate production within the new company, meaning the plant in Italy will be closed down. The machines from this plant are manufactured by well-known Italian brands and all equipment will be sold directly from the location. On purchase, all tanks and equipment will be dismantled and loaded on provided transport. If transport is required, we can assist you with the help of our partners.

Intertek has been recognised by Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) as a successful participant in the DRRR Proficiency Testing programme: Contaminants in recycled plastic material – Phase 2 (RVEP 259599). In Phase 2, our scientists conducted detection and semi-quantitative evaluation of contaminants deliberately introduced into PP granules, including 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol, Benzophenone, and Irganox 1076, and met all criteria for successful participation. This result, achieved by our UK and Netherlands Centres of Excellence for Polymer Science solutions, further demonstrates our laboratories’ strong capability to identify and evaluate potential contaminants in recycled plastic materials. Identification and quantification of unknown contaminants is critical to compliance with Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foods.

Back to back Platinum: We’ve Done It Again! We are so proud to announce that Newport Industries Ltd has officially retained our EcoVadis Platinum Medal for the second year running. In an industry as complex as chemical distribution, sustainability isn't just a buzzword for us, it’s a core pillar of how we operate. This Platinum rating places us in the top 1% of companies globally (99+ percentile) assessed by EcoVadis over the past 12 months. Why this matters: Trust: It validates our commitment to transparent and ethical supply chains. Action: It reflects our ongoing improvements in Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. Partnership: It ensures our customers and suppliers are working with a partner who prioritises the planet as much as the bottom line. A huge thank you to our incredible team whose dedication to excellence made this possible. We aren’t just distributing chemicals, we’re distributing a more sustainable future.

The J27 is the new benchmark for portable hand held refractometers. The J27 is entirely untethered yet overcomes the compromises in performance and accuracy usually found in hand held instruments. Now you can measure anywhere with laboratory level accuracy. The weakness of most hand held refractometers is they do not control temperature. Refractometer measurements are often highly sensitive to drifting results because mathematically correcting for temperature alone does not work well when the ambient temperature is changing. Only precise temperature control will result in the measurement accuracy many users require. The Rudolph J27 Peltier temperature control at the prism surface allows for improved accuracy and greater stability. Precise heating and cooling ensures stable and accurate measurements at either 20 or 25°C. Select the J27 series with temperature control for precise measurements when working with samples that are very hot, very cold or are not Sucrose, Glucose or sugar based. For example, a glycol sample must be measured with precise temperature control for an accurate measurement, temperature correction for sugar cannot be applied to non-sucrose based samples. A sample coming from a hot kettle on a production line must also be temperature controlled as temperature correction will not be accurate for a sample far from room temperature. Synthetic sapphire prisms have similar hardness to diamond and can be cleaned with a paper towel. This makes sample cleaning fast and easy. Regardless of an instrument’s specified accuracy, a refractometer’s real-world performance depends on how well the instrument is cleaned between samples. The J27 hand held refractometer is powered by a Lithium-Ion battery that is easily recharged, so it’s ready to go everywhere you need to make measurements. The battery can be charged in approximately 2 hours providing up to 4 hours of constant measurements under heavy usage or 8 hours of normal usage.