Our History

  • 1969
    1969

    Parafix Ltd was founded by Mr John Shipley, in Sussex in the south of England. It quickly became 3M’s preferred distributor of Industrial Tape and Adhesive products in that area. At that time, adhesive tape technology was in its infancy and the products were, generally, quite basic.

    1972
    1972

    As adhesive fixings started to become acceptable, Parafix Tapes and Conversions was formed to meet the growing demand for bespoke custom adhesive tape. Starting from a single unit in Meadow Road, Worthing, more and more machinery and space were soon needed and the modest premises soon became too small. Over the next few years, new units were taken on in the same area.

    1973
    1973

    Parafix was appointed Sussex Authorised Distributor for 3M, manufacturer of speciality tape, film and foil materials.

    1977

    Colin Wills (now a Director) joined from 3M as the Office Manager.

    1984

    Parafix outgrew their fragmented units in Worthing and moved to the Business Park where the site was enlarged and improved throughout the 80s and 90s.

    1985

    Parafix passes £1 million turnover for the first time.

    1989
    1989

    A QA Engineer is appointed, underlining the importance Parafix places on quality assurance.

    In this year, Parafix was also appointed Preferred Converter for Rogers Corporation, manufacturer of high performance foam materials.

    1991
    1991

    BS5750 accreditation was achieved, the predecessor of our current ISO9001 Quality Management accreditation.

    1995
    1995

    Parafix is appointed Preferred Converter for 3M.

    1996
    1996

    Parafix acquire Scapa Select Distributor ‘Adhesive Tapes & Conversions Ltd’, growing the manufacturing facility and product range.

    1997
    2001
    2001

    Parafix expands outside of the UK.  With the rapid expansion of manufacturing in Eastern Europe, Parafix saw an opportunity for growth and opened a manufacturing plant in Budapest. Parafix Hungária Kft has become an important component supplier to manufacturers now basing their production in the region.

    2002

    John Shipley vacated the Managing Director’s desk and became Chairman. Michael Punter joined as the new Managing Director.

    Also in this year, Parafix acquire Thames Adhesives & Tapes Ltd further penetrating the specialist electrical market and expanding the product range.

    2004
    2005
    2005

    John Shipley retires and a Management buyout by Mike Punter and Colin Wills follows. This allows the company to carry on with the same ethos, giving continuity to staff and business partners.

    Also in this year, clean room manufacturing began to meet the demand for controlled production environments from industries such as healthcare, automotive and electronics. The class 7 clean room is classified to BS EN ISO 14644-1 standards.

    Later in the year, Parafix became proud sponsors of Sussex County Cricket.

    Pictured right are UK employees of this year.

    2006
    2006

    Parafix become resellers of AccuPlace automated assembly equipment.

    Also in this year, Parafix were Finalists in the ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ category at the Sussex Business Awards.

    2007
    2007

    Parafix are awarded ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ and the ‘Learning Pays’ award at the Sussex Business Awards.

    2008
    2009
    2010
    2010

    Parafix are upgraded to ‘3M Transnational Preferred Converter’ one of only 12 in the world.

    Also this year, over 30 staff are qualified to NVQ levels 2, 3 or 4 as a result of investment in training during the recession (pictured right, at the Amex Stadium).

    Parafix were also awarded the title of ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ at the Worthing Business Awards, which was a reflection of the financial performance during the recession of 2009 where investments and the above mentioned training saw Parafix emerge as a stronger company.

    2011
    2011

    A triple success for Parafix in 2011 saw us being highly commended in the ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ category at the Adur & Worthing Business Awards, we were awarded the title of ‘Company of the Year’ at the Sussex Business Awards and were also awarded the title of ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ at the Southern Business Awards.

    Parafix also became proud football sponsors of the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup.

    2012
    2012

    Parafix Tapes & Conversions Ltd celebrates its 40th birthday. Customers were invited to join in the celebrations with the opportunity to win a present!

    2013
    2013

    Parafix are accredited an SC21 Bronze Award, a programme which aims to transform aerospace and defence supply chains. The award allows us to offer solutions to a wider range of companies in Aerospace, Defence & Security.

    Converting capability is extended through major investment in machinery and clean room expansion.

    2014
    2014

    Parafix UK become FDA registered due to demand from and growth in their healthcare markets.

    Parafix Hungária see huge investment in the expansion of their manufacturing facility and converting capabilities. Pictured right is Managing Director Mike Punter with Budapest’s Mayor of District 11. View the photos of our opening events here.

    Parafix were also Finalists in the ‘International Business of the Year’ category at the Sussex Business Awards.

    2015
    2016
    2016

    Parafix invested heavily in its manufacturing capabilities in Hungary. We implemented 24-hour manufacturing with the start of a third shift, in addition to developing a second manufacturing facility in Ercsi, Hungary. The 2,000 square meter facility is home to our state-of-the-art converting equipment which was custom designed and built for us allowing us produce complicated parts in one run, instead of multi-stage production.

    2017
    2018
    2018

    Parafix added a new class 7 (equivalent to old class 10,000) Clean Room facility in the UK to better serve our clients in the healthcare, electronics and automotive industries, in addition to getting a new servo-driven lathe slitting machine for non-standard roll widths. Parafix saw a management re-alignment, as well as appointing a new Operations Manager and Quality Manager. As a part of our continuous dedication to total quality, 10 members of our team attended ISO Internal Auditing trainings for standards ISO 9001:2015 for general quality management and ISO 13485:2016 for medical devices production quality management.