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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.
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.
Parafix was appointed Sussex Authorised Distributor for 3M, manufacturer of speciality tape, film and foil materials.
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.
BS5750 accreditation was achieved, the predecessor of our current ISO9001 Quality Management accreditation.
Parafix is appointed Preferred Converter for 3M.
Parafix acquire Scapa Select Distributor ‘Adhesive Tapes & Conversions Ltd’, growing the manufacturing facility and product range.
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.
Parafix are accredited ISO 13485:2003 Medical Devices Quality Management Systems. Upgraded from 13488 to now include design of medical devices.
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.
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.
Parafix are awarded ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ and the ‘Learning Pays’ award at the Sussex Business Awards.
Parafix become an official converter and distributor of Laird Technologies’ EMI and Thermal product range. This partnership allows customers to leverage the technology and products of Laird Technologies with the specialist supply solutions of Parafix.
Also in this year, Parafix are Finalists in the ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ category at the South East Business Awards.
Parafix extend its range of capabilities by installing Accuplace Apac pick and place machinery. This offers customers the extra facility of having self-adhesive die-cuts accurately applied to their components, saving them assembly time.
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.
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.
Parafix Tapes & Conversions Ltd celebrates its 40th birthday. Customers were invited to join in the celebrations with the opportunity to win a present!
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.
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.
Parafix become a Preferred Converter for Porex Corporation, manufacturer of market leading porous materials. Their range of products will complement our extensive assortment of adhesive materials and meet the filtration and venting needs of our healthcare, automotive and electronics customers.
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 was a big year of growth for Parafix! Parafix Hungary won EU funding of 91.64 million forints as a part of the Economic Development and Innovation Operational Program and excelled at Nestlé’s responsible sourcing audit. Parafix UK acquired an additional 1,200 square meter manufacturing facility and saw an upgrade to our rapid prototyping equipment, as well seeing our QA Coordinator score 95% on his ISO 13485:2016 Lead Auditor training. On top of this, Parafix was also named UK distributor for Pregis. Our growth was recognised on a national level with being named one of the UK’s top 20 companies with £10m-£300m turnover.
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.
