In 2002 after looking for a moulding company in Yellow Pages, the Nursing Lead from the Sexual Health Unit at Portsmouth Hospitals called us to enquire about the possibility of making a plastic sperm which could be used as an engagement tool in Sexual Health awareness talks with younger people.
After some discussions a caricature design was agreed and we made the mould tool that would produce the first batch of the now famous Sperm Keyrings.
Moulding the sperms in different, bright colours proved a major hit with the target audience and over the following years the available range has expanded to the extent that we now have Glow in the Dark, Thermochromic, Glitter and Photochromic choices in addition to the standard bright range.
Our client approached us with a particular problem – a very specific fuel filter required in older cars which they were no longer able to source from their traditional suppliers.
In the past these filters had been made in copper or brass but, using our materials expertise, we were able to source a plastic that would stand up to the rigours of the environment. In this case, the client had the original drawings, which was a big help. However even without those drawings we would have been able to reverse engineer the design to create the tool.
For this project, the principal cost was in the tool manufacture. However, producing the filter in plastic rather than copper or brass means that, over the longer term, the project is extremely cost-effective for our client.
The AA approached MPM to help them take a product idea from a mock-up to a real product. The idea would enable a patrol motorcycle to be sent instead of a truck and would mean damaged valves could be repaired at the roadside.
It was an important development for them as flat tyres at the roadside cause a particular problem for The AA – often tying up both a patrol vehicle and a transporter! The issue is that many modern vehicles don’t carry spare tyres – they instead rely on run-flat technology to temporarily inflate the tyre sufficiently to get it to a garage. In the first instance a patrol vehicle is dispatched to inflate the tyre – but, if the tyre valve is damaged, missing, leaking or broken, there’s nothing they can do. At that point, they have to call a transporter to recover the vehicle. That’s two vehicles just to fix a flat tyre – vehicles that could be better utilised elsewhere and incur additional costs that everyone would prefer to avoid.
Together with the team at The AA, we developed a unique flat valve extension. Everything fits into the panniers on a patrol motorcycle and enables the engineer to repair the valve and inflate the tyre at the roadside. The car can then drive to a tyre fitters.
The system works well for AA members who’ve suffered a flat tyre – motorcycle patrols can get to them rapidly and there’s rarely a need to wait for a recovery vehicle. For the AA it means they can send their patrol vans and recovery vehicles to where they’re most needed.
The AA approached MPM to help them take a product idea from a mock-up to a real product. The idea would enable a patrol motorcycle to be sent instead of a truck and would mean damaged valves could be repaired at the roadside.
It was an important development for them as flat tyres at the roadside cause a particular problem for The AA – often tying up both a patrol vehicle and a transporter! The issue is that many modern vehicles don’t carry spare tyres – they instead rely on run-flat technology to temporarily inflate the tyre sufficiently to get it to a garage. In the first instance a patrol vehicle is dispatched to inflate the tyre – but, if the tyre valve is damaged, missing, leaking or broken, there’s nothing they can do. At that point, they have to call a transporter to recover the vehicle. That’s two vehicles just to fix a flat tyre – vehicles that could be better utilised elsewhere and incur additional costs that everyone would prefer to avoid.
Together with the team at The AA, we developed a unique flat valve extension. Everything fits into the panniers on a patrol motorcycle and enables the engineer to repair the valve and inflate the tyre at the roadside. The car can then drive to a tyre fitters.
The system works well for AA members who’ve suffered a flat tyre – motorcycle patrols can get to them rapidly and there’s rarely a need to wait for a recovery vehicle. For the AA it means they can send their patrol vans and recovery vehicles to where they’re most needed.
Taylor Woodrow were working on Nottingham Metro and needed to highlight spots where their machinery operators needed to take special care. This was particularly an issue for overhead electrical hazards where eg telehandlers might also be operating at height and needed to take minimum safety distances into account.
We supplied Roto-Lite Reflectors in a specific blue to be used on conventional open-topped bollards. The blue that was chosen is the one already used as standard around the Nottingham Metro sites for electrical hazards. Best of all, our reflectors require only the lightest breeze to make them rotate so they could be easily moved around the site without needing to worry about provision of a power supply or checking that batteries are charged.
“We came across Roto-Lite Reflectors completely by chance – but they’ve proved perfect for our needs. The reflectors are simple and straightforward to use and do a great job of alerting our teams to hazards.”
Taylor Woodrow at Nottingham Metro
Taylor Woodrow were working on Nottingham Metro and needed to highlight spots where their machinery operators needed to take special care. This was particularly an issue for overhead electrical hazards where eg telehandlers might also be operating at height and needed to take minimum safety distances into account.
We supplied Roto-Lite Reflectors in a specific blue to be used on conventional open-topped bollards. The blue that was chosen is the one already used as standard around the Nottingham Metro sites for electrical hazards. Best of all, our reflectors require only the lightest breeze to make them rotate so they could be easily moved around the site without needing to worry about provision of a power supply or checking that batteries are charged.
“We came across Roto-Lite Reflectors completely by chance – but they’ve proved perfect for our needs. The reflectors are simple and straightforward to use and do a great job of alerting our teams to hazards.”
Taylor Woodrow at Nottingham Metro
Yellow Pages
In 2002 after looking for a...
A tool making case study
Our client needed to recreate...
The AA case study
Developing a bespoke product...
Taylor Woodrow case study
Roto-Lite helped Taylor...