The manufacturing process of Rotational Moulding was first set up in the Bridgend area during the early 1960s. In those early days, the company traded as Bowater Packaging, based in the village of Bryncethin, on the outskirts of Bridgend.
Bowater Packaging, who pioneered the process in those early years, decided not to continue with Rotational Moulding. This led to a buy-out and the formation of the forerunner to the company known today as Corilla Plastics. On Tuesday 2nd January 1968, the newly formed company first started trading under the name of Flextank Ltd, based in Pontycymmer, about 10 miles north of Bridgend. The company name was taken from the core business product at that time, which was a Flexible Cold Water Storage Tank with the trade name Flextank. Many tens of thousands of these tanks were produced, ranging in size from a 10 gallon capacity up to 150 gallon capacity, in both circular and rectangular shapes. Almost every household in the land had a water tank installed in the attic space of the house, manufactured by Flextank Ltd.
Early technology of the process was based on open flame Rock & Roll machines. Flextank Ltd had around 8 machines in total. This technology and type of machine was initially supplemented with 2 Hot Air machines. Eventually, all of the open flame Rock & Roll machines were replaced with the Hot Air machines of one type or another. This type of machine is used extensively within the global Rotational Moulding industry. There are many different types of Hot Air machines, including Carousel, Clamshell, Shuttle and Leonardo to name a few.
The product range in the early years steadily increased to include 45 gallon Open Top Drums – primarily for the chemical industry, Spherical Sceptic Tanks ranging from 2000 litre up to 6000 litre capacity for the construction industry, Oil Storage Tanks for domestic and industrial applications as well as a comprehensive range of Street Furniture and Litter Bins.
The product range fluctuated between Trade Mouldings (product manufactured to customer requirements) and Standard Proprietary products whose design, copyright and tooling was owned by the Company. The average ratio of Trade Mouldings to Standard Products has traditionally been 75% Trade Mouldings and 25% Standard Products.
The expansion of the business necessitated a move from the original converted school building in Pontycymmer (Jan 1968) into a purpose built factory within very close proximity circa 1978. The growth of Flextank Ltd during this exciting period and beyond, required financial investment, resulting in a new partnership with a Bradford based company trading as Tanks and Drums Ltd. Flextank Ltd eventually changed its name accordingly in 1983.
The company further expanded and decided on a new identity and manufacturing portfolio and began trading as T&D Industries in 1997. The range of processes included Rotational Moulding, Blow Moulding, Thermo Forming and GRP Fabrications.
T&D Industries went into administration in late 1999 and the business was acquired by the Thompson Plastics Group. Thompson Plastics was based in Hull, specialising in Thermo Forming and other related processes, serving the Mobile and Static Caravan industry, as well as key customer accounts with Caterpillar, JCB, McCormick Tractors and Case Tractors.
The Rotational Moulding operation was retained on the same site in Pontycymmer, initially trading as ARM Plastics Ltd (Advanced Rotational Mouldings) from the year 2000, as part of the Thompson Plastics Group of companies. The group now had manufacturing sites in Hull, Newcastle and Manchester, as well as Pontycymmer. One of the key factors in the purchase of the Pontycymmer operation was the customer base. Both companies traded with the same customers, therefore offering more scope based on different plastic processes.
With consolidation of the various manufacturing sites, further investment resulted in an Injection Moulding process serving a “hole-in-the-wall” operation, feeding the Vauxhall Motors plant based in Luton. This operation also included the latest “State of the Art” Paint Spraying facility. Further growth in the business resulted in another strategic phase and name change to Thompson Technik. At its peak, the combined turnover of the business exceeded £80M per annum. The Rotational Moulding sector increased from modest beginnings, initially employing 22 people to well over £8M turnover and employing more than 100 people.
In 2009, the Rotational Moulding division was bought out of administration and started trading as TTB Ltd and eventually changed its name to Corilla Plastics in 2012, still trading up to the present time.