Polythene UK, the largest broker of polythene film and bags in the UK, is launching a new fire resistant material that can be applied across their entire product range. The new 'flame retardant' polythene, which is available from today onwards, will provide heat and fire protection, but more importantly provide a safer packaging solution that can potentially save lives.
Commenting on Polythene UK's new 'flame retardant' polythene material, James Woollard Managing Director of the company said: "Packaging is used everywhere. Companies spend months, even years making their products as fire resistant as possible. Yet when it comes to packaging them up for warehouse storage and transportation etc, often this gets neglected. If our flame retardant polythene ever caught fire, it would put the flames out itself immediately, and more importantly would not give off any toxic fumes in doing so. It's a real life saver."
The launch of the material has come at the right time. Figures from The Fire Statistic Monitor, published by Communities and Local Government showed that for 2008/09 there were 430 fire-related deaths within both domestic and non-domestic premises. Plus, according to research by the ABI the cost of fire damage now stands at a record level. This time last year insurers paid out £639 million - £3.6 million every day - for damage caused by fires, the highest half yearly figure ever.
James adds: "We can now do all our general polythene packaging products such as pallet covers and plasterboard pallet covers etc in our new 'flame retardant' polythene material. Suppliers of building products, brinks plasterboard and so forth all have to pass stringent flame retardant tests, and I strongly believe they should therefore be supplying their products in flame retardant packaging as well. It just makes sense. And now we have the ideal solution."
The award-winning firm based in Witney, Oxfordshire, provides polythene products to many sectors including the food, furniture, construction and metals industries and has become one of the fastest growing companies in UK packaging.
Polythene UK's 'flame retardant' polythene can also be used with the company's 'Polylite' and 'Polyair' materials, which respectively provide significant cost savings as well as many 'eco-friendly' polythene solutions.