Manchester-based Rollet Company Ltd is in the frame for a prestigious national award for its revolutionary new product.
The business has battled against nationwide competition to get through to the finals of the Plastics Industry Awards to be held at the London Hilton on May 13.
And founders Andrew Craine and Chris Ennis hope their plastic alternative to metal roll cages, the Rollet, will notch up another win for the company.
The Rollet is made from tough, rigid plastic that makes it incredibly light, strong, rustproof and easy to clean - and the company sees it as the ultimate in Returnable Transit Packaging.
The moulded-plastic construction means brand names and logos are no problem and, because it is available in any colour, neither are corporate identities and category coding.
It has no sharp edges and no protruding parts and is up to 30kg lighter than a metal cage, making it is easy to manoeuvre, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries. In addition, squeaking wheels are a thing of the past by the optional use of specifically-developed, sound-reducing castors.
When the rollet was designed, flexibility was built in - it was made to last and adapt to the ever-changing needs of industry. Panels and shelves can be added or removed, each unit can be shortened or heighten and individual units can be joined together to create made-to-measure bins and trains for oversized or odd shaped parts.
The unique roll cage, designed and developed in close conjunction with the University of Manchester's Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and backed by £2billion turnover retail organisation United Co-operatives, has already enjoyed considerable success since its launch - not least of which was winning the coveted Most Innovative Product title at the Entrepreneur 2004 awards run by EN magazine.
The other two finalists in the Industrial Product Design category of the Plastics Industry Awards are FSW Designs and Guidance Control Systems.
The Awards were launched in 2001 by Plastics & Rubber Weekly, the leading magazine serving the whole UK polymer industry, its suppliers and customers. The competition aims to recognise the achievements of the UK plastics industry and the awards have been created to provide a common platform to celebrate the achievements of the plastics industry at every level and to enhance the image and self-esteem of the industry. The competition has two other categories: People and Processor.