UNIPLAST Pardubice spol. s r.o. was founded by Mr. Ondra and Mr. Zeman in January 1991 as a purely Czech company without foreign capital and practically "on a green field". The initial activities of the production of accessories for wired telecommunications were slowly expanded to the production of technical mouldings from thermoplastics, complete production of small home appliances such as coffee machines, toasters, kettles,... The next step was to extend the technology by ultrasonic welding of thermoplastics and pad printing (including two-colour printing). Further investments were made in improving the machinery of the injection moulding plant and building a measuring workplace with a 3D portal machine.
At the beginning of 2000, we obtained the certificate of quality management system according to ČSN EN ISO 9002. All these investment activities led us to orders for important foreign (mostly German) companies. The field of application of the technical mouldings and assemblies supplied by us is diversified - from home hi-fi technology to the automotive industry.
Long-term relationships with our customers and customer orders " required" the expansion of capacity in the injection moulding plant, so we started building a new one at the end of August 2004 and on 1st May 2005 we started production in the new injection moulding plant.
In 2006 we equipped the injection moulding plant with additional machines up to 17 machines. In the area of quality management, we began preparations for the migration to an integrated quality management system. On October 13, 2006, we were able to obtain the ISO EN 14001:2005 environmental system certification and on March 9, 2007, we obtained the ISO/TS 16949:2002 and ISO 9001:2000 quality management certificates.
Since June 2007 we have our first 2-component injection moulding machine with a clamping force of 5000kN - equipped with a 5-axis robot. On this machine we are capable of injection moulding plastic parts up to a weight of approx. 1.5kg (depending on the type of material and mould design - see news for more information).
In 2010-2012 we:
- equipped the 2 biggest Battenfeld machines with Wittmann linear robots
- we purchased another Arburg machine with a clamping force of 500t
- we have equipped our tool maintenance with - lathe, grinder, EDM, saw, column drill - so that we can provide most of the smaller mould repairs in-house
- we have put into operation the central drying and transport of PIOVAN material - this helps us to further improve the stability of the process
- we have retrofitted the measuring laboratory with an air-conditioning unit, which keeps the temperature constant and guarantees the stability of the measurements
In 2013, we planned a new strategy for the coming years - to establish our own development centre. In the same year we invested in a CAD workstation - Autodesk Inventor.
In line with the new strategy, 2014 was a year of big changes:
- we purchased a new 3D coordinate CNC measuring machine WENZEL LH87 - for contact measurement and laser scanning of parts
- after a long decision-making process, we chose ENGEL (supplier of high-end injection moulding machines) and purchased an Engel victory 1350/220 machine with the latest controls and full robotization
- in June 2014 we purchased Cadmould 7.0 3D-F software for mold-flow simulation
- at the end of December we completed the building of a new hall
- we purchased height-adjustable desks and ergonomic chairs for the offices
The year 2015 was characterized by equipping our own toolshop. We purchased machining centres - Hermle C12 (for electrode production) and Hermle C42 (for steel machining), an EDM - Exeron 313, a wire cutting machine - FANUC Alpha C600iA, a lathe, a drill, grinders and other equipment. Of course, there is also the corresponding measuring equipment - from small measuring instruments (calipers, micrometers, gauges,...) to a digital height gauge.
In the second half of the year, we also acquired micro welding and marking equipment.
In addition, an Engel machine with a clamping force of 50t was purchased for the injection moulding plant - the machine is equipped with an interface for communication with the Kistler unit, which, using pressure and temperature sensors in the tool, can regulate the machine's process parameters to reduce the risk of producing defective parts.
We have purchased software for the measuring laboratory in cooperation with Mr. Třeštík's company for better visualization and evaluation of measured parts.
In 2016, next 2 machines of fresh green colour (Engel) with a clamping force of 400t and 80t were added to the plastic injection moulding plant. Thanks to the expansion of our cooperation with a world-famous manufacturer of car locks, we have moved on again and these machines have been equipped with an interface for communication with the Kistler unit - which is monitoring the temperature and pressure in the individual cavities of the mould in real time.
In May 2016, we installed air conditioning for the entire injection moulding plant to provide a better climate and reduce uncontrolled ventilation.
In 2017, we added a third HERMLE machining centre to our toolshop (this time only a 3-axis one). We purchased 2 more Engel machines (160t + 400t) for the injection moulding plant. At the end of the year we started to move the assembly into the new hall - first we had the floor epoxy coated, we built racks and got new assembly tables.
In order to meet the increasing demands of our customers, we purchased 4 more injection moulding machines from Engel in 2018 - this time 50t, 80t, 220t and 400t, bringing the number of machines to 27.
To improve the impact on the working and environmental environment, we chose an ultrasonic cleaner with eco-friendly washing to replace synthetic thinners for pad printing. We rebuilt the pad printing machine from an open system to a closed system to improve the climate on the machine and reduce the evaporation of solvents into the air.
20192020
In 2019 we implemented the BMS Plantmaster production management system (MES)
- data from all machines is automatically uploaded to the planning system
- all machines have been equipped with terminals for operators
- Plantmaster is connected to ERP Helios
We have purchased an extendable, heavy-duty mould storage system for the injection moulding plant.
For the toolshop, a spotting press used for mould adjustment.
At the beginning of 2020, we switched to a new version of the Helios Inuvio ERP system and introduced barcode warehousing, where all positions in the warehouse were given their own barcode.
We redesigned the racking in the warehouse to make more efficient use of space. We gained about 60 extra pallet spaces. We added boards to most of the racking to reduce the risk of pallet drops and simplify pallet handling.
20212022
In 2021, as part of our energy saving and modernisation initiatives, we decided to purchase FANUC full-electric injection moulding machines.
- we purchased 4 machines - 50t, 100t, 150t and 200t
- all machines are equipped with linear robots
For the warehouse we purchased a new retrack with scale and lift height measurement.
In 2022, we started to expand the central drying and transportation of material, to which all machines are already connected except for the machines for using TPU.
2023
In February 2023, a CNC lathe arrived in our toolshop. The Keyence VL-700 3D scanner arrived at the end of 2023. We can also offer the making of a 3D model of your part. And then print it directly on our 3D printer.