Haverhill in Action – Major Renovations and Environmental Certifications
14 June 2024After the acquisition of the Haverhill site in 2022, AOC is in the process of making major upgrades to the installations and process operations. Meanwhile, the site has been able to obtain ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 environmental certifications, indicative of AOC’s commitment to both sustainability and to supporting the local UK composites market.
AOC has a long track record of supporting the UK market, serving customers for diverse composites applications and end uses. Quality products have been supplied from multiple sites around the world. With the recent Haverhill site acquisition, the AOC manufacturing footprint was extended to the UK.
Major renovations
The AOC Engineering team is presently working on changing the Haverhill site layout and process flow, in order to ensure safe and responsible operations, enlarge the plant’s capabilities and allowing for the introduction of novel products. This requires installation of multiple new storage tanks for raw materials and finished products, extending process automation, the replacement of several older buildings, the construction of new warehouses, and improvements of the plant infrastructure.
“It is clear that AOC is highly committed to the UK market, making significant capital investments to the Haverhill operations”, explains Chris Allan, Plant Manager of AOC Haverhill. “My team strongly supports the construction activities, while at the same time, we ensure our plant keeps running for producing customer orders”.
“For AOC the UK is a very important market, so we want to ensure that we have the right products and services locally available for our customers” explains Fons Harbers, Vice President Marketing and Sales, AOC EMEA. “They need security of supply of quality products, so they can rely on us for building their business.”
ISO 14001 and ISO 45001
Simultaneously, the Haverhill team has been working on upgrading systems and working processes. After an initial ISO 9001 quality recertification earlier this year, now the plant has also obtained the ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 environmental certifications.
“The AOC Haverhill plant will be the industry benchmark in the UK”, concludes Chris Allan. “We are convinced that operating a modern plant and a strong commitment to environmentally sound products and processes, will be key for building a sustainable business with our customers”.
