Student scoops innovation award
Nov 19 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal
A NORTH East student has won a national innovation award and revolutionised a company’s international business - and he is still only 21 years old.
Adam Harrison, who is studying Automative Design Technology at the University of Sunderland, won the Year in Industry National Business Award 2009 for his innovative work with Lattimer Ltd.
The company makes machinery for the glass bottle industry internationally. They also work for the MoD, producing practice bombs for the Eurofighter.
Mr Harrison won £1,000 for his work on the new Lattimer Pusher System. His design resulted in an easy-to-manufacture, retrofitable and cost-effective solution that worked out 20% cheaper than the nearest comparable product on the market.
He said: “I had to find a way of getting the clean air supply through to the front of the Pusher to create a vortex of swirling air that holds the bottle in place and spins them through 90 degrees onto a conveyer belt.
“The system is making 340 bottles a minute, so timing is everything. I created a system that is retrofitable, so people who already owned our Pusher could fit the clean air system on to their current hardware.”
The company, which produces half a million bottles a week, found that the new system saved 2,500 bottles from breaking in the first week alone.
Graham Swallow, product development manager at Lattimer Limited, said: “A year ago Lattimer put out a search for a student, with the intention of improving our response time to design and produce innovative new products for the hot-end glass container industry through improved CAD skills.
“Adam has been an asset to Lattimer, continuously challenging himself to refine his skills in design and other areas of our business including marketing, manufacturing and development.
“He has produced design concepts and detailed drawings that have been turned into saleable products that are now undergoing performance trials at glass bottle manufacturing plants in Europe and Asia.”
Mr Harrison added: “I travelled to Germany, Ireland and the USA working with 3D CAD computing systems. I did a bit of everything, working with the sales team, down on the shop floor, and teaching.
“I know a lot of my people my age don’t consider going into the manufacturing industry, but it has really opened up a whole new world for me.”
