NEWS & INSIGHTS

At Trojan, manufacturing high-quality acrylic baths, panels and shower trays has always gone hand-in-hand with continuous improvement. As one of Europe’s largest acrylic bath manufacturers, we are always looking at how we can make our processes more efficient, reduce acrylic waste and improve sustainability across our factories.

Over the years, we’ve invested heavily in smarter manufacturing techniques, advanced machinery and on-site recycling systems. This has helped us to ensure material waste is kept to a minimum, maintaining the quality, durability and performance our customers expect from Trojan products.

One of the biggest sources of waste in bath manufacturing has traditionally been the acrylic and fibreglass off cuts. To improve efficiency, we’ve introduced weighing systems and specialist guards that help direct fibreglass more accurately during application, reducing excess material use during production.

Historically, the reinforced acrylic materials containing fibreglass and resin were difficult to recycle and often ended up in landfill. As a volume acrylic bath manufacturer, we recognised the need to improve this process.

Now, we operate specialist on-site recycling systems that allow us to process both clean and contaminated acrylic waste, with our recycling partners Future Polymers. At the end of each production line, operators place offcuts and waste materials into dedicated collection carts. Pure acrylic materials and reinforced acrylic with fibre glass and resin including HIPS and ABS is granulated and resold as reusable material.

Even contaminated acrylic waste containing fibreglass and resin can be recycled using our separation systems to separate fibreglass from the acrylic. This allows us to recover more material, reduce landfill and support a more circular manufacturing process.

Beyond acrylic, we ensure that all our wood and baseboard materials are responsibly sourced and recycled wherever possible. As a business, we are FSC certified and we only purchase FSC-certified wood baseboards as part of our wider commitment to sustainability.

Precision manufacturing and automation have also played a major role in helping us to improve material efficiency across the factory floor.

Our baths used to be cured using ambient drying methods after spraying. Over time, we have introduced chain-driven, heated curing tunnels, which improve the efficiency and consistency of the curing process  ,reducing energy use and the risk of defects caused by inconsistent curing

We’ve also invested in vacuum lifting systems and CNC trimming technology. Vacuum lifters allow products to be handled more safely during production reducing the risk of damage to the product, while CNC trimming gives us a far more accurate finish, helping reduce unnecessary material removal and minimising the risk of defects or remakes.

Our manufacturing and quality assurance systems have been developed over decades of UK manufacturing experience and customer feedback, helping us maintain the standards that set us apart.

At Trojan, quality is everyone’s responsibility. Rather than relying solely on traditional quality control at the end of production, we believe in quality assurance throughout the entire manufacturing process. Every member of the team plays a vital role in maintaining standards from start to finish, we also support this with independent quality checkers who provide additional oversight.

Each product has an identity label that allows full traceability throughout manufacturing process. For more than 25 years, we’ve been able to trace products back to detailed production information, the personnel who produced the product, number of products produced, the lines they were manufactured on and the quantity completed, it also includes the weights of materials used.

This level of traceability gives our customers greater confidence while also helping us reduce errors, improve accountability and minimise unnecessary waste caused by defects.

Improving sustainability goes beyond the baths and shower trays themselves. Across our factories, we’ve increased our use of recycled packaging materials, with cardboard packaging now being 100% recyclable.

We’ve also installed a 500KW solar panel system across factory buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce our overall carbon footprint and therefore our impact on the environment.

Over the last six to nine months alone, we’ve invested around £80,000 into upgraded extraction systems that help reduce styrene levels in the air, creating a cleaner and safer working environment for our teams.

As part of Trojan’s five-year strategy, digitalisation is expected to play a major role in in improving material efficiency across our acrylic bath manufacturing operations. We plan to upgrade to digital systems which will provide live visibility of raw material stock levels, production progress, deliveries and product movement. Even to a point where our customers will have full visibility of their order book and status, tracking their orders through our system with live data.

We are currently developing a new automated production line designed to improve efficiency and create more space across the shop floor. However, our goal is not to replace the skilled workforce that has helped shape Trojan over the last 50 years,  We want technology to support our people, improve day-to-day working conditions and make manufacturing safer and more sustainable - not to replace the craftsmanship and experience that defines us. By improving planning, stock control and production tracking, digitalisation will help us reduce mistakes, improve operational efficiency and create a more streamlined manufacturing process across the business.

As we continue to invest in new technologies and manufacturing improvements, people remain at the centre of everything we do. By combining our British manufacturing expertise with smarter production processes, advanced recycling methods and ongoing investment, we are continuing to improve material efficiency while delivering the high-quality baths and shower trays Trojan is known for.