50th Bro V2 18-11

1990s
1990s
The 1990s was a period of rapid change and
development of the company. One of the biggest
steps in a family company is when the founder
passes control to the next generation. For PA, this
moment came in 1990, when Anthony was passed the
mantle of Managing Director. This was the beginning
of the second period of sustained growth of the
company leading to the move from the site at Green
Hedges.
PA was outgrowing the old workshop at Green Hedges
and machine construction had spread into an old
hanger which had been used as an indoor tennis
court for many years. The decision was made to
invest in new purpose built premises in Knutsford
which were officially opened by the Duke of
Westminster in 1993.
The factory move coincided with
the launch of a new PA logo.
At this time, Anthony Penn decided to explore
other types of machinery that could be offered
to existing customers and recognised the growth
of specialist dairy products and chilled
desserts as an ideal area for the business to
move into. With this in mind a deal was done to
acquire a local filling and sealing equipment
manufacturer called Volumet in 1997.
In 1998, Anthony took the role of Chairman
in order to focus on the strategic direction
of the business and appointed a new Managing
Director Carol Royle who had previously been
General Manager.
In 1994, the new high speed Vision 2000 machine
was launched, which offered manufacturers high
speed, flexible sealing with outputs of 80 packs per
minute. The incorporation of a stepper motor and
a PLC resulted in a truly flexible high speed tray
sealer. Working on the original stepping, finger
mechanisms originally designed by Arthur 30 years
previously, the machine was designed to switch
easily from one product to another with quick
tooling changes. The model was further developed
to accept the new concept of eared packs which had
appeared on the market as well as foil crimped
trays which had regained popularity.
In the same year as demand for machinery
continued to increase, a decision was taken to
bring the stainless steel fabrication in-house
to allow PA to control the quality and lead
time of components such as fabricated section
structures, machine frames and guarding. A
production unit was found in the vicinity and
PA Fabs was opened.
PA chose the Pakex 1998
exhibition to relaunch the PA
brand and image.