___________________________________________________________________________________________________ AK Industries
How AK Industries supports customers from product concept through validation and fullscale production success
Bringing a new product to market is rarely straightforward. From initial concept and material selection to prototyping, tooling, validation, and full-scale production, each stage can introduce technical challenges, costs, and delays. That’ s where AK Industries( AKI) steps in to guide customers throughout the journey.
With more than forty years of experience, AKI brings together technical know-how, advanced manufacturing technology, and a skilled team, helping customers develop products efficiently and launch them with confidence. Located in Hereford, England, the company’ s modern factory provides a controlled environment for new product development, serving customers across the UK and worldwide.
AKI’ s story began in 1986, when this facility was part of Plastic Industries, a national group based in Irvine, Scotland. After Sybron International acquired it in 1990, the business became Nalge( Europe) Ltd and then NalgeNunc International. Investment from the US parent company helped the facility grow its technical capabilities and move into more complex moldings and assemblies, such as injection blow molding and clean room assembly.
In 1996, Allen Green and Keith Williams bought the business through a management buyout, creating AKI. The company kept the technical expertise it developed as part of the Nalge group and expanded its trade molding operations. After successfully navigating the 2008 recession, AKI started another exciting phase in 2013, when Sam Green( now Managing Director) and Alastair Green( IT & Systems Director) took over. They invested further in technology, equipment, and skills, adding automation and six-axis robotics. As the company evolved under Sam and Alastair’ s leadership, AKI sharpened its focus on innovation and customer partnerships.
Today, AKI’ s blend of experience and investment shapes its approach to New Product Introduction( NPI). Instead of treating design, prototyping, tooling, and production as separate steps, the business brings all its expertise together in a single, coordinated program. In doing so, the team can spot potential issues early and help reduce development times and costs.
At the concept stage, the company’ s engineers work closely with customers to evaluate product designs, materials, tooling needs, and manufacturing methods. Designfor-manufacture and assembly analysis ensures products are ready for efficient production, while material selection expertise can boost performance and help reduce tooling and component costs. Strategic cost analysis gives customers a clear view of the financial impact of every design decision across the product’ s lifecycle.
Rapid prototyping plays a key role in this process. With in-house SolidWorks design and high-resolution 3D printing, AKI produces prototypes quickly and cost-effectively.
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