Managing Director and Inventor Stephen Weston has spent his working life in technical, problem solving roles which, together with his innovative spirit, has led him to run his own company dedicated to developing and marketing new products.
Starting out in 1978 as a laboratory technician, Stephen spent a further seven years working on paper machine development as a Research Technician for the then world leader in paper machine manufacture, Beloit Walmsley. In1985 he left work to study full-time as a mature student for the next three years, obtaining a BSc (Hons).
Returning to work, Stephen chose technical sales roles, where he found his natural problem solving skills would lead him to develop several innovations over the coming years. He developed an improved method of repairing high value paper making blankets and rubber roll covers that he took through Europe, the Far East and South Africa.
Moving into the converting industry, Stephen developed several ingenious solutions to production problems, before inventing the Weston Reelstand, an innovative and simple shaft-less reelstand, which he patented, and started a company to develop it. The reelstand won acclaim both in the trade press and at an international converting exhibition, with the patent then being sold in 2002. However, The Reel and Shaft Handling Company can now offer these and other reelstands, (See our Reelstand page).
Since then Stephen has worked in the paper, film & foil, packaging and converting industries, developing handling solutions for reels and airshafts, to the point where the logical step was to form a company to exploit these and two other inventions, which had attracted attention from venture capital.
In July 2008 Stephen was awarded the UK Patent, with international patents pending, for a safety device for Pregnant Women in cars and is working on its further development with a specialist harness manufacturer and academics from the Bolton Automotive and Aerospace Research Group at Bolton University, where the company sponsored design students on the project as part of their final year studies. (See Press Release/News page).
The Reel and Shaft handling Company was formed in mid 2005 and by October 2006 was awarded a DTI Research and Development grant from the North West Development Agency, to develop Stephen's invention for use in Supermarket Roll Cage distribution. This has since caught the eye of several major UK supermarkets at the highest levels and has the potential for huge benefits in terms of health and safety, increased profitability and reductions in CO2 emmissions. Prototypes are currently being trialed.
The company is backed by venture capital from the North West Seed Fund (NWSF) and a private investors. Steve Sealey who represents the NWSF on our company’s board of directors, has great experience in the converting industry, having been a founding director of AM Paper Group in 1983. Steve helped to guide the AM Paper through organic an acquisitive growth, including the funding of a state of the art tissue mill in Skelmersdale. As CEO, in 1999 Steve led the sale of the company to SCA Hygiene for £200m.
Another board member, Don Hammond, is an experienced businessman in both the private and public sector. A trained mathematician, after 14 years in the City, with a small team he set up a bank, raising venture capital from various institutions. He later became a business angel and now has investments in a number of emerging companies, providing an advisory services to owner-managed businesses, often investing in a small equity stake. Don is also the Chairman of TrusTECH, an organisation auditing and exploiting intellectual property developed with the NHS in the North West of England.
Completing the team is a group of design engineers and trusted sub-contract manufacturers, each with extensive experience in the design and manufacture of special purpose converting and handling equipment. It is their engineering skills that turn the innovative ideas into practical solutions.
