When Donite Plastics began back in 1981, Michael Knight was designing and manufacturing products in a small workshop above his parent’s garage.
Now, 39 years later, the company is celebrating the third anniversary of moving to new premises on Station Road in Saintfield, County Down; the result of many years of hard work for Michael and his team.
The move to the new factory on a 2.2 acre site marked a significant development in Donite’s capabilities as part of their five-year growth plan, which has enabled the company to streamline their processes and invest in new machinery, infrastructure and people. As a result, Donite Plastics has doubled its turnover and grown from 10 to almost 30 employees.
Whilst the company and its processes have evolved since its establishment, Michael’s passion and commitment to the company has remained as strong as ever, securing Donite Plastics as one of the leading vacuum forming companies in Northern Ireland.
On Friday 3rd April, Donite Plastics acknowledged the anniversary of their move but with the current Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, there was no celebration. Instead, Michael and his team were designing and manufacturing new products to help in the fight against the deadly disease.
In addition to making 700 shields from material that was in stock, Donite Plastics will be manufacturing thousands of shields in the coming weeks to distribute to those that are in need of the potentially life-saving equipment. Anyone who knows Michael, knows that he was never going to sit back in the midst of this crisis.
Michael said, “It is great to be celebrating three years in our new premises. We are extremely proud to continue our growth and we work with some fantastic customers across many sectors including aerospace, construction and medical.
“Whilst we didn’t expect to be in the current crisis when marking our third year, we are committed to doing what we can to help and we are proud to be able to assist those in need of specialist equipment to help in the fight against COVID-19. We look forward to the further anniversaries to come, the challenges and the new markets, but most of all, continuing to build our business.”