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What is the super-deduction tax break?

At the budget in April, we heard the announcement of a £25bn tax break aimed at encouraging UK business investment. By helping businesses cut their tax bill by up to 25p in every £1 invested in plant and machinery, the scheme helps firms invest in equipment to boost growth after a COVID-19-challenged year. The scheme is split into two parts:

• A 130% super-deduction capital allowance on plant and machinery investment
• A 50% first-year allowance for qualifying special rate assets

It’s hoped the super-deduction corporation tax relief scheme – which is available for business expenses on “qualifying plant and machinery investments” from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2023 – will not only increase UK business investment over the next two years but will also increase the overall amount of investment as well.

How does the super-deduction work?

As we know, most tax issues can be confusing, but this scheme is relatively straightforward. Your plant and machinery need to be purchased between 1st April 2021 and 31st March 2023 to qualify and a fact sheet from the government gives us an example of how it works:

“A company incurring £1m of qualifying expenditure decides to claim the super-deduction. Spending £1m on qualifying investments will mean the company can deduct £1.3m (130% of the initial investment) in its taxable profits. Deducting £1.3m from taxable profits will save the company up to 19% of that – or £247,000 – on its corporation tax bill.”

What equipment can you claim for?

There are always rules, terms, and conditions that apply for any kind of tax-related scheme and this one’s no different. But the terminology used is far-reaching, and with most physical assets in any business classed as ‘plant and machinery’ for capital allowance purposes, it’s likely your business can take advantage.

Whether you claim the full 130% super-deduction or the 50% allowance for qualifying special rate assets, the key requirement to qualify for the deduction is that all equipment purchased is new and unused. Any expenditure on second-hand equipment won’t be eligible.

Investment in Ceramicx infrared

The introduction of this corporation tax relief scheme will certainly open doors for many businesses, as the new tax year is still in its infancy, it gives you the opportunity to consider your CAPEX business spending for the next two years. By making a solid investment into machinery that might not otherwise have been possible thanks to recent events, you can now maximise your super-deductions.

With the continuing advancement of infrared technology, Ceramicx infrared heat solutions are increasing in popularity across varied manufacturing sectors and differing applications. As the original alternative energy, infrared is not only cost-effective and energy-efficient but will help your business to take steps towards a cleaner, greener, and decarbonised future.

With that in mind, there’s no better time to discover how this pioneering heat source can transform your processes and move your business forward.

Enquire with us today on what equipment you need.

Interchangeable elements

When faced with an enquiry for supplying a specific, custom-made element, our North American distributors, Weco International, paved the way for an in-house engineering process that’s prompted us to create a brand new product range for Ceramicx.

With the Ceramicx team working on the design, we created a variation on our existing pillared infrared quartz elements that

allowed an easier process for their customer to interchange individual or arrays of ceramic elements to quartz elements and vice versa, quickly and easily.

Although in its early stages, the new range works in the same basic way, and now allows all customers to change their infrared system’s quartz and ceramic components as and when they need to.

New Ceramicx quartz elements

Using our pillared infrared quartz element (PFQE) as a starting point, the first of our new products is the Pillared Full Quartz Element – Leads (PFQE-L). As a direct result of working on the component for our American customer, the design has been engineered and refined to create the new PFQE-L element.

Its key feature is the inclusion of a pillar that’s the same height as included on the ceramic element with additional connection leads so it can easily be interchanged with standard ceramic elements. So if a heating system uses standard ceramic Full Flat Element Hollow (FFEH), one or more of them could be taken out and replaced by the new quartz PFQE-L elements.

Giving users greater flexibility, the new elements allow a complete change in infrared wavelengths for a wider range of applications when previously it meant building a whole new machine. Now, a machine retrofit can be completed using just the new elements to upgrade an entire system.

Ceramicx will also be adding to this new product

range over the coming months. We’ll shortly be releasing a Pillared Square Quartz Element – Leads (PSQE-L), which works in the same way and will be an addition to our existing PFQE and PHQE quartz elements.

 

This will be followed by similar products in due course – watch this space. In the meantime, if you’re interested in purchasing a quantity of the new PFQE-L product, please email [email protected] with your enquiry.

The use of infrared technology is continually advancing across many global commercial and industrial sectors. And, as a leading manufacturer of ceramic and quartz heating elements, our continued development means Ceramicx elements have transformed how infrared heat is used in a range of manufacturing applications.

But, with distinct differences between them, there can often be confusion about which element type is best to use for the

best results. So which Ceramicx infrared heating elements are best for your application?

What Ceramicx heating specialists need to know

To help you find the right element type for your requirements and system, the most important information for us to know is:

• The area you need to heat
• The power and type of element you need to use.
• The target material

This article should give you a head start making that choice.

Ceramic infrared heating elements | Hollow, Flat, or Trough?

A consistently popular radiant heat emitter range, industry-standard ceramic infrared elements are the most efficient element where long cycle times are required.

Ceramic Trough Elements – Long-wave trough elements produce a concentrated heat output that disperses over distance. Best suited to applications requiring emitters positioned further from the target material.

Ceramic Hollow Elements – Long-wave hollow elements filled with high-density insulating material, giving a significant reduction in rear heat loss with increased radiant output from the front of the element.

Ceramic Flat Elements – Long-wave flat elements produce higher operating temperatures and uniform heat output. Best suited to applications requiring emitters positioned closer to the target material.

Ceramic element fast facts

• Wattage: up to 1500W
• Temperature: up to 726°C
• Wavelength range: 3-10µm
• Heat-up time: ~10 minutes
• Most popular elements: FTE, FFEH, SFEH

Quartz infrared heating elements | Standard or Pillared?

Quartz infrared elements can be effective where rapid heater response and/or zone-controlled heat is needed.

Quartz Standard Elements – Short to medium-wave standard quartz heater elements consist of iron-chrome aluminium resistance wires inside highly reflective aluminium clad or stainless steel housing. Better suited to applications that involve continuous movement, their metal studs can withstand mechanical shock better than ceramic mounts of the pillared quartz element variation.

Quartz Pillared Elements – Short to medium-wave pillared quartz heater elements feature exactly the same technical and physical specifications but also include a pressed, ceramic pillar for mounting. With a 42 x 15mm punched slot in the reflector (max. thickness 1.5mm) and a supplied spring and clip, quartz pillared elements are designed for easy element replacement. The pillar also houses screw terminals for connection and can easily be interchanged for ceramic elements.

Quartz element fast facts:

• Wattage: up to 1000W
• Temperature: up to 772°C
• Wavelength range: 1.5-8µm
• Heat up time: ~5 minutes
• Most popular elements: FQE, PFQE

Quartz tube infrared heating elements | Halogen or Tungsten?

As a powerful heat emitter range, quartz infrared halogen and tungsten elements are used in fast-moving processes with shorter cycle times that require extremely high temperatures.

Quartz Halogen Elements – Short-wave quartz halogen heating elements use halogen gas to support the tungsten filament in reaching temperatures as high as 2600°C, with a peak wavelength emission of ~1.0µm.

Quartz Tungsten Elements – Medium-wave quartz tungsten heating elements use a porcupine or star type coil filament to reach operating temperatures up to 1500°C, with a peak wavelength emission of ~1.6µm.

Quartz Halogen and Tungsten element fast facts:

• Wattage: up to 2000W
• Temperature: up to 2600°C
• Wavelength range: 1-1.6µm
• Heat up time: instant

Ceramicx heating solutions

Infrared heat technology has the ability to deliver plenty of benefits to the user, whatever the process or application. Regardless of the demands, each ceramic, quartz, quartz halogen, or quartz tungsten infrared emitter provides precision heat where it’s needed, as well as being cost-effective and energy-efficient.

While delivering on cost and efficiency, making the right choice of Ceramicx infrared element will also mean:

• Reduced machinery or process downtime
• Reduced heat loss to machine surroundings
• Consistent process heating for a reduced product reject rate
• Less time and energy wasted replacing elements beyond essential maintenance
• Better results / better quality product

For more information, complete our enquiry form here or email at [email protected]. We’ll be happy to help you find the right heating solution for you and your business.

 

See also – Ceramicx FAQ page.

Upgrades to meet demand

Infrared technology is continually evolving, and as leaders in infrared heating elements and components for industry, it means Ceramicx has to lead by example. At the heart of everything we do is the technology we invest in, and our in-house machinery needs to help us meet the demand.

Our first upgrade has been to our CNC milling machines. While only used occasionally for a low quantity of production output, our current Hurco VM1 3-axis machine proved crucial to a lot of internal projects. But while giving us the ability to create moulds for many of our other machines, including our industrial ceramic hollow production line and dust press machines, it wasn’t satisfying current requirements.

Speed and accuracy

To help maximise production, step forward our brand new DMG MORI CMX 800 V vertical milling centre. As we run our CNC milling machines overnight producing moulds, this latest technology gives us essential improvements in key areas, together with increased productivity and reliability.

A larger table size and load, together with the increased work area allowing for greater X, Y, and Z-axis travel, gives us more stability. We also now have a much-improved cutting performance with an inline spindle speed of 12,000rpm, giving us a 53% increase in power and 45% higher torque. And there’s even greater accuracy of positioning in all axes up to 6 microns.

Another level of product

Overseeing the installation was our IT Project Manager, Alan Draper, who said “We’re upgrading in this area now to bolster our manufacturing as we’re, by our own standards, not at the level we need to be. We have more moulds for Industrial ceramic production, Dust Press and Progression tooling than ever before, so we needed to increase our manufacturing capabilities to meet these demands.”

But while the CMX 800 V is just the beginning of our planned upgrades, what else is in store? “We have a new DMG MORI NLX2000 lathe coming in shortly which is a very new piece of technology for us, we have nothing on a par with it at the moment, as well as a new laser marking machine. We also have a few things in the pipeline that we are not quite ready to talk about yet, but they should all come together to bring another level to our products.”

While the addition of the CMX 800 V is a significant investment, allowing us to effectively double our current output, it also cements our commitment to productivity and performance as set in our recent ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification.

Happy New Year! Both the office and production are back in operation today, 4th January 2021.

Warmest Christmas Wishes and every happiness in the coming year from the Ceramicx team.
We will close for Christmas holidays at
2pm on 23rd December and
re-open at 8am 4th January 2021.

Over the last four years Ceramicx has seen many changes; Industry 4.0, cultural and environmental. In 2020 we have made the pivotal change from a craft based production to a semi-automated industrial production line. This has resulted in continued improvement to our quality, processes, and consistency.

Ceramicx is an indigenous Irish company with an unrivalled knowledge of infrared in all forms and a proven success record of nearly 30 years. We welcome you to take a brief visit of Ceramicx through our short film presentation.

We acknowledge the excellent work of Dog Day Media and our own in-house marketing team in producing this presentation and a big Thank You to all the Ceramicx staff who starred in their film debut!

A Milestone

In October 2020 Ceramicx was awarded the ISO 9001:2015 accreditation for their Quality Management System by NSAi. We are delighted to have achieved this accreditation in what was a very challenging year for business. It gives assurance to our customers throughout the world that the Ceramicx name is synonymous with the highest standards in Quality – a must in today’s competitive world.

The Team

Ian Backhouse joined us as our Head of Quality in June 2019 with the aim of implementing ISO 9001:2015 and to administer ongoing continual improvement in line with it. Ian’s background in quality management is twofold. Originally from the UK, Ian worked extensively in the field of environmental consultancy from 2003 to 2010, specializing in the fields of asbestos and legionella. following which, he relocated to Sweden to work as a quality manager for Elpress AB, who are a global manufacturer and supplier of electrical connectors and cable crimping solutions for a varied group of industries such as the wind power and renewable energy, traction and automotive sectors. Following his time with Elpress, Ian felt he was ready for a new challenge and made the move to Ireland, to work with Ceramicx.

Stanislav Piscako joined Ceramicx Ltd. 2013. He has worked in Ceramicx on the production floor for five years, mainly as Kiln operator but also in many other production areas. With his enthusiasm to work and willingness to improve and explore, he was promoted to Quality Control position to ensure that our product and processes are controlled and matching our customer expectations. In 2019 he received Quality Assurance Certificate from Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and is continuing to study for a EIQA Diploma in Quality Management qualification.

His duties in Ceramicx include control of production line processes and records, Rejects Overview as well as employee training, problem-solving, calibration and analysis to aid continuous improvement for Ceramicx Ltd.

ISO Undertaking

Stanislav’s experience working in Ceramicx for the last seven years meant that he played a crucial role in helping Ian understand the company.

With a target of one year to attain the ISO certification Ian, supported by Stanislav, analysed what needed to be done and set about gathering up and organising everything to make the Ceramicx quality management system fulfil the requirements of ISO 9001:2015. (See our previous blog on how we achieved the ISO here).

Going Forward

Now that the dust has cleared, maintaining the standard is the task at hand. While Ian is overseeing the implementation of continual improvement and maintaining the quality management system, Stanislav is keeping the production floor in order. Gaining the ISO 9001:2015 accreditation is a wonderful achievement for our quality team and company as a whole. Next year we will really see the payoff with the quality management system firmly in place.

As the world’s leading quality management standard, the ISO 9000 system is used by thousands of businesses and organisations in over 170 countries, whatever their size or sector. By gaining full ISO 9001:2015 certification for our Quality Management System (QMS), Ceramicx can focus on increasing our performance and productivity while taking the next step as infrared industry leaders.

What is ISO?

In a nutshell, the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO), officially formed in 1947, brought together 67 technical committees from around theworld to “develop voluntary, consensus-based, market-relevant international standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges”. Over the last 70 years, ISO has grown to include a membership of national standards bodies from 165 countries. These experts help develop international standards across multiple sectors and industries so every business and organisation can use a level playing field of high-quality standards to the benefit of themselves and their customers.

Since the ISO 9000 series of quality management standards were first introduced in 1987, they’ve seen various updates and iterations. With the latest ISO 9001:2015 version used by over 1m businesses and organisations in 170 countries, the standards now integrate more easily with other management systems standards around the world.

The importance of ISO 9001:2015 for Ceramicx

Ceramicx is no stranger to ISO quality management certification, having previously held the ISO 9001:2000 standard. By gaining the ISO 9001:2015 standard, it’s a further extension of our commitment to aligning quality with our business strategy, as well as our status as industry leaders.

ISO 9001:2015 covers each and every area of our internal processes, from purchasing, design, R&D, and production to marketing, packaging, and goods-in – and everything in between. As an essential business certification, it shows our QMS reaches and maintains high standards at every stage, with full involvement and accountability across the entire business.

It also demonstrates our ability to provide products that meet customer demands, together with any relevant statutory and regulatory requirements. Having this certification can also prove, in many cases, to be an absolutely critical stipulation when working with certain industries such as the aerospace and automotive sectors.

How we achieved it

With a quality control team in place, Ian Backhouse joined us as our Head of Quality in June 2019 with the aim of implementing ISO 9001:2015 and to administer ongoing continual improvement in line with it. This would ensure the Ceramicx QMS was ISO 9001:2015 compliant and could be registered with the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAi).

Looking to implement the standard within his first 12 months, Ian rose to the challenge with a 3-step process. Beginning with studying the full structure of the company, he followed up by analysing all the supporting documentation that underpinned it. With many revisions from the ISO 2000 standard, the final step was to ensure all documentation and working practices were aligned with the 2015 revision.

Following that process, the NSAi completed our ISO Stage 1 audit in November 2019. Though impressed with their findings, we were given a list of further improvement actions for Ian to carry out and implement.

Full ISO approval

With all outstanding improvements actioned and implemented, our Stage 2 audit in September 2020 (initially planned for June 2020, but COVID restrictions meant it was pushed back) saw Ceramicx pass with flying colours and our ISO 9001:2015 certification was approved on the day. We’ll now be reviewed annually to ensure we continue hitting the mark.

With full credit to Ian and the cooperation and efforts of the entire workforce, Ceramicx now has the QMS and accreditation we need to take us forward and continue leading the infrared industry.

For more information on our ISO 9001:2015 certification and what it means for your business, call our team today on +353 28 37510 or email on [email protected]. We’ll be more than happy to discuss it with you and help you find a heating solution that works for you and your business.