Precision Plastic Fabrications for Pharmaceutical and Medical Environments
Built for washdown, sterilisation cycles and controlled manufacturing.
Barkston Plastics Engineering fabricates precision plastic components and assemblies for pharmaceutical production, medical device manufacturing, laboratory containment and controlled-environment applications – where standard fabrication simply isn’t good enough.
Not sure if you're using the right materials for your pharmaceutical environment?
Download our free Material Specification Checklist before you commit.
ISO 9001:201
EcoVadis
55+ Years
In-House
DVS Weld Standard
The wrong material
creates risk you can't afford
Medical and pharmaceutical environments are unforgiving. Surfaces need to withstand aggressive disinfectants, repeated sterilisation cycles and close regulatory scrutiny. Equipment that degrades, corrodes or harbours contamination isn’t just a maintenance headache – it’s a compliance and safety problem.
Metal corrodes. Coatings crack and chip. GRP can delaminate and is notoriously difficult to clean thoroughly. Many fabricated assemblies that looked fine at installation start to fail within months of regular exposure to cleaning agents, moisture and temperature variation.
The issue usually isn’t the design. It’s the material and the fabrication quality behind it.
Poor material choice and fabrications can lead to:
Contamination
Risk
Regulatory Non-Compliance
Equipment Failure & Downtime
High Maintenance & Replacement Costs
Metal
- Corrodes with chemical and moisture exposure
- Coatings crack, chip and flake
- Rough surfaces can harbour bacteria
- Frequent maintenance and early replacement
Grp (Fibreglass)
- Can delaminate under stress and chemicals
- Porous surface is difficult to clean
- Prone to cracking and impact damage
- Long lead times and complex repairs
Coated Surfaces
- Coatings degrade with cleaning cycles
- Chips expose underlying material
- Inconsistent surface quality over time
- Risks contamination and compliance issues
Engineered Plastics (Barkston)
- Excellent chemical and corrosion resistance
- Smooth, non-porous and easy to clean
- Maintains integrity through repeated cycles
- Built for compliance, hygiene and reliability
Precision plastic fabrication,
engineered for controlled environments
Barkston manufactures bespoke fabricated plastic components and assemblies for pharmaceutical production lines, laboratory environments, medical device OEMs and
cleanroom applications.
We work directly with engineering managers, operations teams and procurement specialists who need fabricated solutions built around the real demands of their environment – not off-the-shelf parts forced to fit.
Our in-house capability covers CNC machining, routing, laser cutting, fabrication and welding. Everything is produced at our Leeds facility under ISO 9001 quality management, with inspection procedures in place throughout manufacture. Welders are tested to DVS standard every three months – a level of quality assurance that most fabricators don’t come close to.
We work in polypropylene, PVC, HDPE, UHMW and specialist engineering plastics selected for chemical resistance, cleanability and long-term dimensional stability.
Chemical Resistant
Cleanroom Compatible
Precision Fabricated
DVS Weld Standard Tested Every Three Months
In-House
ISO 9001
Quality management you can rely on
Quality Inspected
Inspection procedures throughout manufacture
Engineer-Led
Material Expertise
CASE STUDY
Portable Compliant Isolators: Deployed Into One of the World's Most Demanding Environments
Barkston recently completed the fabrication and deployment of 12 Portable Compliant Isolators (PCIs) for a client supporting the response to Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) in Burundi, Africa
The PCIs create a fully sealed, sterile working environment – protecting personnel from contamination and protecting critical materials from external exposure. They needed to be portable enough for remote deployment, robust enough for repeated use in field conditions, and built to the highest containment standards.
Barkston engineered and fabricated all 12 units in-house. Every joint, every panel, every assembly point was built to perform under conditions that would expose any weakness in fabrication quality.
These units are now used across a range of critical applications:
Live vaccine preparation. Clinical trials. Gene therapy. Aseptic processing training. Military biochemical threat analysis.
This is what it means to manufacture plastic assemblies where failure isn’t an option.
Fully Sealed Sterile Environment
Portable Design For Remote Deployment
Robust & Reliable Built For Field Condition
Built To The Highest Containment Standards
These units are now used across a range of critical applications:
Live vaccine preparation
Clinical Trials
Gene Therapy
Where Barkston's fabrication is used in
medical and pharmaceutical settings
Cleanroom wall panels and modular cleanroom assemblies.
Pharmaceutical production line guards, chutes and enclosures.
Laboratory containment and isolation units.
Medical device OEM components.
Washdown-compatible conveying and processing equipment
Chemical storage and handling systems for pharmaceutical applications.
Protective enclosures for sensitive instrumentation.
Why engineered plastics outperform
metal and GRP in these environments
Weight reduction is a real operational benefit in portable, adjustable or operator-handled equipment. Plastics can also be fabricated to tighter tolerances than GRP and don’t carry the same lead time penalties – GRP kiosk lead times of six months or more are common; Barkston regularly delivers comparable fabricated plastic assemblies in weeks.
Dimensional stability matters too. Engineered plastics hold their form through the temperature and humidity variation that controlled environments often create.
And because we manufacture everything in-house, quality control doesn’t end when the material leaves a supplier’s factory. It runs through every stage of fabrication.
Lightweight
Dimernsionally Stable
Consistent Quality
No Corrosion
No Compromises
Smooth Surfaces.
Easy To Clean.
Lighter Weight.
Real Benefit.
Faster Lead Times.
Delivered In Weeks.
Dimensional
Stability Matters.
Who we work with
Barkston works with Pall International (now part of Cytiva) and DW Scientific, among others. We supply engineering managers, operations directors and procurement teams in pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical device OEM, laboratory services and regulated production environments.
We’re not a volume supplier. We work with companies that need a fabrication partner with the technical depth to understand the application and the manufacturing capability to get it right first time.
…and others
We Supply Engineering, Operations & Procurement Teams In:
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Supporting controlled production environments with reliable, compliant plastic fabrications.
Medical Device OEM
Precision components and assemblies for medical device manufacturers.
Laboratory Services
Fabrications for labs, research facilities and testing environments.
Regulated Production Environments
Engineered plastics built for cleanliness, traceability and long-term performance.
We're Not A Volume Supplier.
We work with companies that need a fabrication partner with the technical depth to understand the application and the manufacturing capability to get it right first time.
Built to a standard,
not just a specification
ISO 9001:2015 accreditation covers our full manufacturing process. Inspection procedures run throughout fabrication – not just at final sign-off. Our welders are tested to DVS standard every three months, which is the German welding standard regarded as best practice in plastic fabrication.
We also hold EcoVadis Bronze sustainability rating, which is increasingly relevant to procurement teams working within pharmaceutical supply chain requirements.
Quotes are turned around within 48 hours. All fabrication, machining, routing and assembly is completed in-house in Leeds. No subcontracting, no handoffs, no quality gaps between processes.
ISO 9001:2015 ACCREDITED
Covers our full manufacturing process. Inspection procedures run throughout fabrication - not just at final sign-off.
DVS WELD STANDARD
Our welders are tested to DVS standard every three months - the German welding standard regarded as best practice in plastic fabrication.
ECOVADIS BRONZE RATING
Recognised for our sustainability performance - increasingly important for pharmaceutical supply chains.
48 Hour Quote Turnaround
100% In-House Manufacturing
Inspection At Every Stage
No Subcontracting
No Handoffs
No Quality Gaps
Built For Compliance Built For Trust
How It Works
You send us your drawing, specification or application brief. We’ll review it, identify the right materials for the environment, and come back with a quote within 48 hours.
If you’re not at drawing stage yet, that’s fine – we work with engineering teams at specification stage regularly. Tell us what the assembly needs to do, what environment it’s operating in, and what’s failing currently. We’ll take it from there.
You Send Us Your Requirements
Send us your drawing,
specification or application brief. In your early stages? No problem. Tell us what the assembly needs to do, the environment it operates in and what’s failing currently.
We Review & Identify The Right Solution
Our engineering team reviews your requirements, identifies the right plastic materials and design approach for your environment and application.
We Provide A Quote Within 48 Hours
Precision Plastic Solutions Delivered
Not sure if you're using the right materials for your pharmaceutical environment?
Download our free Material Specification Checklist before you commit.