How to start a lucrative safety match Production Company

A match is a small stick of wood or strip of cardboard with a solidified mixture of flammable chemicals deposited on one end. When that end is struck on a rough surface, the friction generates enough heat to ignite the chemicals and produce a small flame. Some matches, called strike-anywhere matches, may be ignited by striking them on any rough surface. Other matches, called safety matches, will ignite only when they are struck on a special rough surface containing certain chemicals.

Raw Materials

Woods used to make matchsticks must be porous enough to absorb various chemicals, and rigid enough to withstand the bending forces encountered when the match is struck. They should also be straight-grained and easy to work, so that they may be readily cut into sticks. White pine and aspen are two common woods used for this purpose.

Once the matchsticks are formed, they are soaked in ammonium phosphate, which is a fire retardant. This prevents the stick from smoldering after the match has gone out. During manufacture, the striking ends of the matchsticks are dipped in hot paraffin wax. This provides a small amount of fuel to transfer the flame from the burning chemicals on the tip to the matchstick itself. Once the paraffin burns off, the ammonium phosphate in the matchstick prevents any further combustion.

The heads of strike-anywhere matches are composed of two parts, the tip and the base. The tip contains a mixture of phosphorus sesquisulfide and potassium chlorate. Phosphorus sesquisulfide is a highly reactive, non-toxic chemical used in place of white phosphorus. It is easily ignited by the heat of friction against a rough surface. The potassium chlorate supplies the oxygen needed for combustion. The tip also contains powdered glass and other inert filler material to increase the friction and control the burning rate. Animal glue is used to bind the chemicals together, and a small amount of zinc oxide may be added to the tip to give it a whitish color. The base contains many of the same materials as the tip, but has a smaller amount of phosphorus sesquisulfide. It also contains sulfur, rosin, and a small amount of paraffin wax to sustain combustion. A water-soluble dye may be added to give the base a color such as red or blue.

There is a huge market for this product and it continues to grow because there is a need for match-stick. Match-stick is usually packaged in small and medium boxes and sold in quantities. So if you are looking for a business to go into or invest in that will give you good returns in a short period of time, then you should consider going into this business.

The heads of safety matches are composed of a single part. They contain antimony trisulfide, potassium chlorate, sulfur, powdered glass, inert fillers, and animal glue. They may also include a water-soluble dye. Antimony trisulfide cannot be ignited by the heat of friction, even in the presence of an oxidizing agent like potassium chlorate, and it requires another source of ignition to start the combustion. That source of ignition comes from the striking surface, which is deposited on the side of the matchbox or on the back cover of the matchbook. The striking surface contains red phosphorus, powdered glass, and an adhesive such as gum arabic or urea formaldehyde. When a safety match is rubbed against the striking surface, the friction generates enough heat to convert a trace of the red phosphorus into white phosphorus. This immediately reacts with the potassium chlorate in the match head to produce enough heat to ignite the antimony trisulfide and start the combustion.

 Match boxes and match books are made from cardboard. The finned strips of cardboard used to make the matches in match books are called a comb.

The Manufacturing

Process

Matches are manufactured in several stages. In the case of wooden-stick matches, the matchsticks are first cut, prepared, and moved to a storage area. When the matchsticks are needed, they are inserted into holes in a long perforated belt. The belt carries them through the rest of the process, where they are dipped into several chemical tanks, dried, and packaged in boxes. Cardboard-stick matches used in match books are processed in a similar manner.

Here is a typical sequence of operations for manufacturing wooden-stick matches:

Cutting the matchsticks

1 Logs of white pine or aspen are clamped in a debarking machine and slowly rotated while spinning blades cut away the outer bark of the tree.

2 The stripped logs are then cut into short lengths about 1.6 ft (0.5 m) long. Each length is placed in a peeler and rotated while a sharp, flat blade peels a long, thin sheet of wood from the outer surface of the log. This sheet is about 0.1 in (2.5 mm) thick and is called a veneer. The peeling blade moves inward toward the core of the rotating log until only a small, round post is left. This post is discarded and may be used for fuel or reduced to wood chips for use in making paper or chipboard.

 Stripped logs are placed in a peeler, which cuts a sheet about 0.1 in (2.5 mm) thick, called veneer, from the log. The veneer proceeds to the chopper, which cuts it into small sticks. The sticks are soaked in a dilute solution of ammonium phosphate and dried, removing splinters and crystallized solution. The matches are dumped into a feed hopper, which lines them up. A perforated conveyor belt holds them upside down while they are dipped in a series of three tanks. The matches are dried for 50-60 minutes before they are packaged.

Stripped logs are placed in a peeler, which cuts a sheet about 0.1 in (2.5 mm) thick, called veneer, from the log. The veneer proceeds to the chopper, which cuts it into small sticks. The sticks are soaked in a dilute solution of ammonium phosphate and dried, removing splinters and crystallized solution. The matches are dumped into a feed hopper, which lines them up. A perforated conveyor belt holds them upside down while they are dipped in a series of three tanks. The matches are dried for 50-60 minutes before they are packaged.

3 The sheets of veneer are stacked and fed into a chopper. The chopper has many sharp blades that cut down through the stack to produce as many as 1,000 matchsticks in a single stroke.

Treating the matchsticks

4 The cut matchsticks are dumped into a large vat filled with a dilute solution of ammonium phosphate.

5 After they have soaked for several minutes, the matchsticks are removed from the vat and placed in a large, rotating drum, like a clothes dryer. The tumbling action inside the drum dries the sticks and acts to polish and clean them of any splinters or crystallized chemical.

6 The dried sticks are then dumped into a hopper and blown through a metal duct to the storage area. In some operations the sticks are blown directly into the matchmaking facility rather than going to storage.

Forming the match heads

7 The sticks are blown from the storage area to a conveyor belt that transfers them to be inserted into holes on a long, continuous, perforated steel belt. The sticks are dumped into several v-shaped feed hoppers that line them up with the holes in the perforated belt. Plungers push the matchsticks into the holes across the width of the slowly moving belt. A typical belt may have 50-100 holes spaced across its width. Any sticks that do not seat firmly into the holes fall to a catch area beneath the belt and are transferred back to the feed hoppers.

8 The perforated belt holds the matchsticks upside down and immerses the lower portion of the sticks in a bath of hot paraffin wax. After they emerge from the wax, the sticks are allowed to dry.

9 Further down the line, the matchsticks are positioned over a tray filled with a liquid solution of the match head chemicals. The tray is then momentarily raised to immerse the ends of the sticks in the solution. Several thousand sticks are coated at the same time. This cycle repeats itself when the next batch of sticks is in position. If the matches are the strike-anywhere kind, the sticks move on to another tray filled with a solution of the tip chemicals, and the match ends are immersed in that tray, only this time not quite as deeply. This gives strike-anywhere matches their characteristic two-toned appearance.

10 After the match heads are coated, the matches must be dried very slowly or they will not light properly. The belt loops up and down several times as the matches dry for 50-60 minutes.

Packaging the matches

11 The cardboard inner and outer portions of the match boxes are cut, printed, folded, and glued together in a separate area. If the box is to contain safety matches, the chemicals for the striking strip are mixed with an adhesive and are automatically applied to the outer portion of the box.

12 When the matches are dry, the belt moves them to the packaging area, where a multi-toothed wheel pushes the finished matches out of the holes in the belt. The matches fall into hoppers, which measure the proper amount of matches for each box. The matches are dumped from the hoppers into the inner portions of the cardboard match boxes, which are moving along a conveyor belt located below the hoppers. Ten or more boxes may be filled at the same time.

13 The outer portions of the match boxes move along another conveyor belt running parallel to the first belt. Both conveyors stop momentarily, and the filled inner portions are pushed into the outer portions. This cycle of filling the inner portions and pushing them into the outer portions is repeated at a rate of about once per second.

14 The filled match boxes are moved by conveyor belt to a machine, which groups them and places them in a corrugated cardboard box for shipping.

Quality Control

The chemicals for each portion of the match head are weighed and measured exactly to avoid any variation in the match composition that might affect performance. Operators constantly monitor the operation and visually inspect the product at all stages of manufacture. In addition to visual inspection and other normal quality control procedures, match production requires strict attention to safety. Considering that there may be more than one million matches attached to the perforated belt at any time means that the working environment must be kept free of all sources of accidental ignition.

Production planning

The Plant will have an installed capacity hourly Capacity of 50,000 Boxes of 40 pieces Safety match per box working for 8 hours shift and arranged in 10 boxes per pack and 1000 boxes per carton.

Production is planned for 8 Hours daily on a shift work for 300 days in a year. However Capacity utilization has been projected at 40,000 boxes daily or 80% of installed capacity in the first year and increasing production in the following years until maximum utilization is achieved.

The Plant will distribute its match at 8,500 Naira per Carton of 1,000 boxes while recommended single box retail will be 50 Naira.

The  Complete Production Plant is N35 Million, excluding Generator and working capital.

Net margin for the investment before tax is projected at N12.1 million, N14million, N16million Naira the first three years respectively.

Raw materials: Wood is one of the major material used in producing matchstick. The word”matchstick” already tells you that wood is the main component, so now all you need is to know the type of wood that is used to produce the woodensplint and find a supplier of that particular wood. Also, you need to find where you can get the other raw materials like, the chemicals use for processing and flaming the matchstick (phosphorus and paraffin wax) and some colourants to make your matchstick different from others.

Aside wood, which is the main material used in matchstick production, you will also need chemicals for processing and flaming, and paper boards for inner and outer packing boxes. Aspen, Poplar, and Pine are the types of wood usually used for making match splints. You will need to decide on which type you will be using in your company.

You will also need to find suppliers for these raw materials and ensure that they are able to maintain a steady supply of the materials they supply.

Get the necessary equipment and staff: Most of your operations will be machine-mediated, so you will need to acquire the machinery you will need.

Equipment: The major equipment needed for production is;*Head composition machine,* Splint machine,* Air compressor,* Polishing machine,* Log conveyor

In addition, you will need to hire additional individuals to assist you with the business. Each of your machines will be manned by one or two individuals, which means you will need to hire between 10 to 20 staff. However, you must ensure that your employees are competent and able to play their roles excellently.

Matches are sold in quantity. There’s the wooden type, which are packaged in boxes. And there are paper matches, which are clustered in rows stapled into matchbooks. Because matches are used in almost every home and in almost every industrial establishment, the demand for matches is always high. This means there is huge profit potential in the matchstick production business.

Marketing: When you are done with production, you need to come up with good marketing techniques that will get people to recognise and patronise your product. One of such technique is to offer discount or incentive to customers, this will motivate them to buy from you because people always patronize subsidized product. Also, you can market your product to households, restaurants, bars, eateries, industrial companies, retailers and wholesalers.‎ You can also brand for companies who will use it for marketing purposes or individuals, for gifts at their several ceremonies. 

Get our Practical Training guide on Safety Match Production. The detailed and comprehensive training will be provided. It will cover all the aspects of the project, from analyzing the market, confirming availability of various necessities such as plant & machinery, raw materials, manufacturing techniques and forecasting financial aspects by estimating the cost of raw material, formulating the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow.

Remember, this comprehensive guide serves as a general roadmap to help you understand the various aspects of starting a match stick production business. It is crucial to conduct thorough research, seek expert advice, and adapt the information provided to your specific circumstances before embarking on your entrepreneurial journey. 

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