Abstract: The invention relates to a collapsible container having a base and sides moulded from a synthetic plastics material and including, at least partially encapsulated therein during moulding, elongate metal reinforcing elements. The reinforcing elements of the sides engage with those of the base to provide integral hinges, and include interlock means at the hinges arranged such that when, after initial moulding of the container base and sides in a flat condition, the sides are folded-up, the interlock means prevent return of the sides to the flat condition so that the container may thereafter be collapsed only by folding the sides inwardly over the base.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of forming a moulded product comprising a reinforcement encapsulated in a plastics material. The reinforcement is supported in a mould cavity spaced from the surfaces of said mould cavity by support pins which are retractable into the mould surfaces. During an initial part of the moulding operation some of the plastics moulding material enters one or more reservoirs each formed in or around one of the support pins, the reservoirs opening into the mould cavity and extending inwardly of the mould surface, and on retraction of each pin, a piston, working in each reservoir, forces the moulding material out of the reservoir into the vicinity of the part of the mould cavity previously occupied by the pin.

Abstract: The invention relates to an open-topped rectangular crate formed from a synthetic plastic material internally reinforced with a steel reinforcement. The reinforcement is continuous and extends substantially along the upper edges of two opposite side walls of the crate, down adjacent to the four vertical corner edges of said crate and along the bottom edges of the other two opposite side walls of the crate.