Case Studies

Case Study 1

The electronics division of a multinational Fortune 100 Company decides to hold a reverse auction to attain cost savings from their suppliers on very complicated injection molded connector housings. Reverse auctions allow buyers to review quotes during one “event” in which several pre-approved vendors compete to offer the best pricing. Such events include vendors from around the world, including low cost manufacturing countries in Asia and elsewhere.

For this auction, the injection molding for a total of 49 tools manufacturing 100 different parts is up for bid. The total value of the molding being auctioned is estimated at $1.2 million. The complex nature of the part and the modular design of the tools (which allow multiple parts to be produced from the same mold base) require an injection molder with a combination of the most sophisticated processing equipment and top level technical talent to process and maintain the molds.

Not only did Interplex Plastic offer significant cost savings over the previous vendor, but through excellent performance, customer service and world wide competitive pricing we have kept this injection molding work in the states while the assembly operation in which these parts are used has moved from the United States to Mexico and on to mainland China.

Ultimately this customer would like to see the entire product manufactured (molding, stamping and assembly) in a low cost manufacturing country. However, they realize their existing tooling is too sensitive to risk sending off shore. So, several years ago they begin to fabricate duplicate tooling in dedicated (where each mold makes one unique part) molds for use in their Chinese facility. Today, we ship 49 different parts off of 27 molds to their assembly plant in China worth in excess of $600,000, with domestic shipment worth another $500,000. An example of how Interplex Plastics stands directly at the cross roads of world wide competitive pricing and first class performance.

Case Study 2

A manufacturer of pneumatic valves and cylinders is in a bind. Their largest customer, a medical device manufacturer wants a significant cost reduction on the valve they purchase. The obstacle, the valve housing is an anodized zinc die cast being shipped from Europe. It represents a major portion of the cost of the final product. The solution; replace the costly die cast with an injection molded part produced less than 2 miles from the assembly plant.

The customer had already designed and machined prototypes of the plastic valve housing when we were asked to quote the project. Aside from the obvious cost reductions offered by switching to plastic, the customer wanted a molder who was close to home to minimize the travel costs of product development and support. Interplex Plastics fit the criteria and is now this customer’s largest plastics vendor having built 3 additional molds in support of this program. 2 of the 3 molds replaced injection molding being purchased from Europe. Again, providing the customer with additional cost reductions and improved customer service.

This is truly an example of modern day alchemy converting costly metal components into plastics profit gold.

Case Study 3

In yet another reverse auction for transferred molding, Interplex Plastics proves that we offer world competitive pricing. However, this time the customer, a manufacturer of electronic connectors, plugs and jacks, has a unique stipulation. Several of their products are currently being molded at their facility and having features like internal threads added in post molding operations. The customer wants to purchase a completed component from the supplier they eventually select and to that end requires that the selected molder purchase from them several thread tapping stations.

This is a very mature product line and the tapping stations are every bit of 20 years old. While the cost the customer is asking for them appears reasonable, the hidden cost lies in the fact that the tapping stations are prone to break downs and spare parts are becoming difficult to source. In fact the unreliability of the tapping stations creates such a problem with regards to inconsistent part quality and on time delivery that the customer has threatened to pull the business if we do not resolve the problem.

We believe very strongly that the best way to solve the problem is to retool project and build molds with threaded cores and an internal gearing mechanism. However, it is the customer’s position that since we own the tapping stations the problems they create are ours to resolve. To that end they do not want to spend any upfront money to retool this project. The only way Interplex sees to service the customer and salvage this account is to build a mold at our cost. We designed and contracted for a 4 cavity mold to be manufactured at our approved vendor in Taiwan.

Once we get the mold groomed and into production all quality and delivery related problems associated with this particular product line are eliminated. The customer is so thrilled at the results that they agree to have two additional molds constructed, at their cost, to address the remaining problem line items. Interplex Plastics now has 3 molds with threaded cores and 1 very satisfied customer.