Alleviate Injection Molding Capacity Constraints With Deluxe Plastics

Whether you are a production manager, operations executive, or other company decision-maker, you start to feel the pinch when production nears capacity. Capacity constraints push out lead times and can upset customers, especially if rush jobs or unexpected high-priority projects are introduced to the mix.
If you want to increase capacity, you can invest in expanding your current operations or outsource to a contract manufacturer. If your bottleneck is plastic injection molding, Deluxe Plastics can help you get your parts into your customer’s hands faster. Below, we review the top benefits of partnering with us to relieve capacity constraints.

Avoid Capital Expenditure

Expanding your current operation to increase injection molding capacity isn’t an overnight process. This is a long-term commitment that requires planning, having or acquiring space, possibly hiring and training employees, and, of course, capital expenditure for equipment. Injection molding machines and associated equipment are a major investment.
Even if your long-term goal is to invest in expansion, outsourcing injection molding projects with us in the short term can alleviate the immediate pain and help you keep your customers happy. We have made the investments and have the expertise to deliver to your exact specifications.

Scalability

The inability to scale for seasonal demand, new product launches, or unexpected increases can put your business at risk. Seasonal spikes impact many industries, such as consumer goods, automotive, or holiday-related product manufacturers. During peak season, manufacturing can become overwhelmed, which, at minimum, can create delays in shipments. Overwhelmed employees are more prone to making mistakes, which can impact quality and create further delays.

New product launches can create unexpected demand, stretching capacity to its limits. This demand can impact the production of established products and have the same impact as season spikes on quality and timelines.

While seasonal spikes and new product launches can somewhat be expected, there are times when you are faced with unplanned surges due to market conditions or unforeseen events (e.g., a healthcare crisis drives up demand for a particular injection molded product).

When seasonal surges, new product launches, or unforeseen demand spikes max out your operational capacity, we can step in and offer the flexible, on-demand production scaling that you need, ensuring you can meet your deadlines and customer expectations without the need to overextend internal resources or compromise quality. It also reduces the risk of production bottlenecks or backlogs during high-pressure periods.

Flexibility with Specialized Projects

To grow your business, it may be necessary to develop new products, improve existing products, try new processes, or experiment with other methods. Maybe you need small, limited production runs, such as prototypes or low-volume batches for testing, limited edition products, or early market testing. Maybe you want to get creative with your part shape and need intricate geometries or parts with tight tolerances that are difficult or expensive to manufacture in-house. You may have specific projects requiring materials with unique properties or processes, such as overmolding or insert molding, that you aren’t equipped to handle with your current injection molding capacity.

When your regular operations use most of your manufacturing resources, nothing is left for creative or specialized projects. In these cases, we can take on some of your specialized projects, or if you prefer to keep them close to the chest, we can take on your routine work, opening up resources for research and development.

Reduce Lead Times

As orders build, lead times get pushed out. This can lead to significant consequences. The impact of extended lead times is far-reaching across your organization. In industries where time to market is critical, extended lead times can cause you to lose your edge to competitors who can meet market demand. Missing a peak shopping time for your product may cause a large dent in revenue, or the product could be obsolete by the next peak.

Your customers expect to receive products in a timely manner. Late deliveries or extended lead times can strain relationships, and in a digitally connected world, it’s so easy for someone to write a bad review, and it is really hard for you to remove it. This could damage your reputation and potential future business.

Outsourcing your overflow work to us helps you to keep your lead times stable. Our end-to-end efficiency-driven processes and expansive capabilities help us get our customers products when needed. Part design optimization by our engineering team proactively eliminates issues that can slow down production. Our in-house mold building capabilities allow us to begin production sooner and quickly perform maintenance and repairs if needed, preventing extended downtime. We’ve invested in leading-edge technology, such as automation and cobots, to increase accuracy and efficiency. These work together to streamline our processes and reduce overall lead times.

Access to Expertise

If you have been manufacturing a product with the same material, the same processes, the same parameters, and suddenly the part is out of spec, what do you do? How long will production be stalled while you figure out the issue? Or maybe the material you usually buy is on backorder for the unforeseeable future, or maybe it has been regulated out of use for your product category, leaving you to find a new material – one you have no experience working with.

There are many scenarios where not having the expertise you need readily available can be detrimental to your business. At Deluxe Plastics, we have injection molded countless products from a large number of materials and have solved a myriad of challenges. We have likely encountered anything you might come up against. When you outsource to us, we take on those challenges and bring design, engineering, and material selection expertise, helping you create more efficient or innovative products while handling capacity issues.

Risk Management

Relying on internal capacity alone leaves you vulnerable to disruptions like equipment failure, bottlenecks, or workforce shortages. Expanding your internal capacity and committing internal resources to introduce new product lines introduces additional risks, particularly if product demand doesn’t materialize.

Partnering with us reduces the risks associated with internal disruptions and provides a contingency plan to keep production moving. You can meet immediate production needs without the risk of overcommitting resources to uncertain demand in the future. You can grow production at a measured pace, all while keeping internal operations steady.

Contact Us To Alleviate Your Injection Molding Capacity Constraints

If you are unsure if you are ready to outsource your injection molding needs or want to discuss what is involved, we can listen to your needs and walk you through the process. From engineering design assistance and material selection through secondary operations and assembly, we are positioned to help you meet your production goals and get your products to your customers quickly. And, as an ISO 9001:2015 certified company, we’re ready to take on almost any challenge. Many of our customers come to us to alleviate injection molding capacity constraints. We’d be delighted to help you, too.