Three Benefits of Plastic Contract Manufacturing

There are two business strategies for obtaining custom injection molded parts. You can do them in-house or contract them out. If you are faced with this decision, you may have a new product that needs a plastic component. Or maybe you have peaks in production that you can’t keep up with? Or perhaps you want to focus on a core competency or strategic business growth. Whatever reason you might be considering plastic contract manufacturing, several benefits should factor into your decision.

Plastic Contract Manufacturing Improves Supply Chain Efficiency

Plastic contract manufacturing improves your supply chain performance because you get the product when needed — without the need to manage production or have a warehouse full of stock. As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), you will collaborate with your contract manufacturer to smooth out demand fluctuations with consistent manufacturing. Additional value-added services can reduce time managing several vendors, back-and-forth shipping, and delays if one vendor is late, further enhancing the efficiency of your supply chain. 

Additionally, because plastic injection molding can be complex, you may overlook flaws that can lead to issues in the future. Plus, as an added bonus, contract manufacturers can provide recommendations that can improve your part’s quality or save you money. Working with specialists who can identify design weaknesses and regulatory risks can be invaluable and prevent delays that create inefficiencies in your supply chain. 

At LMC Industries, we lessen the headaches of supply chain disruption with logistic support, making moving your products through the supply chain as easy as possible. Everything we do focuses on getting your plastic products to you efficiently. With multiple strategies in place to keep raw materials flowing, we take a proactive approach to securing the raw materials needed to make your components. Additionally, our in-house tool room reduces the time required for tooling and tool maintenance. Design for manufacturability assessments ensure your product can be manufactured as efficiently as possible. If you have multiple parts shipped together, you can leave the kitting to us and save time. Supply chain efficiency is further enhanced through warehousing and inventory support, ensuring you get your products on time.

Our Proof

A sporting gun manufacturer was experiencing problems with molding and tooling. The quality issues created supply interruptions. The supply chain issues were causing the manufacturer to lose out on market share. We redesigned the part for manufacturability, recommended a more suitable alternative material that also cost less, designed specialized tooling and custom cooling fixtures to eliminate quality issues, and managed the project start-up with an aggressive timetable. As a result, the total cost of the molded part was reduced, and the uninterrupted supply of components enabled the manufacturer to meet market demand and maximize market share. 

Plastic Contract Manufacturers Have Extensive Expertise 

Contract manufacturers have experience with multiple industries and product types. They employ material, tooling, process, and equipment experts who have likely encountered just about every challenge. Working with a contract manufacturer gives you access to incredible knowledge and experience. 

If your contract manufacturer performs a design for manufacturability analysis and has extensive material and process expertise, like LMC Industries, you can be confident that your part is genuinely optimized for manufacturability. Whether you’re trusting us with a new product or an existing part number, we work with you to solve and prevent problems in your manufacturing process. 

We can provide more than plastic injection molding expertise. If you have a diverse product line that includes metal stampings, insert molding, and overmolding, then we can help you find the perfect solution. 

Our Proof

An automotive supplier’s complex part is essential to properly deploy its airbag systems. The complex subassembly required precision stamping, overmolding, and rivet insertion. We provided manufacturing feasibility advice based on our experiences. We implemented measures to ensure part fill verification for thin-walled areas and used mistake-proof equipment to ensure precise rivet placement. As a result, the customer has a single trusted vendor to produce quality subassemblies and is getting reliable airbag results while competitors have experienced recalls.

Reduce Your Total Costs with a Plastic Contract Manufacturer

The most obvious way a company reduces costs by using a contract injection molder is by avoiding capital expenditures and overhead costs associated with a new production site, equipment, and labor. Investments to get into injection molding or expand when it isn’t your primary focus can be staggering. But you can’t underestimate the cost savings that can be garnered from the contract manufacturer’s experience and efficiency. 

At LMC, we reduce costs by re-engineering existing part designs for improved manufacturability and reduced part costs, when suitable; introducing custom automation to reduce labor costs, ensure quality, and increase productivity; substitute materials when applicable, and consolidate supply chains through our expansive capabilities. 

Additionally, a contract manufacturer likely has relationships with many vendors. Because they buy in larger volumes than you will, they can take advantage of economies of scale pricing and service. Because of their connections, they are more likely to be able to get materials that would be hard for you to source or can recommend alternative materials. 

At LMC, we have dual sourcing of raw materials and well-established relationships with quality suppliers that help us get the materials we need. We have experience across industries with both engineering- and commodity-grade resins, so we can help customers save money by changing materials without impacting the required quality and performance.

Our proof

We had a firearms customer molding parts with a high-cost 40% glass-filled nylon. We recommended a switch to a resin commonly used in automotive applications and cut the product’s price in half, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in annual savings for the customer.

Experience the Benefits of LMC

When you work with us, you get a team of people with diverse skill sets working together to make your plastic project a success. We can provide you with a streamlined supply chain with shorter lead times, the expertise to solve your toughest challenges, and we will save you money. 

Connect with us to get started.