LINKING SERIOUS BUYERS TO THE BEST SUPPLIERS
Serving the UK & IE plastics industry
As the MD of a UK injection moulding specialist, I have always been a strong advocate for the reshoring of moulding work. This has culminated in my participation on a specialist panel on this subject at the recent SMMT International Automotive Summit.
If you are one of the growing number of UK companies looking to bring previously offshored moulding work back into the UK, then this blog should help you to decide the best way to achieve your goal.
Part Design is the key to success and our top tip is “KEEP IT SIMPLE”.
OK, so we aren’t the Plastic Gurus in question (it’s the below handy Infographic), but at PlastikCity we operate both a Help Desk and an Assisted Service facility within our Source a Moulder section, so we have first-hand experience when it comes to ‘pointing people in the right direction’.
By Simon Anderson – MD of LVS Small Plastic Parts
Like most SME’s, the Brexit vote came as a shock to LVS Small Plastic Parts last year. As part of the larger business community, we felt that a status quo would be the best outcome for the manufacturing sector. Our own business being so heavily aligned to the automotive sector helped to reinforce this opinion.
I recently read an article about a 5% increase in productivity achieved at Formula Plastics, just by changing their tool clamping system. It got me thinking about mould change methods available in the market, which I then discussed with suppliers.
We all know that in recent years there has been a ‘buzz’ in the general Manufacturing Sector about more product being sourced from within the UK, but what do the actual numbers tell us?
The aim was to create a major resource for the plastics sector, one place to find everything you needed. From time to time, we need to review how we are doing, so for the purposes of this Blog, I have looked at things from the perspective of a new start company looking to develop an idea for a new `widget’ that just happens to be most easily manufactured in plastic.
Having spent a number of years inspecting worn screw and barrels, I know from experience that people go well beyond ‘a few thou’ of wear before deciding it’s time for a replacement or refurb. A good setter can often work with little more than a stick rattling around in an oversized tube, but there is always a price to pay……
USA manufacturing is booming and riding the crest of the Re-Shoring wave. But I’m fearful we’re losing steam in the UK………
During my career I’ve supplied 100’s of new and used injection moulding machines. Determining what is best for your business depends on many factors but essentially the main considerations should be specification and up time requirements.
Scrap rates for the injection moulding industry are easy to calculate, but often painful to believe – it is simply the difference in weight between how much plastic you buy in, and the total weight of parts delivered. Typically this is as much as 10%, although when questioned about scrap rates companies reported to us the figures they wanted to talk about – such as “customer reject rates” of 4.5ppm or their “production reject rate” where we heard of 0.001%. These figures are just self-congratulatory and distorted.
After 20 something years in the plastics industry working for one of the larger extruder manufacturers in the world I am beginning to wonder when replacing critical parts like Barrels and Screws, do we look any further than the price?
It is fantastic to see UK Manufacturing enjoying a renaissance especially in the Plastic Injection Moulding sector where we have a new buzz word called ‘reshoring’. I can’t help wondering though whether too many businesses were quick to sell out to what was perceived to be the ‘Holy Grail’ in manufacturing in the first place. I wrestle with this question that is rarely asked…
I recall, as young plastic machinery sales engineer in the 80’s, how manufacturing was a pretty unpopular word amongst my friends. I also recall how government grants were often abused by companies, ordering equipment, then running off with the money, or asking suppliers to inflate invoices then keeping the uplift.
