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New Outdoor Product Manufacturers Benefit from Multiple Generations of Outdoor Enthusiasts

New Outdoor Product Manufacturers had blow molded at SPI

New Outdoor Product for New Outdoor Product Manufacturers

New outdoor product manufacturers are feeling supported by studies that show increases participation and spending in the outdoor recreation industry. Even during the economic recession from 2005-2011 the outdoor recreation economy grew approximately 5% each year.1 In the United States there are 198 million adults between the age of 18-65 and of those, 60% qualify themselves as outdoor consumers.2 With it’s undeniable impact on economic, social and health benefits, outdoor recreation is getting attention from leaders and consumers alike. Last month (February 2015) the Obama administration’s announcement for “Every Kid in a Park” and the new national monument designations brought attention to the importance of the outdoors and introducing outdoor recreation to a new generation.

With America’s youth spending less time outside than ever before, many parents who grew up enjoying the outdoors are working to expose their children to outdoor activities. 43% of outdoor consumers have kids at home.3 Studies by the Outdoor Industry Association show this renewed interest in outdoor activities increases outdoor product purchases by this growing sector. From bicycles and accessories to hiking, swimming, sports and camping gear, outdoor recreation product manufacturers are diversifying their product lines to meet the demands of families getting outdoors and active. Whether outdoor sports enthusiasts or backyard barbecuers, outdoor consumers are all ages, shapes, sizes, ethnicities and income levels. New outdoor manufacturers can assist in raising the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts by developing innovative products that can fit family budgets and lifestyles.

The recent OIA Consumervue study identifies clear consumer segmentations in the outdoor recreation industry. These consumer segmentations can help new outdoor product manufacturers develop specific products that help people participate in outdoor recreation more easily and often. New outdoor product manufacturers can strategize business growth by developing new product lines for existing consumers, discover new consumers with an existing product line and capture new customers with new product lines. A clear example is with the aging baby boomer generation. Many baby boomers grew up enjoying outdoor recreation and still want to enjoy the outdoors. Health and mobility can be limited with this group and they need products that will assist them in continuing to engage comfortably. New outdoor product manufacturers who create products that will help this generation stay active and comfortable while enjoying the outdoors not only increase the aging populations lifespan and well-being, healthier communities and reduced medical expenses result.

• more than 140 million Americans make outdoor recreation a priority in their daily live
• outdoor recreation consumers spend $646 billion on outdoor products and activities,
• Outdoor recreation industry employees over 6.1 million Americans.

Although electronic gadgets are in the hands and homes of preschoolers and the elderly alike, consumers actually spend over twice as much on outdoor recreation as they do on their household utilities annually. A recent study on the frequency and types of camping equipment consumers purchased showed these otherwise distracting electronic devices are often used to research camping equipment purchases in advance of camping trips. From sleeping bags to portable sewage disposal products for campers. consumers read about products online, reviewed them in a store and most often purchased them in the store.

As the generations of American’s who grew up enjoying the outdoors continue to actively engage the younger generations in outdoor recreation more outdoor products will fill their homes, garages, and mini-vans. From sports water bottles to baseball bats, kayak oars and plastic lawn darts new outdoor product manufacturers must find cost effective solutions to meet the demand. As the baby boomers strike out with their lightweight walking canes, sunshade umbrellas, and activity trackers, new outdoor product manufacturers can develop innovative solutions to keep them active in style.

As America heads into Spring and the most active months for outdoor recreation are upon us consider what’s missing in your biking, barbecue, sports or camping gear. Search online or in stores for the outdoor recreation products you need. If you don’t find what you are looking for maybe it hasn’t been invented yet. If you have an idea for a new outdoor recreation product you can contact a local manufacturer to create a plastic mold or a 3-D printer prototype and try to develop it on your own. If creating a small business is not your goal, search for an outdoor product inventor club or ask a molding manufacturer if they have customers who produce similar product solutions. You never know, your invention could help countless people in multiple generations step out into the great outdoors in comfort and style.

 

1. Consumervue Executive Summary, 2014, Outdoor Industry Association

2. Consumervue Executive Summary, 2014, Outdoor Industry Association

Plastic blow molded parts assembled and packaged for shipping.

More Questions to Ask When Choosing a Michigan Plastic Blow Molding Company

Plastic blow molded parts assembled and packaged for shipping.

Plastic blow molded parts assembled and packaged for shipping.

The previous blog entry covered five top questions when researching a Michigan plastic blow molding company. This blog entry covers some of the other considerations when looking for a local plastic blow molding company. We have specified Michigan blow molding company because that is where we are located. However the information isn’t specific to any one state or province. Blow molding companies in southwest Michigan and blow molding companies in China and elsewhere can held to the same standard.

  1. Combine molds for a variety of plastic shapes – Separate mold pieces combined for many different sizes & shapes.  Blow molding may not be the best option for your part, or possibly one element of you part requires blow molding and another part is best suited for injection molding. A consultation with an experienced engineer can offer the most efficient applications to produce a high quality product.
  2. Location – Finding a plastic blow molding manufacturer that has submitted the lowest cost but is located out of state or the country can quickly lose its’ advantage when packaging, freight costs and lead times increase. If the facility you choose has a considerable cost advantage but is located in a nearby state and once freight and shipping is determined still results in a cost savings and meeting shipment scheduling is guaranteed to meet turn around times, close proximity may not be a concern. Many Michigan manufacturers require tier suppliers to be within a specific mile radius which limits options in some cases. If for instance, you are an appliance manufacturer you may not have rules for suppliers location but the convenience of having your parts manufacturers close can reduce cost and valuable lead time.
  3. Turn around – As noted above with the location, turn around time can be critical in the manufacturing industry. The more time required to manufacture parts the more cost per part, thus increasing the cost of the final product. When comparing press capabilities, a penny difference per part of one million parts on a slower press adds up quickly. Considerations must be taken with the speed of design, prototyping, changes, production and fulfillment. If molded parts can be completed within other facilities at the same level of quality at a much faster speed it can reflect in a huge cost savings to the customer and more sales to the manufacturer.
  4. Assembly and Packaging – Often times blow molded or injection molded parts are just one piece of a larger item. For instance blow molding for manufacturers would include the tires on the 4-wheeler tote-a-long in the photo above . However, in this example the body of the product also requires blow molding. Bringing the components together to a completed product in one facility instead of shipping parts to be blow molded in one spot then assembled in another, then packaged in another location is time consuming and expensive. SPI Blow Molding and SPI Industries in Michigan produce the plastic molded parts, assemble, package and ship to the manufacturer or directly to the wholesaler or distributor.  Other items such as food bins that need micro sized parts added and attached can be assembled in SPI blow molding and injection molding facilities. All products will need to be packaged whether products are individual parts, partially assembled or complete products ready for sale. Determining packaging is an important step in the final stages of the manufacturing process. How products will be packaged, from large boxes that will be transported on skids, to small items placed in plastic bags and then into cardboard boxes for shipping or individually into customer provided point of purchase packaging all adds cost and time.
  5. Warehouse direct shipping – Once the plastic molded parts are complete and packaged what is the best method to get products to the next stage? Options from the blow molding manufacturer and injection mold manufacturer for shipping or delivery of items include shipping to warehouses, production facilities, or customer’s business. Some blow molding companies like SPI Blow Molding, offer warehousing and factory direct shipping, and even direct to retailer or end user shipping. This is a valuable service for companies who do not have a fleet of delivery trucks or a fleet service they retain. Keeping manufacturing, assembly, packaging and shipping within one facility reduces cost, staff, and liability. Time savings include, reduced order tracking, order placement, product receiving, staff management, reduced time monitoring and tracking of spending and payroll.

Have we answered all of your questions on blow molding? Hardly! Once you are ready, give us a call or shoot us an email. We can talk to you about your specific product or part and offer suggestions for the best production solution to fit your product application and your time and budget. Meanwhile take a peak at the article about our expansion covered by Plastics News!

example of plastic blow molded part for a toy

Questions to Ask When Choosing a Michigan Plastic Blow Molding Company

example of plastic blow molded part for a toy

Plastic blow molded part for a toy wagon.

Plastic blow molding allows product manufacturers to mass produce items with precision and cost efficiency. Utilizing skillful design and engineering is the first step in developing high quality plastic blow molded parts with lower production cost. There are many other considerations when choosing a blow molding company for your plastic molded parts.

  1. Standard & custom molds – If the blow molded part you need is a universal design such as bottles or jars there are often standard molds that can be used. Utilizing these readily available standard molds reduces time and cost in development. Unique shapes that require custom molds add additional steps to the blow molding process. Design, fabrication, prototyping, fine tuning and creation of the final mold takes time and increases cost. The benefits of developing a custom mold that will be used time and time again for a unique part will reflect savings in the long run. Attempting to fit a custom shape to fit the constraints of standard molds is often not feasible or can require changes in other parts of the end product to produce a high quality functioning part.
  2. Prototype – Prototyping helps you perfect your design before you move into the higher cost stage of production. Engineers develop a design that meets the part specifications and ensures process ability. Engineers create molds, fixtures and product designs on computer aided design (CAD) systems. Dependent on timeframe and budget prototypes can be created in a variety of stages to suit your needs. From standard engineering to a 3-D plastic molded part or a prototype with final finishes in place from chrome, to textures, to final coloring, etc. You can choose what stages of review that is required for your project from concept models to functional prototypes.  A popular prototyping option is 3-D printing. With quick results combined with inexpensive prototyping material costs, 3-D prototyping on 3D printers is revolutionizing product design and accelerating manufacturing lead time.
  3. Plastic Blow Molding Types: The three types of blow molding include Extrusion Molding, Injection Molding, Stretch Blow Molding. All of the blow molding processes include melting of resin otherwise known as plasticizing. They all have inflation and cooling phases within a mold and all are ejected from molds. All three have specific application advantages. Many blow molding manufacturers offer more than one options. It is important to discuss pros and cons of each process for the application of your plastic blow molded part. Generally extrusion blow molding can offer lower costs because of the lower cost of material per unit weight and is well suited for low production runs. Injection molding is capable of producing small intricate parts and more than one material can be sued when utilizing co-injection molding. Stretch molding works great for holding beverages and is used extensively in PET water bottles, seams are less visible or nonexistent.
  4. Industries – Blow molding serves the consumer and industrial product industries. Products for use by consumers are a large sector of blow molded products produced every day. From food storage, beverage bottles and cups, to agricultural sprayers, and garden equipment, games, beauty products, decorative gift items, household products such as chair bases used in furniture manufacturing, etc. Some blow molding companies focus on niche products or categories. It is not uncommon for blow molders and injection molders, to focus on a single industry, such as agricultural, lawn and garden or appliances. SPI Blow Molding and SPI Industries found combining these plastic molding service they could offer a more comprehensive package of solutions for their customers.
  5. Materials and construction – There is an enormous variety of plastic resins to choose from. A wide range of resins have become available over the years to fill the ever increasing demands as plastic part diversity has exploded. The function and finish characteristics of a part dictate the type of resin best suited for the specific part. You will need a molder and material supplier working in concert to solve the most difficult applications.  Do you need extreme light weight?  Do you need food grade that can tolerate high heat environments?  Do you need color fast UV stabilization, or a resin flexible enough to form a multitude of bellows shaped parts? Do you need a hard plastic resin for a theatre seat with double walled construction? From temperature, color, impact, flexibility, and life span an experienced plastic blow molder can provide guidance and recommend the best resin for your application.

 

Did you realize there was so much information about plastic blow molding? There are actually plenty more and we’ll be covering them in the next blog entry. Be sure to check in. Meanwhile, what other questions are considering as you are looking for a plastic blow molding company? Please post them below and check back for answers or contact us directly, we’re happy to help.

SPI Blow Molding Breaks Ground Expands Fulfillment Services

SPI Blow Molding expansion - fulfillment services department  Coloma, MI, SPI Blow Molding LLC, a custom blow molding company is increasing building capacity to implement fulfillment services.

SPI Blow Molding is the sister company to SPI Injection Molding, a custom injection molder in South Bend, Indiana,

The expansion is taking place in two phases. The first is a smaller 2,400 square foot storage building meant to house fixtures and support equipment to the blow molding and fulfillment functions. Construction of this initial phase began in October of this year and should be completed by mid-December.

The second phase, which will be connected to the northwest corner of the current production plant, will be 6,000 square feet. Its primary uses will be secondary assembly, warehousing of work in process and finished goods as well as providing additional capacity for customer supplied components. All of these functions provide added capacity to perform complete fulfillment services for SPI’s valued customers. SPI hopes to begin construction on the larger structure during the spring of 2015.

When both phases have been completed, SPI Blow Molding will have enhanced its ability to mold, assemble, box and ship products to their customers. Products can be fully assembled and drop shipped to end users. Companies can then choose to have blow molded plastic parts shipped to another of their production facilities, a distribution center or directly to their customers. Multiple loading docks allow for ease in large shipments and receiving. Shipments will be transported throughout the United States and overseas.

SPI Blow Molding Fulfillment Services Capabilities:

  • Manufacture, assemble, inspect, package, and ship final products
  • Drop ship orders to our clients’ customers
  • Ability to warehouse products for our customers
  • Dock to stock shipping
  • Ability to use third party transport, mail and delivery systems

SPI Blow Molding provides fulfillment services for The Best Bins Company, headquartered in Minneapolis. SPI currently produces, assembles, warehouses and distributes their bulk food container product line. The bulk container is used for dispensing coffee beans, candies and a wide variety of bulk food items. Having all these capabilities and fulfillment services under the control of the SPI production plants has improved efficiency and saved Best Bin Company both time and money.

SPI Blow Molding provides custom molds and class-A molded parts in a variety of colors. SPI Blow Molding resin capabilities include: High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), Polypropylene, K-Resin, Styrolux, Ethyl Vinyl Acetate (EVA), Polyurethane, Nylon, PETG, and Polycarbonate. Nutraceutical and food products are blow molded from an FDA approved resin.

Along with manufacturing custom molds and molding parts, SPI Blow Molding is a complete manufacturing, fulfillment and distribution center. Newly installed equipment and warehousing space will allow SPI to comfortably offer manufacture, assemble, inspect, package and ship final products.

Expanding SPI Blow Molding’s current manufacturing plant footprint to house the new fulfillment services department will also open up several new jobs to the area.

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SPI’s mission is to provide the best custom molding experience for the injection and blow molded requirements of its valued customers. This experience involves flawless support culminating in successful global product delivery. SPI’s core software, mechanical, and human technologies insure future profitability and growth to its employees, community and customers. SPI’s commitment is embodied in its value statement and quality policy.

SPI Blow Molding molds the HDPE Buzz Ball Football game table that was awarded 2nd place at the Annual Society of Plastics Engineers’ (SPE) Awards. The award was granted in the Industrial Blow Molding Division of the 2nd annual blow molded parts competition. The ABC, SPE Blow Molding competition showcases the latest innovations and advancements in the blow molding industry. The competition was held in conjunction with the 30th Annual ABC and SPE Blow Molding Conference in Chicago, October 5-7, 2014.

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Media Contact for SPI Blow Molding
John Doster 269-488-2752
john.doster@moldedparts.com
3930 Bessemer Rd
Coloma, MI 49038
blow molded game table football

Blow Molded HDPE Table Scores 2nd Place in Industrial Blow Molding Awards

blow molded game table footballSPI Blow Molding molds the HDPE Buzz Ball Football game table that was awarded 2nd place at the Annual Society of Plastics Engineers’ (SPE) Awards. The award was granted in the Industrial Blow Molding Division of the 2nd annual blow molded parts competition. The ABC, SPE Blow Molding competition showcases the latest innovations and advancements in the blow molding industry. Entries in 14 categories for packaging and industrial applications are judged on molding design, manufacturing, material application, sustainability and commercial use. The competition was held in conjunction with the 30th Annual ABC and SPE Blow Molding Conference in Chicago, October 5-7, 2014.

ABC Blow molded parts competition 2014Features of the blow molded HDPE table that caught the judges eye were the configuration of the tackoffs for the blow molded area on the top of the game table as part of the extra deep design.

The Buzzball Table game is a sliding-triangle football game that is a take off of the old folded paper football competitions we played on our school desks and school cafeteria tables back in the day. As you see by photos this blow molded table is similar in size to a foosball table but has adjustable folding legs to allow for portability and storage. These product features were considerations during the mold design process along with the desire to reduce any concerns of warping.

industrial blow molded tackoffsEd Wu of 99Studio Inc. in Naperville, Illinois. along with Alex Lopex of Amiplex, Inc. in Miami, Florida are the designers of the table. Wu has worked with SPI Blow Molding staff for many years and always delivers fun and challenging designs for our blow molding engineers. Always up for a challenge, SPI appreciates the recognition for the work the entire team put in to achieve the award winning results.

industrial-blow-molding-HDPEOther 2014 Blow Molding Competition awards were given to Amcor rigid plastics for the Jack Daniels PET flasks under the blow molded packaging cateogry. First place in the industrial blow molding category was awarded to Coleman Co, inc. for their Esky 135-quart blow molded HDPE cooler.

We’re setting our sights on 1st for blow molding awards 2015! Be sure to check back to see how we score. Give us a call today to discuss ways we can create blow molded packing products or blow molded industrial product solutions.

 

Polycarbonate Packaging – It’s only the beginning

Polycarbonate water dispenser blow moldingAre you in need of a material for your new invention or updated product that has the look and feel of glass and is also strong, durable and bioinert? Do you need the material to be injection molded or blow molded? Polycarbonate plastic meets all of these requirements and more. Polycarbonate packaging is quickly replacing glass containers because of it’s durability, light weight, heat resistance and biologically inert properties.

Physical Benefits of Polycarbonate :

  • high transparency
  • glass like feel
  • good electrical insulator
  • heat resistant
  • flame retardant
  • high impact resistant
  • low scratch resistant
  • dimensional stability
  • lightweight (as opposed to glass)
  • strong
  • durable
  • biologically inert

Because polycarbonate is highly transparent to visible light with a better light transmission than many kinds of glass it is highly sought out for use in food packaging. An example of a polycarbonate packaging solution is a mid-Michigan company that specializes in bulk coffee for sale. Blow molded polycarbonate cylinders dispense coffee beans in self-serve stations in grocery stores throughout the Great Lakes region and the midwest. The ability to provide a container that is impact resistant, transparent, and safe for food storage is key when it will be used in high traffic areas and contain food goods.

As high of an appeal the transparency factor and FDA food grade polycarbonate is polycarbonate food packaging is just one use for this versatile plastic. Many industries and products that utilize molded plastic rely on the special qualities polycarbonate offers. Polycarbonate can be used in medical applications because of it’s ability to be sterilized using steam at 240 degree. Also niche applications like eyewear protect from UV light

From construction materials and automotive accessories to sunglasses, industrial grade polycarbonate is a highly versatile material that can also be extruded through blow molding processes, injection molding processes and more transformational techniques.

blow molded exterior lamp shade

Light Cover (lens)

Industry Served with Polycarbonate Packaging:

  • Furniture – stadium seating lighting,
  • Appliance – refrigerator shelving, washer dryer parts
  • Automotive Industry – dome lights, headlamp lenses, lighting lenses, windscreens, visors for ATV’s and
  • Consumer Goods – drinking glasses, luggage, dishes,
  • Food and Beverage Industry – water bottles, liquids, condiments, etc.
  • Technology – Data Storage, DVDs, compact discs, and BluRay® discs
  • Electronic Components – e-readers, telecommunications, smart phones
  • Construction Industry – noise barrier walls, green house sheeting,
  • Lawn and Garden Industries – tables, water fountains..
  • Medical Applications – sterile pharmaceutical packaging and utensils

These days plastic, Blow molding, and Injection Molding news is often centered around the PET bottles and the great value polycarbonate, brings to packaging but it’s uses truly seem to be limited only by our imaginations. From safety glass panels, UV protected eyewear, automotive interior parts, and drinking glasses at your favorite brew pub, the varied applications polycarbonite lends itself to offer more opportunities to manufacturers in all industries in Michigan, the mid-west and throughout the United States.

Innovative blow molding polycarbonate packaging received rave reviews at this year’s plastics industry awards. Details of the winning designs are covered in this issue of Plastic News.

Give SPI Blow Molding or SPI Industries Injection Molding a call today to see if polycarbonate is the best solution for your newly designed product. Our rates are competitive and our quality can’t be beat.

Click for a quick quote on your blow molding project or injection molding project.

3d printer plastic prototype a type of prototype for your plastic part

Benefits of 3D Printers for Plastic Prototypes

3d printer plastic prototype for plastic manufacturingDo you have a product invention that you think is ready to go to market? Whether you are an established company or a start-up entrepreneur manufacturing plastic prototypes can be costly and time consuming. Historically many new product design concepts never hit the market because of the time and expense involved in creating the prototype to prove the value to investors or stockholders.

Most of the product inventors on Shark Tank would never be able to step foot on stage if they had to rely on traditional plastic manufacturing methods to make their first product prototype! Fortunately the techies have come to rescue to reduce plastic prototype manufacturing costs. Whether your product prototype will be used in the furniture, agricultural, lawn and garden or even appliance or automotive industry a 3-D printer can be a game changer. Inventors and companies with new product lines can now have detailed prototypes without the expense and time commitment of a full production.

Benefits of a 3D Printer for Plastic Prototypes:

  • considerably less cost
  • considerably less time to produce
  • no need to secure factory space
  • no production line set up
  • no jigs or fixtures or expensive dies required
  • low cost for supplies / prototype material
  • reduce or eliminate shipping and procurement cost
  • plastic prototypes can be created in less than a day

The 3D printer specifications for SPI Blow Molding and SPI Injection molding can be found here. A 3D printer can be the solution for many inventions or newly revised plastic parts. Whether the finished part or finished product will require blow molding or injection molding, SPI can provide a quick and inexpensive prototype in your hands within days. All that’s needed are the specifications for the plastic part or plastic product you want to manufacture. SPI will create a design based on your specifications and develop it for the 3D printer and you will have a prototype.

Once a 3D plastic prototype part is tested fine tuning can be done to the design until a final prototype is approved for manufacturing. Production of plastic parts and products can be handled through the SPI Injection Molding plant or SPI Blow Molding plant depending on the product design.

Inventors and designers rejoice – you don’t have to break the bank to get your new product to market when a 3D printer and plastic prototypes allow you to create mock ups inexpensively and quickly until you achieve the perfect product you envisioned.

SPI Industries purchases two new injection molding presses

South Bend, IN – SPI Industries recently took receipt of two Negri Bossi injection molding machines, bringing a total of four Negri Bossi of the company’s 20 molding presses. The first press arrived in February this year with the second arriving in May.

Positioned to not only support the growth of existing customers, but to increase the versatile capacity to serve new customers, SPI acquired the 300 and 500 ton equipment from Negri Bossi based on SPI’s commitment to technical support. Upon installation, the presses are equipped with remote access capability allowing tech support staff to view and exchange processing messages with SPI’s floor technicians. Similarly, technicians can manage machine adjustments from any remote location. This responsive communication increases SPI’s operational efficiencies in order to become more adaptable to customer demands.

Acquisition of the new machines is just one outcome to the organizational improvements at SPI Industries. Beginning the first quarter of 2011, a reconfiguration process of the entire production floor became the focus for operational excellence. The outcome will soon yield a more cellular approach to the manufacturing process. As a result, the enhanced throughput will improve customer response time including an emphasis on in-house added value which was previously outsourced. The SPI value proposition is delivered with a commitment to automation. An automated production facility, driven by the same workforce, provides a solid partnership with SPI customers because parts are produced consistently with repeatable expectations.

SPI Industries is a customer injection molder since 1952 serving freight securement, safety, agricultural, electronics and hand tool markets. Recognizing the diverse nature of customer requirements, SPI markets themselves as a strategic partner with their customers by delivery a unique way of doing business resulting in cross-company integration which supports warehousing, delivery and added value requests.

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