Custom Plastic Injection Molding Industry in China

Twenty years ago, a custom injection molding company worth $30 million was considered a top-tier enterprise. Today, due to mergers, acquisitions, and growth rates surpassing the national average, such companies are considered small. Therefore, even though individuals can establish a small injection molding business for less than $1 million, the chances of success are slim unless the Plastic Injection Molding company has the special ability to provide or establish good financial relationships with one or two clients.

Furthermore, entering the custom injection molding business with two or three presses and minimal capacity means entering a fiercely competitive market crowded with thousands of molders.  Because many plastic injection molding molders with sales under $1 million per year rarely provide secondary services, they compete on price. This results in low profit margins and low survival rates. As a good reputation plastic injection molding factory, JBR offers secondary decoration services.

The barrier to entry into custom injection molding is significantly raised when the demand for world-class molding facilities is combined with state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities. Like many thirty years ago, entering the plastic injection molding business with a small investment now requires a substantial amount of financial investment. This typically necessitates collaboration with banks, equipment leasing or lending institutions, as well as financial support from private investors to gather the capital needed for success.

Similarly, the barrier to entry for exclusive operations conducted for a good return on investment is also high. Simply purchasing plastic injection molding machines and auxiliary equipment and leaving them in place without long-term improvements is insufficient. Self-sustaining businesses must not only make initial investments but also be prepared to maintain technological alignment.

Finding niche markets and focusing

Most custom molders in today’s business have found niche markets. Through experience, molders become proficient in molding specific types of parts or molding specific types of materials, or they become savvy in working in specific sections of the market. In other words, they gain expertise and stick with it. Exclusive molders inherit a market or series of products but must develop the same expertise and focus as custom molders.

Today, it is increasingly evident that if you want to start a factory or a business, you either have the opportunity already or you must find a niche market—a specific market or product line—and focus on molding for that market or customer. Will you mold large parts? Small parts? Do you want to be a molder of small batches, high-value parts? Or large batches, low-cost parts? Most people would say they want to be molders of large batches, high-value parts. If it could work out that way.

For example, millions of disposable medical components like syringes are manufactured and used every day. However, the return on each of these devices is only a tenth of a cent. Quality and manufacturing requirements are extremely strict, and plastic injection molding parts are often made from transparent or translucent materials, which adds to the difficulty of molding. To be profitable, molders choosing such large-volume medical work must find ways to keep manufacturing costs low and increase efficiency.

Some molders prefer molding small-batch parts for high-value products, which often offer higher profit margins. For instance, boxes housing IV drip monitors must meet stringent appearance standards and can only be produced in quantities of 100,000 per year. Others prefer molding parts such as gears that remain out of sight, meaning that while fit and function are still critical, appearance requirements are not as stringent.

Finally, simply plastic injection molding parts, packaging them in boxes, and sending them to customers is often not enough, traditionally referred to as “shoot and ship.” Many manufacturers now seek design and engineering services, tooling assistance, and expertise in post-mold decoration and assembly from molders. Exclusive molders are also more likely to combine several auxiliary functions with basic part molding.

All these factors add up to determining where and what kind of facility needs to be built.

Factory Layout

Assuming you have the funding for a startup or a budget for headquarters, you can start physical construction of the factory. Whether you’re building or buying, the layout of the factory is a crucial consideration factor for efficient, profitable operations. Allocate approximately 1000 square feet of space for each molding machine; this includes offices, molding/production, secondary operations, quality control, material storage, and mold maintenance and repair areas.

You should also consider whether cleanroom plastic injection molding is necessary; whether material handling is manual or done through an automated pneumatic conveying system (or a combination); the location of material storage areas; and whether the manufacturing layout will enhance production efficiency and minimize part handling in molding, assembly, and any other secondary operations.

If you require some level of cleanroom plastic injection molding—typically needed for medical and electronic parts—you must decide how to achieve it. Various types of cleanrooms include Class 100, Class 1000, Class 10,000, and Class 100,000. Each level has its own standards and must meet certain requirements as stipulated by FDA guidelines. Class 100 is the strictest, and Class 100,000 is just a “clean environment,” hence easier to achieve.

If material handling is done manually, i.e., using forklifts to transport gaylords or 1000-pound resin containers to the presses, you must allocate enough space to accommodate the forklifts. If pneumatic conveying systems are to be used, then you might consider setting up a closed material storage channel between rows of presses, which keeps bags and bagged materials out of sight but accessible for press use.

Central material handling systems have become increasingly popular in recent years. Such systems place resins, dryers, hoppers, and mixers in one location, often in a basement beneath the presses or a mezzanine above the presses. Vacuum pumps and small pneumatic loaders on each machine move resin from the centrally located hoppers to the presses via a network of piping. Such a setup allows bulky gaylords and dryers to be out of the way, permits machines to be closer together on the floor, and simplifies material handling since all resins can be managed from one location. While the purchase and installation costs of central systems are higher, they typically offer higher efficiency in the long run.

As an employer, you’ll quickly find out what many plastic injection molding molders have already known: finding and retaining reliable production employees is extremely challenging. A competitive job market poses a significant challenge for many molders. One way to address this issue is to rely more on robotics and automation to perform tasks that could originally be done manually. Robots can be used to pull parts out of molds, remove sprues, and perform some assembly work. Most robot systems are installed on top of presses, and they themselves might not impact the factory layout. However, you may choose to combine conveyors or other part-handling equipment with robots. Ensure enough space is left to accommodate such equipment.

In general, the design of secondary operation spaces can be done in one of two ways—either as a separate area or room dedicated to such activities or adjacent to the press. The choice depends on the types of secondary operations to be performed and the available space. Some custom injection molding molders prefer to perform secondary operations alongside the press after each cycle, to minimize handling and maximize operator time.

This also can improve efficiency as parts don’t have to be boxed, moved, unpacked, and then repacked for secondary operations. Reducing part handling is also easier, thus lowering scrap rates—which is another important consideration. This necessitates considering all operations together and setting them up in units typically dedicated to a single product or component, sometimes containing multiple parts.

The way plastic injection molding facilities are set up and the decisions that come with it depend on the type of market you serve, the type of parts you need to mold, and the requirements your customers (internal or external) have for you