Ben Harrison
Recent Posts
When you operate at the top of your game, reach higher.
Kaysun had already shown its commitment to excellence through its many certifications:
- ISO 13485:2016 (to produce injection-molded components for medical devices)
- IATF 16949:2016 (the quality management system standard for the automotive industry)
- ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations)
These certifications denote injection molding expertise within key industries. Yet, there are always ways to enhance already robust processes, even if few other U.S. injection molders can do it.
Lower material costs. Lower wage costs. A profitable final product price point. There are many reasons why offshore production has been attractive to manufacturers. Then, 2020 happened.
The escalation of the pandemic and global trade tensions exposed inherent risk by disrupting the once-comfortable global manufacturing and supply chain dynamic. Today, concerns still persist regarding supply chain challenges and slow movement through ports. As manufacturers take firmer control of the global supply chain and invest in more local production, they’re enjoying the benefits of “Made In America” manufacturing solutions.
The 1,250 landfills in the United States are projected to reach maximum capacity within the next few decades. Pair that with the fact that, globally, 91% of plastic waste isn’t recycled, and the devastation of the eco-crisis becomes shockingly real.
Protecting the planet is everyone’s responsibility, including — and perhaps especially — corporations routinely using eco-sensitive materials. As a custom injection molder, Kaysun handles thousands of tons of plastics annually which are processed into injection-molded parts.
For decades, U.S. manufacturers leveraged the benefits of globalization. The lower costs, lower wages, and competitive final product price points of the global supply chain were powerful incentives for using overseas suppliers.1
But 2020 changed everything.
Pandemic-related import shortages, fuel and freight cost spikes, and extended delivery-time delays made the once-attractive total cost of offshoring much less appealing to OEMs. The low bottom-line price of an overseas supplier no longer outweighed the benefits of partnering with U.S.-based suppliers. Manufacturers migrated production — and a projected 350,000 jobs in 2022 alone — back to the United States.2
On April 12-14, 2022, the Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, California) will play host to the 13,000 attendees and 1,400 exhibitors of Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) West 2022.
Consumer applications are diverse. Simply having products on the market isn't enough to build a customer base or keep pace with the competition.
Understanding the latest plastic injection molding industry trends — and partnering with a custom injection molder to apply them in creating highly differentiated products — translates to sustained success. It also gives you greater control over quality, cost, and time to market.
Injection molding industry trends suggest that a number of factors influence applications within the consumer market, such as:
On September 28, 2020, the world reached the sad and sobering milestone of 1 million deaths caused by COVID-19. In the three ensuing months, approximately 625,000 more deaths were added to the tally, and the nearly 73 million active cases around the global are added to daily — and at astounding rates.1
The pandemic has populations scared and experts stymied as to how to manage and eventually eradicate the virus. For obvious reasons the medical and healthcare industries are leading the charge in terms of innovation, with antimicrobial resins and antimicrobial polymers playing major roles in effective solutions.
When it comes to injection molding partners, OEMs have two options: commodity or custom. In essence, the choice is that of pared-down services or comprehensive problem-solving. Both approaches have their merits, and the application often drives the decision.
However, if framed as a value-add for an OEM beyond immediate project need, custom injection molders often win the day. Their advanced capabilities and in-house services streamline supply chains — a quality and cost management win for OEMs — but there’s more. When a sophisticated process like plastic injection molding assembly is called for, custom injection molders are instrumental in buying down risk.
The consumer market is demanding. The need for and availability of products is largely predicated on economies wherein consumer purchase confidence can be fickle. It leaves consumer market OEMs to balance product quality, performance, and cost to remain competitive.
It also compels them to be purposeful in creating and maintaining their supply chain. Suppliers that have proven proficiencies across a range of needs provide a stable framework upon which an OEM can build a versatile — and valuable — partnership.
