China Fixes Boost Plastic Shops

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China Fixes Boost Plastic Shops
R&D Patterns & Moldings

Some plastic molding shops in Los Angeles County are reclaiming a portion of business lost to competitors overseas by fixing faulty equipment made there.

“We’ve been getting a lot of molds that have been manufactured in China for repair,” said Grant Lappe, owner of R&D Patterns & Moldings in Santa Fe Springs. “Half of my business is now repairs.”

Plastic molding is the process of creating products and parts in different shapes and sizes. There are two main types of molding shops in the Los Angeles area these days – some make molding machines, and others use the machines to form parts designed for use by various customers.

Lappe’s company designs and makes molds for local parts suppliers – a roster of contractors whose customers range from aerospace companies to retailers. Some molds can sell for up to $15,000, depending on the design of the part.

Increasing numbers of customers are now asking Lappe to fix defective molds that have been made in China and proved faulty due to variances in specifications.

Defective parts that have been put into high-volume production lines have caused delays for a number of manufactures in the region, he said.

The repair work has boosted revenue at Lappe’s three-person shop last year by 5 percent to $630,000, which he attributes largely to the labor-intensive repair work, he said.

“Once you make a mold, it’s not that easy to change,” he said.

In La Mirada, Plant Manager Phil Larsen of product parts manufacturer MOD Roto Production, said he’s also done repair work relating to goods made in China.

“I once had to re-do an order for latches because the mold used in China had issues,” Larsen said.

Colleagues at other companies also have had to fix molds made in China, Larsen said.

Re-shoring

Molding businesses have a large and broad customer base, and mass produce components for television sets, telephones, street signs, automotive and aerospace parts, among others.

There are about 350 companies that make plastics molds and products in the county, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., which tracks them as part of the plastics industry cluster.

Competition from China has been a challenge for many manufacturers. Larger mold makers once turned to China for cheaper production and labor costs, a practice known as off-shoring.

But re-shoring, the reverse of off-shoring in which manufacturing processes are brought back to the U.S., is a newer trend driven by timing and quality standards, according to John Anderson, director of operations at Torrance-based California Manufacturing Technology Consultants, a consulting service for manufacturers.

“Off-shoring was an issue for plastic molding, but what we’re hearing from our members is that it’s stemmed somewhat now,” he said. “Part of the reason for re-shoring is the quality and the amount ordered.”

U.S. companies faced with shipments of parts from China that are damaged or not well-fitted are finding that it makes sense for financial and logistical reasons to get repairs done here instead of sending them back to China, Anderson said.

One of California’s biggest plastic molding companies is Nelson-Miller Inc., maker of keypads, dials, nameplates, other electronic assemblies, and switches for clients that include Boeing Co. and Honeywell International Inc.

The company keeps its headquarters and an assembly plant in Glassell Park, northeast of downtown, but its manufacturing operations are solely in China.

President Jim Kaldem said mistakes by the company’s Chinese partners could potentially delay delivery for weeks.

“I can empathize with the smaller molding shops who have lost business to China, but if they’re getting business with these repairs, good for them.”

CMTC’s Anderson said for manufacturers, most increase in business still come from a strong economy.

“The amount of orders molders get, whether it’s (from) repairs or not, goes up when the economy is up,” he said.

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