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Case study - Environmental
Efficiently meeting rising product demand
Solidification Products International makes oil spill containment and facility maintenance products, and prides itself on an industry standard of cost-effective, 100% reliable control products.
The parts
A mounting collar and flange, and later the PetroPlug cartridge system - components used in oil spill containment at industrial and utility facilities.
The problem
Demand was rising and the parts were being fabricated rather than molded: PVC cut, machined and then assembled by hand. That approach works at low volume and stops working the moment volume grows, because cost and lead time scale linearly with every additional unit instead of flattening out.
The PetroPlug cartridge compounded it. The assembly was held together with machine screws, so every unit carried both the screws and the labor to drive them.
What we did
We automated the manufacturing process, replacing fabricated PVC and its machining and assembly steps with molded components.
The tooling was designed in aluminum with interchangeable components, so a family of related parts shares a base rather than each variant requiring its own complete mold. For a product line that keeps adding configurations, that decision keeps paying out.
We also selected an alternative rigid PVC that would withstand utility testing - the material had to survive the qualification, not merely mold well - and converted the PetroPlug cartridge to a twist-and-snap assembly, designing the retention into the molded geometry and removing the machine screws entirely.
Color as a product feature
The parts had previously been available in black only. We introduced custom color for brand recognition, and color-matching for private label options, which turned a manufacturing constraint into something the customer could sell against.
The result
- 0
- Machine screws in the cartridge assembly
- 1 tool
- Aluminum base with interchangeable components
- Custom
- Color and private label matching, previously black only
Cost and production time both came down, and the transition of remaining machined components to molded parts is ongoing.
If you are still machining or hand-assembling something that could be molded, see capabilities or send us the part.
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