With the shifting pressures in the global supply chain, it’s never been a better time to expand or diversify your product offerings and to consider your silicone manufacturing options here in the United States.
You may be looking to offer silicone products to be used in infant or personal care, medical settings, in the home, or for a variety of business needs across industries (such as promotional products or pet products). No matter which silicone products you are planning on launching, it is important that you find a manufacturer that meets your needs.
Here’s how to find the right silicone injection molder for you:
Finding a Manufacturer
If you’re considering creating new silicone products or are looking to re-shore your manufacturing process, there are a few key points that you should consider when looking for a silicone injection molder.
First and foremost, you should evaluate your needs and vision. Most long-term manufacturing partnerships flourish when there are shared values that both your company and your manufacturer hold. For example, if sustainability is important to you, it’s important that you find a manufacturer that shares this value or you might not agree with their production process.
Once you have these values in mind, determine your target market, timeline and understand the volume you require. You want to find a manufacturing partner who can be with you from ideation to production that can support low volume production and scale with you as you ramp into higher volume production. The more details you have about your product the better.
This is something we take pride in at Extreme Molding. We’ve helped numerous customers, supporting them from prototype creation (even as few as five units) to rapidly scaling to hundreds of thousands within a year's time frame.
Getting Started with a Manufacturer
One of the most important things you can do when choosing a silicone manufacturer is to create Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) files. CAD files are 2D and 3D depictions of your product stored as digital files. They specify sizing, tolerances, critical dimensions, and shape of your product and function to give the manufacturer a more accurate idea of what it will take on their end to produce your silicone product.
CAD files are often one of the initial requirements that manufacturers need during the consultation phase and one of the most important when it comes to verifying and validating production requirements for your product. If you’re looking to find a manufacturer, make sure your CAD files are ready to go to begin the process smoothly.
What Makes a Good Manufacturer?
When looking for a good silicone product manufacturer you should also consider:
Local Silicone Manufacturers
Looking for manufacturers that are based in the USA means finding molders who are more likely to get to know your company on a personal level and be interested in spending time with you in a partnership. Because silicone production is a fast-paced process that comes with a host of challenges and potential road blocks, it is important to have a manufacturer that you trust and can get in touch with quickly regarding changes and additional needs. Silicone products made in the USA are high-quality, and that starts with a high quality relationship.
Local manufacturers cut down on product development time as they can meet in person and have meetings and phone calls during normal operating hours. From a sustainability standpoint - fuel consumption, less packaging, and greenhouse gas emissions are exponentially lower than it would be for something to be brought in from overseas. From a financial and logistical standpoint - shipping charges, transit times, and other resources are also much lower.
Speed of Production & Fulfillment
A good manufacturer will meet and exceed your deadlines when it comes to production. Turn-around time from production to shipping tends to be quicker for products produced in the USA, and can lead to reduced overall costs.
Production Team Expertise
Find a manufacturer who employs skilled workers who have years of experience in the highly complex environment of silicone injection molding. High quality, experienced, staff can produce high quality silicone products and have the ability to advise on your product design, material selection, and other processes. Ideally, your manufacturer is a partner with you throughout the entire production process rather than just a vendor. They should be willing and able to provide advice when you need it.
No matter which silicone products you are going to manufacture, the products will only be as good as the manufacturer they come from. Consider your company’s manufacturing and production needs, generate your CAD files, and look for high quality silicone injection molding manufacturers in the United States that can assist you best.
Choose Experience
At Extreme Molding our experts will advise on every step of the silicone injection molding process. Once you bring us your CAD drawing files, we’ll be able to offer advice on design and material selection as well as secondary processes you might require.
Contact us today for a free consultation on your CAD files.
