The TPR interviewed Jay Honsaker, President of Design Molded Plastics, Inc. in Macedonia, OH.  DMP specializes in custom plastic injection molding and labels itself a “customer-driven company” with an emphasis on high quality workmanship and high
quality results. 

What is your company niche, and what does your company do that is notable, unique or different?

We are a Custom Injection Molder that services many industries including, small appliance, medical equipment, sports equipment, automotive component and agricultural packaging.  Our diverse customer base provides for consistent sales volume throughout the year.  We do not experience high and low peak cycles due to this business strategy.  Our niche is “QUALITY”.  We ship over 50 million engineered components each year with a 5.8 sigma level, considered by many as “World class quality”. Our quality goals are set at 0 PPM.  We are ISO 9001:2000 registered and work diligently at becoming the “Best of the Best”.  Our culture here breeds quality and consistency; we accept nothing less.  Although we are not unique by nature as a custom injection molder, we do operate vastly different than our competition.  To give one example, we offer same day shipment from one box to an entire truckload.  Our philosophy, which provides the foundation to our ability to service our customers’ delivery requirements, is to carry a minimum of 30 days of finished inventory for every customer.  I know this breaks all the rules about lean manufacturing methods…but it works and at a surprisingly low cost when compared to the high capital cost and personnel required for Lean Mfg.  Also you must take into consideration the risk associated with missing a delivery and jeopardizing the customer and the relationship. The greatest risk I see with Lean Mfg methods in this business is a catastrophic mold failure.  Molds can take several weeks to repair if such an occurrence should take place.  We simply will not take that chance.  

When and how did you get into the industry, what attracted you to it?

Design Molded Plastics was incorporated in April, 1985, by its two principles, myself and Diane Hanson, our Secretary -Treasurer.  The attraction conflicts with all business models.  I simply was intrigued by the molding process.  Here is what I say to those who ask…if you
love what you do for a living, then you don’t work a day in your life!  

Relate a notable "best time" for your company. 

We have enjoyed many.  Probably the first was in 1987 when we received our first quarter million dollar account.  The second most notable was when we built our 34,000 sq foot (at that time) molding plant in 1995.  Perhaps lastly, a best time was when we hit the $10 million sales goal in 2004.  Our growth has exceeded 16% per year over the last 5 years and, considering the attack on the US on 9-11 and the repercussion it had on our economy, we are very proud of that.

Similarly, relate notable challenges that your company has overcome.

Our challenge is to identify customer needs and then develop methods to service that need.  We found our customers’ greatest need was engineering support with injection molded part design.  The most notable customer challenge that we were able to meet involved a new innovation that a company, which specializes in commercial and home building applications, had failed with.  Without divulging the company name I will be as concise as possible.  To set the tone, the (at the time) prospective customer was dealing with having its newest ($20 million) plant shut down due to its then current molder’s inability to make a good part.  One of our customers that we’d already proven our capabilities to in terms of part design and part production was good enough to refer us to the company and suggested they contact us.  With that said, we had a meeting at our facility with the prospective customer that same day, as they happened to be in Cleveland.  We flew out the following week to visit their facility and speak with engineering and purchasing.  When we sat down at the conference room table, I had a 1-inch thick contract sitting on the table before me. They were serious and had full intent on moving forward with us.  We learned their failures and invested in a testing machine in order to qualify our parts as we made adjustments in the part design.   The main problem was that the parts were collapsing due to post mold shrinking.  So we designed a prototype to determine what the shrinkage was for the part so that the production mold would be built to the right specs.  We built a two-cavity prototype mold (TWO Cavity for a prototype is unheard of; typically a prototype mold consists of one cavity).  We knew just how desperate they were so we built a two-cavity mold in order to get them up and running while we constructed two 4-cavity molds for full production.  We have shipped approximately 16MM parts over the past four years, allowing our customer to gain market share and increase profitability.  The part design itself was a challenge; however the tool design was of equal importance.  We design our customer molds in house using Pro Engineer 3d modeling software.  We know what we need in a mold and design the mold to meet our exact requirements.  Most molders struggle because they have little input in the mold design.  I believe to be a successful supplier in this business you must have three key components established. They are: (1) a good part design, (2) A robust tool design, and (3) The mold must be constructed to exact specification meeting all tolerances of that design.  At the end of the day that project was a major success for us.  It’s an example of what we strive to do for every customer.   

When you are working on projects with your customers, what aspects would you like them to better recognize?  

Short and simple….The importance of good part design and the value of a high quality mold.

List newly acquired technology, machinery or key personnel (in last year).

The list is long…

• 6 new Battenfeld injection molding machines ranging from 143 tons to 440 tons

• 5 New 6-axis Servo robots

• Additional resin drying and conveying equipment

• Plant expansion to accommodate 10 additional molding machines

• Additional overhead crane capacity

• We also added management personnel. 

Has your company recently expanded? Plans to expand or form partnerships/alliances?

We have developed two China tooling sources this year.  While we strongly support U.S. manufacturing and source the majority of our tooling from U.S. suppliers, there are instances when tooling made in Asia is an advantage for our customers.  I must have visited at least 20 plants on the Mainland before finding two that would fit our quality requirements.  As for how we utilize their services, it comes down to size of tooling that is manageable for each of these.  One company is located in Guangzhou, northwest of Hong Kong, and it can handle larger tooling (ie, up to 10,000 or 12,000 lbs), but not overly complicated tooling.  The second company is located in Shanghai and offers higher quality tooling due to being more westernized and having a more highly skilled workforce.  Shanghai is where most U.S.-based manufacturing companies started their Asian operations and this is where our more sophisticated tooling will be produced for customers requesting Chinese tools.

Are you involved in any industry organizations or educational programs related to the trade?

Society of Plastic Engineers member since 1994.

What do you think about changes occurring in the industry due to globalization? How has it affected the way you do business?

I truly believe competition is what drives world class companies to successful futures.  Competition globally is an eye opening experience.  Those that don’t respect global competition will be rudely awakened.  American manufacturers can be globally competitive providing we don’t waste labor, as labor does command a higher cost here in the States. Industry leaders automate.  Automation costs have become very reasonable (again due to global competition) and that in itself demonstrates the importance of global competition.  Although we do not ship our products overseas, we see ourselves as being globally competitive by not forcing our customers overseas for lower pricing.  We work diligently at lowering costs for our customers by working ever more efficiently every day.  Continuous improvement of operational efficiency is an ongoing challenge that strengthens our future.  We also recognize the importance of on-time delivery; we ship product the same day the product is released.  This is of great value to our customers.  Scheduling overseas shipments can be a great challenge in itself.  I think from a delivery standpoint we offer our customers great comfort. 

What will the industry look like in 3 to 5 years?

That’s the $1MM question.  My take on it is this.  Only the strong will survive, as we see that happening now.  Strength comes from the discipline to be a market leader.  Market leaders are receptive to changes and innovators of products or processes. It takes commitment and to be relentless on quality and cost.  Remember this…”TOTAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION! “ 

Additional background information:

Number of years in business: 21  

Current number of employees: 90 

Current square footage (each location): Manufacturing 62,000 Sq feet, Warehouse 27,500 Sq feet 

Additional locations: None at this time. 

Website: Designmolded.com 

Types of tools built and/or run: Single to 32 cavity Injection Molds weighing up to 10,000 lbs 

Industries served: Small Appliance, Medical equipment, Sports equipment, Automotive component and Agricultural packaging                       

Contact Information: 

Design Molded Plastics, Inc.
8220 Bavaria Rd.
Macedonia, Ohio 44056
Phone: 330 / 963-4400
Fax:      330 / 963-4300
Email:  DMP@designmolded.com