|
1) |
What is your company niche and what does your company do that is
notable,
unique or different?
|
One of our
strong points is that we’ve been building tools from data files since the
mid 1980s. Working with 3D databases is actually our preferred way
to build a tool; so much so that working from a print is almost like
going backwards. We also have the ability to build any size
tooling, from simple hand molds up to 15,000 pounds, so we’re not
confined by the size of a tool. We also have the ability to do a
quick-build. For example, currently we’re building three molds for
Motorola, each a single cavity tool and we’re building them in three
weeks. In the past we’ve built multiple side action tooling with
lifters, etc., in 21 days. We build steel production molds and
aluminum |
Mark Niggemann,
General Manager,
Dynasty Mold Builders, Inc., Wauconda, IL |
production
molds, plus we offer
aluminum prototype molds. Another key selling point is that we
don’t just build molds. We can also assist our customers with their
part design. We have an excellent engineering department and we
often help our customers manufacture their parts better and more
economically.
|
|
2)
|
When and how did you get into the industry, what attracted you to
it?
I got into the trade because my
brother, Doug, was in the trade. He got in because we have an
uncle that has a welding fabricating shop in Addison and he used to
do tool & die welding. That’s how my brother Doug got his first
job in the trade – through my uncle. My second brother got into
the trade after he got out of the service, then I got into the
trade. One of our younger brothers followed us a few years later.
I apprenticed at Karlton Tooling (became Karlton Mold, now
closed). I was on the bench for really only three years as an
apprentice before they moved me off the bench and into the office
to do mold design. Designing and I got along very well together.
Doug did his apprenticeship in Schiller Park at Accurite. We
started Dynasty together in 1980. Makray Manufacturing (Norridge,
IL) bought us out in 2002, primarily due to our financial
situation. Doug left the company just over a year ago but is still
working in the industry.
|
|
3) |
Relate a notable "best time" for your company.
It was 1997. We were up to 38
employees; we were working two shifts but we were virtually open 24
hours a day. We had $5 million in sales and a 20% profit. We were
really busy and things were great! I’m quite sure the entire trade
was doing well during that stretch. That was our best year. From
1980 till 1997 we experienced a steady growth rate. The whole
industry was buzzing, actually. When the industry turned, not long
after that, we just didn’t react fast enough and I think that’s
what got us into trouble. We wanted to try to keep people on, be
loyal to our employees the way they’d been loyal to us, and we
really thought things would turn around sooner than they did. We
had a lot of good people that we tried not to lose. But let’s face
it; the reality was that many of us in the trade were better mold
makers than we were businessmen. It’s a hard thing to admit, but
it’s really true. We focused on our craft and didn’t all know how
to handle the business end of things when the work went dry. It’s
been a tough lesson to learn and many shops closed because of that.
|
|
4) |
Similarly, relate notable challenges that your company has
overcome.
We service our customers to
their requirements. I think almost every customer that we
are doing work for now (mostly custom molders), has off-shore
sources for tooling. It’s something that is inevitable
today. We still get full tool builds, but we also service
tools built off-shore. We do our best not to complain about
it too much (you can always find something wrong with a tool
you didn’t build yourself), and we do the best we can to give
the customer the best tool for their money. We always look
for ways to improve cycle times and production quality, but
money and what the customer is willing to spend is still the
driving factor.
|
One notable challenge we overcame would be the time we built a
two-cavity tool for a paint and trim cup. It was quoted to be
built out of P-20 and that mold is still in production and runs
about a quarter million cycles every month. What we did that
made a huge difference for our customer was we built the cores
out of aluminum-bronze alloy to improve the cycle times. The
molder was able to run the mold at about two-thirds the cycle
time of what they originally quoted it to be – a huge savings
on a high production tool like that. The customer got their
investment back in higher production. Things like that are
where our expertise in engineering really pays off for a
customer willing to let us look closer at designs and work to
improve them. |
Sample Aluminum Mold from
Dynasty Mold Builders, Inc. |
|
|
5)
|
When you are working on projects with your customers, what aspects
would you like them to
better recognize?
Customers that we work the easiest
with are those that pay a lot of attention to the design. The
thing that tends to come back and become a huge arguing point is
when a customer comes and looks at the designs and has more input
when the project is already too far into the build. They don’t
realize that engineering changes at that point mean more time and
money.
They just think “Why? What’s the big deal?” The customer needs to
be paying good attention to the mold design early on. They’re the
ones paying the money for a quality tool and we need them to be
|
clear on what they want up
front. Some customers are very strong in engineering – and we
are that way also. I have some great people here and there are
probably not an awful lot of parts that we can’t build a mold
for. The potential problem is when a customer expects to not
have anything to do with the engineering until later on, then
it’s a second guessing situation and it’s a little late to make
changes without a setback in time and costs. We seldom
outsource our engineering, and our customers know that, so
there is a certain comfort level and comfort zone that makes it
easy for long-time customers to leave us be to run with a
design. But I still believe that’s no reason |
Sample Mold Design Drawing from
Dynasty Mold Builders, Inc.
|
|
not to be involved in the
up-front designs and processes. |
|
|
6) |
List newly acquired technology, machinery or
key personnel (in last
year).
|
We just put a wire EDM on the floor and will also have a new EDM
Sinker on the floor with a 48-tool changer on it before too long. We
also recently upgraded all of our computer systems, our server, etc.
We hired a new person in Engineering, so we now have three Pro-E guys
on staff. We do everything in Pro-E, from design to tool-path. This
started mainly due to a key customer, who mandated that Pro-E be used
or you wouldn’t be a preferred supplier. |
Boring Mill - Dynasty Mold Builders, Inc. |
|
|
7)
|
Has your company recently expanded? Plans to expand or form artnerships/alliances?
We don’t have any current plans for
an alliance. We do have one customer that has tooling built
off-shore and we help support that tooling. If I had to go
off-shore we’d probably go through him. Our main partnership is
with the company that bought us, Makray. We do have plans to
expand and are currently looking to hire two new people for the
shop floor. We’ve been looking for a good junior moldmaker or
machinist, but have not had much luck lately. It makes me wonder
if people who are losing their jobs in this trade are moving on to
other careers that they feel more secure in. I remember when a
mold maker could leave one job and simply walk down the street and
get hired at the next shop the same day. But today it’s
different. There aren’t as many young people coming into the
trade.
|
|
8) |
Are you involved in any industry organizations or educational
programs related to the trade?
We’re members of the American Mold
Builders Association (AMBA) and the Tooling & Manufacturing
Association (TMA). I’m also a member of the Society of Plastics
Engineers (SPE). |
9)
|
What do you think about changes occurring in the industry due to
globalization? How has it
affected the way you do business?
|
As far as how globalization has
changed the way we do business, we’re forced to really look at
how efficiently we can do everything we do. The days are gone
when we could take our time to do everything just so. We have
to watch every hour to try to get the costs and the pricing to
where a customer will even look at it. So we have to be as
efficient as we can possibly be. And then there are the
customers whose tooling projects went elsewhere – They’re
coming back and asking us to repair them and make them work.
If you use the current technology properly, it does reduce the
need for as many highly skilled mold makers on staff. Where
you once needed ten mold makers on the floor, you now only need
maybe three because of the advancements in technology. But
you’ll never totally replace your need for good mold makers and
we still need the skilled machine operators. |
Valve Body Mold - Dynasty Mold Builders, Inc. |
|
|
10)
|
What will the industry look like in 3 to 5 years?
The need for the mold maker, per se,
is going to be reduced. They will still be responsible for the
fitting, assembling, tweaking. The engineering and programming is
going to come into more demand while the demand for mold makers
will lessen. You’re going to have specialized machine operators
that are just making parts. The only way to survive is to be able
to piecemeal the work to wherever you have to in order to get it
done, whether off-shore or not. Shipping is a large part of
globalization – getting the parts where they need to be. More
partnerships will probably form in order to get work done. That’s
something that has never really happened in this industry… working
in partnership with each other because everyone’s always been
afraid of giving away their specialty or edge. If more shops would
instead work together in partnership we could get a lot done and
probably keep a lot more work here. We used to do a lot of work
with other shops before, but haven’t as much lately. I think in
the future you’re going to have to see a cluster of shops working
together to stay competitive. I think you’re going to see more
specialization – companies finding a niche and really doing it well
and forming partnerships with other shops that specialize in some
other area, all working together.
|
|
Additional Background Information |
 Number
of years in business: Company started in 1980
Current number of employees:
15
Current square footage (each
location): 12,400 square feet; 9,600 is shop floor
Additional locations: None
at this time.
Website:
www.dynastymold.com
Types of tools built and/or run:
Injection molds for plastic in steel and aluminum, from
multi-action, multi cavity high production, to single cavity
prototypes.
Industries served: We build
tools for consumer products, appliances, house wares, automotive,
medical, electronics/communications, and point of sale displays.
Contact Information:
Dynasty Mold Builders, Inc.
250 Jamie Lane
Wauconda, IL 60084
Ph: 847-526-0400
info@dynastymold.com
|
|
|