Tips for the plastics industry to grow in the crisis

There are times when production is at capacity, energy is busy and your company can hardly keep up with growth. Its possibilities seem endless. Then there are times when things don’t go as planned. Production slows, contracts evaporate, and all you see is uncertainty.

While we all prefer the excitement (and profitability) of growth, crises like the one we are experiencing also offer opportunities. This is a time for planning, maintenance and reassessment.

By starting to work with a growth mindset, you have the opportunity to create new efficiency opportunities for your business. We recommend that you take advantage of these days to prepare yourself to be even more successful when things normalize. Today, we will look at 8 ways injection molders and extruders can prepare for growth during slow periods.

Learn new methods and be open-minded about new processes

When we are successful and busy, it is hard to slow down and see how to improve what you’re doing. Now is a good time to step back and see what you can do differently.

Train your people and improve old habits

Take a look at your current processes and see if there are areas you can improve. Spend some time focusing on your weaknesses to improve production when things happen again.

Reinforce best practices

As important as it is to recognize the areas where you can improve, it is equally important to recognize the areas where you excel. Write down what you do well and make sure everyone on your team understands and uses best practices.

Keep your unused gear

Sometimes challenging business conditions can feel like they will never end. This is not reality. You must prepare to get things up and running again. Keep your processing equipment unused, so it’s ready when you get back to 100%. Also, make sure you don’t cannibalize your machines for spare parts in the meantime. This strategy is a short-term correction that will come back to haunt you.

Fix and Restore Your Equipment

You may have some machines dealing with persistent issues in the plastic company. Take the time to fix them now so that these issues don’t arise in the future. Your entire team will be better for this.

Test everything

Take advantage of machine time to do all kinds of tests: new materials, PPAPs on other machines to consolidate production, experiment with designs and validate cause and effect. When else can you make this a priority without downtime that hurts your bottom line?

Reconsider Projects you have put off later

Most processors had some designs that didn’t fit well at a given time. Look at the list of things you have put off until another time. There’s a good chance that one of these projects will save you time and/or money.

Implement a cleaning program

After testing, you will establish processing baselines. Use these baselines when working with a purge specialist to determine the best options for your resins, processing temperatures, and process.

Preparing for success

The benefits of implementing a purge program during difficult times. Here are some benefits of implementing and maintaining a value-added removal program that lasts well beyond these challenging and uncertain times:

Improves safety, as proper removal prevents injury and equipment damage.
Improves the machine’s ability to produce more salable parts and reduce the cost per hour of machine time. Also, this opens up some time for maintenance personnel to do what they should be doing.
Maintenance improves in general, focusing more on preventive measures and less on corrective measures.
Better use of resources, which is reflected in better profit margins.
Improves first pass throughput and protects the environment by reducing unsalable scrap and energy required for machine life.
Ease of getting the job done, helping process personnel makes changes faster and easier.
Help the purchasing team reduce supply stress with better delivery time and inventory control. As a clean purge compounds dramatically reduce the cost per purge of processors. Quality purge compounds generally require fewer products to do the job. This reduces overall material expenditure.

Conclusion

During tough times, plastic company have the opportunity to improve your business in countless ways. The 8 tips we have outlined can give you a dramatic edge over the competition. Be proactive and you can break bad habits, identify opportunities and reinforce best practices. Together, any combination of these steps will help make your life easier and improve plant efficiency when you resume operations.