EPP Corporation-Plastic Machining Experts » News

Plastic Machining: EPP Corporation is Now on Google +

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:02:45 +0000

EPP Corporation is pleased to announce the introduction of our Google + page.

Plastic machining and plastic prototypes expert Engineered Plastic Products Corporation can now be found on Google +.

Add America’s Premier Plastic Machining Supplier to your circle today

We will provide informative plastic machining and plastic prototypes advice, as well as post photos and video

Click Here to visit EPP Corporation’s Google Plus Page

EPP Corporation: America’s Premier Plastic Machining Supplier- an ISO Certified American supplier of machined plastic parts with over 35 years of experience, specialized in custom plastic machining for the aerospace, instrumentation, medical,fluid power, and military industries. Capable of short-run, quick-turn plastic prototypes, CNC Milling, CNC Lathe, Screw Machining, and Custom Plastic Manifolds. For more information or to request a quote, please free to contact us at 847-952-8400 or sales@eppcorp.com

Plastic Machining: Plastic Machining Expert and EPP Corporation CEO Alex Curtiss Interviewed by Dustin Mattison

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:16:05 +0000

Plastic Machining expert, EPP Corporation President and CEO Alex Curtiss was interviewed by Dustin Mattison from the Kinaxis Supply Chain Expert Community on July 26, 2011. Play the video below to hear Mr. Curtiss and Mr. Mattison discuss the subject of how U.S. manufacturers remain competitive compared to Asian sourcing.

Here’s a small excerpt from Mr Curtiss’ interview:

“The key is a combination of commitment and flexibility. EPP has found that a lot of customers come back to them. EPP is ISO Certified and they guarantee 100% quality. When the material goes in, it goes right to the line, most of their customers don’t even check their parts. If they want anything at all EPP sends a written quality report with it, but most customers don’t request this.”

EPP Corporation would like to extend its thanks to Mr. Mattison

For more on Alex Curtiss’ interview visit the page on Dustin Mattison’s blog

For more on why to select a domestic plastic machining vendor visit EPP’s Stay Domestic Blog

Plastic Machining: Machined Plastic Components-A Low Cost, New Product Development Solution In a Down Economy

admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:38:37 +0000

New product development teams nationwide are frustrated with corporate cost cutting and lack of capital for their R&D plans. Valuable projects are put on hold because R&D budgets cannot cover the expensive introductory costs of new tooling and initial manufacturing of new designs. In today’s economic environment, corporate cost cutting is needed to help companies survive the recession. However, if companies can develop new products that provide value at today’s price levels, they will emerge from this recession well ahead of the competition.

Many companies are searching for ways to move new product development projects forward without breaking the bank on initial investments. Research and development, prototypes, and pilot run quantities have to be completed with very minimal investment and without compromising flexibility of quantity and design.

Smart companies have employed strategies to enhance their new product development. A good example lies in companies manufacturing products that contain plastic parts. If projects have plastic components, then the cost of tooling can be a huge obstacle. Tooling and molds can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The solution: have the plastic parts machined. Prototypes as well as the first few years of production quantities can be produced for a fraction of the cost.

Machined plastic parts include little or no tooling charges, and can be delivered in two weeks. While molding requires full commitment to a part’s design, design changes to plastic machined parts cost absolutely nothing. Request a Quote from a quality plastic machining vendor for a fast, cost-effective solution for new product development and launches.

Contact EPP Corporation now to see how plastic machining can help your new product hit the market and put your company ahead of the game!

Plastic Machining: Announcing Short-Run, Quick-Turn Plastic Prototype Capability

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:06:02 +0000

Exciting News for Current and Future EPP Plastic Machining Customers

EPP Corporation is pleased to announce short-run, quick-turn Custom Plastic Prototypes with delivery in one week or less.

· Plastic prototypes in one week or less
· Highest quality on tolerances up to +/- .001″
· Both simple & complex 3D parts are welcome
· Free application engineering available

Plastic Machining: How to Save on Plastic Machined Parts

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:54:28 +0000

Current purchasing methods evaluated

Traditionally, buyers send requests for quote to three plastic machining vendors each time a requirement for low volume components presents itself. The plastic machining vendor then provides a quote on the best price in several quantities with their best delivery. After all quotes are evaluated, purchase orders are placed with the lowest bidder. Ironically, this process is the most expensive way to purchase machined components, particularly for recurring, smaller quantity parts requirements.

The traditional method incurs unnecessary costs in the following key areas:

Administrative Costs
Unit Cost
Inventory
Inspection

Administrative Costs
The first cost associated with this practice is the cost of soliciting the quote and the analysis of the information. The admin time to issue the quote, phone, fax or email the request and collect the numbers can range from $15-50 per part depending on the company over head which can result in a total cost of $45-150 to solicit three bids. The cost is multiplied by the number of times per year, which can be 2-3 times. That is $135-450 annual cost per part before an order is placed.

Unit Cost
The second issue is the unit cost itself. Most vendors evaluating a request for quote are unsure how the order will be placed. They wonder if the order will be a one-time order, whether it will be the only order for this part this year, when the order will be placed and what the schedule will be. If they need raw material to produce the part, the material needs on the quote are based on the quoted quantity only and, because of the uncertainty, will represent a higher cost. Uncertainty and low volume can add 15-20% or more in the unit cost.

Inventory
The next cost incurred by the conventional system is inventory. Most companies purchase 3-6 months supply per order. This is inventory which sits on the shelve waiting to be assembled into a billable sale. Depending on the cost of money this inventory can cost ½% / month to 1% per month and can translate to several hundred to many thousands of dollars (or millions) of cost that is sitting on the shelf. That is a waste of working capital and profit.

Inspection
The incoming inspection process incurs additional costs. The inspection department ordinarily inspects each shipment received. Quality inspectors are well-paid professionals and each inspection can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours depending on the complexity of the part. Assuming that a normal part takes about an hour, an average cost could run $80-100. Add to that cost the time the parts are in inventory waiting to be inspected which could be a day or a week. That represents additional working capital wasted.

The most cost effective purchasing method

Over the past fifteen years EPP Corporation has developed a proven supply chain management system that produces maximum savings for customers. EPP’s system works as follows:

The buyer provides drawings for all plastic machined parts that will be needed for their production over a 12-month period and gives a rough estimate of annual quantity. The quantity is not set in stone, but is necessary as a benchmark.
EPP evaluates all the plastic machined parts together as one requirement. Material needs are combined and submitted to the material vendor. The material vendor is advised that the material will be released as needed and is expected to hold the price for one year. In the end, materials saving can exceed 20%.
Production costs are evaluated next, and reduced to accommodate efficiency improvement expectations. Parts will be scheduled and run when similar components are being produced in order to save on tooling changes. Also, machining time is often reduced each time a repeat part is run. EPP plans for these improvements and calculates the 10-20% cost savings into the estimate.
After the annual purchase order is placed for all the parts, the only other commitment for the customer is a delivery release forecast. A 12-week forecast that updates each week is ideal. Many customers simply forecast a monthly or weekly release and adjust the quantity as needed.
Scheduled releases minimize excess inventory. EPP holds ample inventory in the pipeline in case of a “spike” in need driven by unusual requirements
All parts are manufactured with strict quality standards guided by ISO procedures, SPC, and customer inspection protocol to ensure all critical dimensions are addressed. Along with the promise of dock to stock quality, the customer has the choice of receiving first article inspection reports, sample inspection reports, and certificates of material compliance for every release. This eliminates cost of incoming inspection by the customer.

The Math

Average cost of a discrete quote………………………………..$300/part/ per year
Average cost of a discrete purchase order……………..component cost plus 20%
Additional production cost ………………………………component cost plus 5-15%
Cost of excess inventory…………(interest%)(component cost)( inventory days)
Additional cost of material………………………………………5-15% component cost

______________________________________________________________________________

Total………………………………………………………………………..Significant Savings

Please note: savings can vary depending upon individual company costs.

There is no question that supply chain management is a paradigm shift. However if a company does the math, the pay back is enormous. The supply chain management system used by EPP accomplishes a low cost overall cost with the quality assurance and delivery flexibility provided by US manufacturing.

To find out how much you can save on plastic machined parts with EPP’s supply chain management system, contact us at 847-952-8400 or sales@eppcorp.com today!