Craftsmanship, Customer Satisfaction Keys to Success

Founded in 1965, Custom Mold & Design (CMD; Minneapolis, MN) designs and builds fully interchangeable, fast-cycling, high-precision injection molds, including multi-cavity, two-shot, metal injection, silicone, micro-molds, and ceramic molds in industries like medical, aerospace/defense, communications, industrial and consumer products.  Its CMD Express division (see Sidebar, page xx) focuses on quick-turn, low-cavitation tooling, mold components and fixturing as well as ultra-precision machined components and assemblies.

According to CMD Vice President of Sales Thomas Caron, the company’s culture is based on customer service first and foremost. “Our highly experienced employee team works in unison and is dedicated to providing each customer with an unsurpassed level of service and quality” he says. “Our team takes special pride in the craftsmanship and quality of each mold or component that they produce. Our final manufactured product is the result of having a clear understanding of each customer’s unique needs and the overall project objectives.”

To keep CMD employees on the cutting edge of technology, they are highly trained to run its best-in-class equipment and machine tools.  “We are dedicated to continually updating our equipment with a forward-looking strategy for adding the latest technologies, while ensuring that our team has the required training to fully utilize this equipment,” Caron explains. “The net result is a higher quality product produced at the lowest total cost”.

This employee education and commitment to technology helps CMD face the challenge of overseas competition head-on. “The globalization of our industry has certainly raised the bar in terms of competition,” Caron comments. “In fact, many competitors have fallen by the wayside as a result.  In times like these, if you are not working every day to expand your capabilities and personnel, you are losing ground.  Because of our dedication to excellence and remaining a state-of-the-art facility we have seen our business grow.  Our plan is to continue along this path of excellence as a ‘Best in Class’ company.

To that end, CMD—which is ISO 9001 and AS9100 certified—uses the latest CAD/CAM systems like Pro/Engineer and SolidWorks to meet the ever-changing needs of its customers. “We typically participate in the part design as well as taking full responsibility for the mold design,” Caron elaborates. “The product costs are highly influenced by the design of the mold as well as the design of the product being manufactured. Our highly experienced engineers and moldmakers are capable of providing the creative input necessary to make the best possible decisions. Attention to detail and the manufacturing discipline employed create precision molds and mold components that provide our customers the benefits of interchangeability of such components. These benefits provide lower maintenance costs, longer mold life, and more consistent product quality.”

Short-term plans include CMD continuing to develop and expand its team of employees, while making significant investments in equipment and facility upgrades to keep pace with the growth that CMD is enjoying, Caron says. “Our CMD Express division also is expanding at a very rapid pace,” he comments. “We are seeing substantial opportunities in the medical and aerospace/defense markets. Sustaining this growth is another area of focus for CMD.

In the long-term, we will continue to partner with our customers to ensure that we have the philosophic and technological alignment necessary to support their ever-changing needs,” Caron continues. “We want each customer to feel like they are our only customer; and they keep coming back because of our vertical integration, technology, customer service, quality of products and customer loyalty.  Through continual improvement in all that we do, we commit to be quality-focused and customer-driven—providing the highest level of customer satisfaction, quality products, and on-time delivery.”

For More Information:
Custom Mold & Design / (763) 535-2334
tcaron@custommold.net / custommold.net