MSI Mold Builders

Straight from the NPE trade show floor

Seems like one of the happiest places on the earth this week as Sherry and I walk the show floor at NPE2012 Orlando, FL.  Early reports note that this year's event has surpassed earlier NPEs in scope and diversity, with a new venue, make-up, events and first-time participants.

moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/leadtime-leader-awards

The Leadtime Leader Awards honor outstanding North American mold manufacturers who best demonstrate overall innovation, efficiency, quality and commitment within their moldmaking operations while raising the bar in terms of mold engineering, building, repair and management.

United Tool & Mold, Inc., Mold-Tech, Inc., MSI Mold Builders and JM Mold South.

With this year’s annual show issue, we welcome MoldMaking Technology’s new editorial advisory board for 2011-2012.

Announcing the 2011 Winners and Honorable Mentions.

Innovation. Efficiency. Quality. Commitment.—2011 Leadtime Leaders announced, Advisory Board members introduced and industry leader paid tribute.

MSI Mold Builders, a leading manufacturer of injection and blow molds for thermoplastic parts for a variety of industries, has achieved its ISO 9001:2008 Certification.  The company has long been known for its advances in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and 5S processes at its facilities.Toby Bral, MSI’s Quality Manager, says, “We’re a very process-driven organization and achieving our ISO certification helped us better document our processes.  While we’ve always had a formal process with respect to our design and manufacturing, the ISO Certification helps us maintain and improve our systems with formal internal audits and corrective actions.  Plus, we’ve honed our processes by adding complete traceability to make it easier to back-track the steps and get to the root cause of a problem.”  Bral also notes that many of its customers, particularly those in the Heavy Truck industry, require their suppliers to be ISO certified.In addition to its ISO Certification, MSI Mold Builders will be expanding its capabilities by adding new equipment in the next several months.  “We’ve budgeted for new equipment, and have purchased one smaller 3-axis CNC machining center,” Roger Klouda, MSI’s President said.  MSI has also identified an additional 5-axis machining center for the Iowa plant with approximately 40” x 40” travel to more efficiently manufacture smaller molds and components.  This will be MSI’s fourth 5-axis machine, with the largest two 5-axis machines having 65” x 110” travel capacity.Klouda notes that business is improving steadily over 2009, and he expects sales to be up 20% over 2009 by year end 2010.  “Currently we’re putting a lot of our growth in the South Carolina facility, including the recent addition of a 500-ton sampling press, because that plant has more capacity, and there are many good growth opportunities in the Southeast,” he adds.

Commodity-oriented consumer manufacturing left North America, but mold industry survivors are finding strong growth in technical market sectors.

When technology, quality and speed step to the fore in the medical world, so does the North American mold and die industry with some innovative products and processes.

A combination of lean strategies coupled with niche moldmaking garners this shop the MoldMaking Technology 2006 Leadtime Leader Honorable Mention: Large Shop.

After doing their homework overseas, moldmakers candidly discuss the impact that last year's trade mission has had on their businesses a year later.