Strategically Located Mold Builder Offers Precise Tooling and Molding

 

How did you end up at Solution Tools?

Juan Diego Palma, COO, Solution Tools Mold & Die:  I grew up working in my father’s machine shop. I swept floors and cleaned machining centers. I went to college and earned an industrial engineering degree and started to look for a job. I wanted to do my own thing.

Then over coffee with my father in December 2014, my father asked me to work for him. I said yes under one condition—we start making significant investments in technology. At the time, he only had old CNCs and was scared to invest.

I convinced him to sell the old equipment and buy new technology. This investment brought in new work, which then allowed us to hire more people. We went from four to six people, to eight.

We were doing things right, with good lead times and quality work, so I started asking customers for more complex projects. This organically built our reputation. We are a family business; my father knows moldmaking, my mother has handled the financial side for more than 15 years and I run the operation and manage the customers.

 

Where does your ambition come from?

Palma: My father’s commitment to precision and honesty. He started the company in 1994 to provide strategic solutions, not just molds. He was an immigrant from Mexico who became an American, but lacked the confidence in his English language to speak with customers, so he was limited to more traditional work. So, when I came on board, I was hungry for more challenging jobs to grow the company.

My father was also afraid of investing and not getting a return, but I told him that the worst thing that could happen is that we’d have to sell a machine. However, I knew that was not going to happen because we have the skills. So, I convinced him to take the leap and invest in the right equipment to get the job done. My motto is “Let’s get it done!”

My father is pushing me to take the company into the future and I am challenging him to think differently, while also challenging the employees to step up and grow with the company. We are all growing together.

Location, location, location. We are strategically located in El Paso, Texas, on the border of the U.S. and Mexico.

 

What do you view as Solution Tools’ chief competitive advantage?

Palma: Location, location, location. We are strategically located in El Paso, Texas, on the border of the U.S. and Mexico and have a team of highly skilled workers building molds at competitive prices. Most shops in El Paso only do repairs and we do complete mold fabrication.

Precision mold builds and engineering changes are done in the El Paso, Texas, operation and mold preventative maintenance (PM) and repair work in Mexico. We have four designers in-house doing Moldflow analysis and DFM, as well as sampling. We have 25 employees in the El Paso facility and 12 in Mexico who are critical to each project. The design team and production manager are involved from the start of every project.

 

Explain why the locations of these operations are an advantage for your customers?

Palma:  We are a bi-national company. We have feet in both countries and I speak both languages. I could go down to Mexico to talk to engineers and critical players for projects. For example, we build molds here that go to Mexico for production, like our customer, Electrolux. Our bi-national model eases troubleshooting and debugging. We are an American company, but my family knows the language and culture of Mexico.

 

Where has the most change occurred in the business?

Palma: Within three years of me taking over the operation, we have expanded and made a lot of investment in technology and people. For example, we went from building eight-cavity tools to 32- and 64-cavity molds. We moved from a 3,000-square-foot warehouse to an 18,000-square-foot facility. In addition, we purchased Haas CNCs, Mitsubishi sinker and wire EDMs, an Alliance Specialties and Laser Sales laser welder and a Capture3D scanner for reverse engineering and hot runner controllers.  

We purchased the 3D scanner because a lot of tools in Mexico don’t have 3D data. I quickly converted my cavity scan to a 3D solid model with the scanner instead of using a CMM and vision system. All this new technology has brought us new customers. I am no longer knocking on doors.

We went from building eight-cavity tools to 32- and 64-cavity molds. We moved from a 3,000-square-foot warehouse to an 18,000-square-foot facility.

How has the coronavirus impacted Solutions Tool?

Palma: The challenges presented by the pandemic pushed us to grow. It was during this time that we invested in technology, specifically 3D scanning and hard milling. We purchased the Capture3D scanner and used the downtime to learn this technology to take on reverse-engineering work—3D solid models, scanning of big molds, mold cavities, inserts, etc. We used the time to learn new things on our EDM sinkers and CNC machining too.

 

Explain where you are or your current progress with ISO 912015 and other compliance with national and international laws and regulations, and what it means for your customers?

Palma: We are an ISO 9001 company and maintain compliance with all national and international laws. To manage the regulations concerning importing and exporting molds or cavities with Mexico, we work within the IMMEX program—a duty-deferral government program that provides benefits to authorized companies that engage in the manufacturing or maquila operation in Mexico, including import-export. This is a very strategic point because you don't get charged tax at all for importing or exporting.

 

Let’s talk about training and the high skill level of your team. What does training look like in the U.S. and the Mexico facility?

Palma: Moldmaking is a challenging trade because it is very specialized and requires workers who are patient and open-minded, especially as you work with your hands and mind.

In the U.S., we are struggling, like others, with finding good technicians. We train on EDMs and hot runner systems. For example, Incoe has been doing some intense training on assembly, disassembly and diagnosing hardware system problems with its hot runner systems.

In Mexico, we have more training because there are more available technicians. We also offer training to students who want to learn about tooling and molding.

How do you ensure communication with all the stakeholders on a project?

Palma: Daily project meetings with the production team using a process sheet that circulates throughout each department and a work order sheet that tracks the work throughout the shop. Our production manager, manufacturing supervisor and quality control lead work together on each project to manage lead times and customer deliveries.

How has Solutions Tool been impacted by production coming back to North America?

Palma: Our strategic locations in the U.S. and Mexico allow us to provide high quality cost effectively. We can monitor the entire supply chain from material availability to just-in-time (JIT) delivery, maintaining our production line’s effectiveness and guaranteeing reliable logistics to our customers.

What does the immediate future hold for Solution Tools?

Palma: We continue to grow as work comes back to the U.S. Also, we are investing in in-house injection molding focused on the medical industry this year within the El Paso facility to take on more work and create more skilled jobs. We are also committed to developing people. For example, I am creating a cluster of technicians (molding and stamping) in Juarez in Mexico who we can depend on where we need them.