Mold repairs a growing business

Some injection mold makers say they have noticed a spike in repair requests, while demands for mold manufacturing have been lacking.
Progressive Tools, a division of Progressive Molded Products Ltd. (Concord, ON) reports that requests for repairs have significantly increased. Rudi Degen, general manager, attributes this mainly to companies having molds built "offshore" for lower prices.
"They’re buying tools from China, and Chinese tools tend to have lower quality standardsInitially, their cost will be lower, but due to quality difference, at the very end of the tool’s cycle, it will end up costing them more because it needs more maintenance."
Progressive Tools designs and manufactures injection molds for the automotive market. Degen notes that although the manufacturing business has slowed, it hasn’t devastated business profits because even though each repair generates "lower dollar amounts, repairs are very frequent."
"We probably do 25 per cent repairs now," says Tony Grossi, vice president of operations at Delmo Injection Molds (Mississauga, ON). "People are not investing in new programs and new tooling anymore, so our customers are just trying to prolong the life of their tools."
Delmo has operated since 1985. The company’s first couple years were focused primarily on manufacturing, but soon after they realized the demand for repairs was lucrative. Grossi says repairs have less risks, higher profit levels, and take less time because the engineering is already completed. Nevertheless he adds, "we don’t actually go out looking for repairs. We accept repair business to open the door to potential customers."