Moldmaking Report: Prosin Molds Builds On Its Specialty
By Umair Abdul, Assistant Editor
Nearly three years ago, Prosin Molds shifted gears. The Mississauga, Ont.-based moldmaker, which has been in business since 1995, sensed the impending slowdown in the automotive parts market and decid...
Nearly three years ago, Prosin Molds shifted gears. The Mississauga, Ont.-based moldmaker, which has been in business since 1995, sensed the impending slowdown in the automotive parts market and decided to diversify its customer base.
At the time, automotive clients accounted for over 55 per cent of Prosin’s orders, and president Cyrus Jebely had kept a close eye on the automotive industry’s tendency to outsource its tooling production to low-cost Asian competitors. The company decided to focus in on its specialty — highly complex, multi cavity production molds that require fully interchangeable components — and targeted three core sectors for its business: packaging, medical, and electrical products.
“When producing high-quality medical components, or high volume packaging applications, success will depend on the accuracy and durability of the tooling,” explained John Hynds, VP of sales and business development at the shop. “In these industries, the molds must utilize full hot runners systems, run at faster cycle times, and produce lighter parts. Reliability and repeatability must be sustained over substantialy high annual volumes.”
BEYOND AUTOMOTIVE
Now, nearly three years since refocusing their business, automotive now accounts for less than 10 per cent of the company’s revenues. The company employs 22 people at its 16,500 square foot plant, with three employees working full-time in design on SolidWorks and Pro/E.
“We design in three dimensions, and every item in the mold is manufactured to specification” noted Hynds. “We’re also pretty much independent as far as being able to manufacture and assemble every part of the mold.”
Prosin is fully equipped to serve its customers. The company’s facility boasts seven EDM machines, and a line of CNC milling centres — four of which are high speed, high accuracy machines capable of hard milling. Additionally, the company’s plant is fully ISO 9000:2001 certified.
“That standard is recognized in the medical business, so we underwent the certification process,” said Hynds. “And in that process, we formalized a lot of our internal procedures to ensure we will reliably meet customer expectations.”
In addition to diversifying into markets where better quality molds take precedence over the cheapest molds available, Hynds says Prosin has also worked to be more than just a moldmaker. With its portfolio of services and capabilities, the company can get involved in product design and development.
“We want to make sure that the project is rofitable, and will allow the customer to realize the low possible part cost,” he explained. “This means understanding what the customer’s objectives are, and then we can provide services that will help them. We will also specify the injection molding machine requirements and look at ways to improve the post-mold product handling systems.”
With a wider spread of customers in various sectors, Prosin has avoided the recent ups and downs in the automotive moldmaking segment. And the shop is now working towards becoming a player in the global arena. The company has participated in several international trade shows, such as Arabplast in Dubai and Plastindia in New Delhi.
“Right now, we have a significant amount of inquiry and quotation activity from those regions,” said Hynds. “We see potential in those emerging markets where the growing middle class is increasing the demand for both medical and consumer products.”
Prosin Molds (Mississauga, Ont.);
(905) 564-7424
