Taking on the big guys

Custom molder Waltec Plastics (Midland, Ont.) has adopted a “three promises” credo for its customers that includes quality, on-time delivery and engineering support, says Ron Hunt, Waltec’s market development manager. Keeping these promises has helped double the company’s size in the last five years.

Waltec’s industry research shows that buyers of custom molded plastics rank engineering support third in importance, behind quality and delivery. For this reason, Waltec employs a high ratio of engineering support staff relative to its competition.

“That is one of the important reasons why our customers come to us and stay with us,” notes Hunt.

Waltec has 70 thermoplastic and thermoset molding machines at two facilities in Midland, Ont. The most recent addition is a 2450-ton Toshiba molding press, which Hunt says is among the largest non-dedicated presses in Canada (shown in the background of the photo with its affiliated Ventax robot). The machine can produce a shot size up to 384 ounces.

“This machine has a proven performance record for precision, consistency and repeatability. Its extremely rigid clamp mechanism brings molding stability, energy efficiency and extends mold life,” he adds.

Waltec currently exports mainly to the U.S. and U.K., but it is aggressively (and inventively) seeking new markets.