[News] Moldmaker grows by speaking its customers’ language

http://www.plasticstoday.com
By Clare Goldsberry
Published: July 2nd, 2010

R&D/Leverage UK (Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire) continues down the path of building itself into a full-service solutions provider, which has resulted in the company reporting 17% growth in sales for the first six months of 2010. Several factors have played into this growth rate, including the popularity of the Product Solutions Lab (PSL), delivery times up to twice as fast as the competition, the recent addition of the Genesis Hot Runner System, all combined with effective communications with non-English-speaking customers throughout Europe.

R&D’s Product Solutions Lab (PSL) is the latest in a series of expansions and enhancements designed to benefit converters and brand owners globally, says the company. “Our PSL is a building-within-a-building that provides additional value-added services to our customers and has proven so popular that we are looking to purchase additional machines,” says Alan Tolley, managing director of the UK facility. “While it is but a part of our recent success, the PSL is becoming our signature, in a sense, since we can provide customers with in-house training modules and the capability to provide first-to-market samples, so we can now qualify almost any product, including extreme shapes and extreme specifications in-house.”

Tolley noted that sales growth is running 20% ahead of the company’s 2010 forecast. In addition to the PSL, other factors behind the sales growth is R&D’s investment in infrastructure that was matched by its investment in people capable of conducting business throughout Europe, including Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Poland. “Our foreign language skills are enhanced by our user-friendly customer service and problem solving,” said Tolley. “We encourage a flexible, nimble style in partnership with our customers, and provide fast delivery times.”

An increased popularity of PET products vs. glass, which provides higher quality and eco-friendly benefits, has also contributed to sales growth. Recently, a UK retail giant has committed to converting its small wine bottles to PET, which are 88% lighter than glass, according to published reports. The Genesis Hot Runner System has contributed to PET’s popularity because it provides high quality and enhanced production efficiencies, Tolley said.

R&D—Integrated Solutions in Plastics is a leading supplier of tooling for the food, beverage, home, personal care, and healthcare industries. Leverage Integrated Industrial Design is R&D’s full-service consumer packaging design company located in a separate facility within the R&D campus. Together, R&D/Leverage provide mold manufacturing for PET tooling, as well as a full range of support functions, including sampling analysis, mold maintenance, contract molding and processing assistance, concept development, validation, and implementation (prototype molds, mold sampling, and low-volume production). —Clare Goldsberry