Hello! We just got back from an amazing meeting with the VP of Sales and Engineering at Control Plastics and the President/CEO of Stack Plastics and are excited to share with you. They have known each other for over 40 years and continue to do business together!
We connected with them after a generous introduction by our advisor and Product Design Industry extraordinaire. After class, we drove to the facility in Menlo Park (we are trying to keep manufacturing local!) and were excited to be meeting with such injection molding industry experience--one is the inventor of the plastic balloon weight (check it out!) so we were in amazing hands! And even got to take souvenirs home with us…
Not only did they help us modify our design to make a more manufacturable part, but they shared their knowledge of the industry, the processes involved, and the plastics we might consider using. We learned that all thermoplastics are 100% recyclable which means that along with the cardboard panels, Boxly will be a 100% recyclable product!
At the end, we were lucky enough to get a tour of the shop! Hair nets on, it was our first time seeing the injection molding process and machinery involved outside of a classroom setting. We learned the terminology and functions of different machines, the processes required to operate and maintain them, and the costs associated with different types of parts. We were amazed by the diversity of parts the injection molding process can create.
We’re unbelievably excited to continue working with these vendors, and will keep you updated on our progress!