Custom beverage cap for food & beverage industry
 
Project Description:
A recent project with a major player in the food and beverage industry is a good example of how Vulcan can respond to custom injection molding in a way that is a significant benefit to the customer. Our customer had developed a custom designed beverage cap that they were going to need to produce in high volume at a highly competitive price.

Product quality was critical since the cap design and function would play a significant role in the functionality and image of the end product. Pricing pressure led our customer offshore for what they felt was the best package as far as tooling and part pricing. What started out to be a good deal was the start of quality issues with the cap that would significantly impact the desired image of their product.

When Vulcan was presented with samples of the customer's product currently being produced, it was evident to our team that there was a combination of issues at play that was getting in the way of the current supplier providing parts that would consistently meet the customers* expectations. Our customer had already made a significant investment in this project and was looking for a resolution to their problem that would be cost effective, but would solve their quality issues. This item was currently being produced with a hot runner tool, which Vulcan agreed was the way to go based on the material the cap was made from as well as the desired aesthetics of the cap being critical. A well made hot runner tool should produce a nice clean part with a clean gate. Hot runner tools have their place, but can be quite expensive to produce.

The tool build approach and the selection of a hot runner controller were critical to the success of creating an acceptable part. For a production commitment for parts from our customer, and by utilizing resources and equipment made available from other Vulcan custom part projects, Vulcan was able to dramatically offset the tooling investment for the customer. Our experience and approach to the tool build as well as a dependable hot runner system would address the quality issues. This combined with a "prime" material “that would process in a consistent manner and be free of any contaminants that might interfere with the hot runner system and overall performance of the mold was also key. In the end and several million parts later, Vulcan's custom approach to each project with its unique challenges solved our customer's problem. Our high-quality, cost-effective, custom approach solved our customer's problem. In doing so, Vulcan has a new high volume +++long term customer.