Blow Molded Containers and Custom Blow Molded Bottles

Plastics Packaging – How to Surviving and Thrive

Competing in a Fragmented Plastics Packaging Industry

The blow-molded bottles and packaging containers industry is highly competitive and fragmented. The most important strategy to survive and thrive in this demanding marketplace is specialization. 

Success hinges on producing high-quality packaging and outstanding customer service for clients and prospects who need small and medium-sized production runs. A blow molder must differentiate itself from competitors through its expertise in specialty colors, specialty weights, and producing customized shapes and containers that meet their customers’ unique packaging requirements.

This industry is driven by geography. The cost to ship products can make or break a business deal, so it is advantageous to gain business and build solid relationships with customers within 500 miles of its headquarters.

When the extrusion blow-molder of bottles and packaging containers differentiates, they try to offer their customers advantages that competitors can’t match:

Superior customer service with short turnaround times

Even when you can’t beat other bottles/ packaging container extrusion blow molders on price, you will win new business and maintain customers with outstanding customer service and faster production than competitors.

ISO certified and FDA registered 

The extrusion blow-molder must also ensure all blow molded packaging products are certified and fully comply with processes and procedures outlined in ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards. Ensure your products meet or exceed federal safety standards by registering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These assurances of quality and safety are not met by all custom blow molding packaging operations.

The Blow Molding Leading Edge

A custom extrusion blow molder needs to stay on the leading edge of the packaging industry by expanding and innovating to stay ahead of customer demand. Increase your production output with more machines, manufacturing space, and warehouse space. 

The willingness to go the extra mile for customers is one of the most critical elements in helping a blow molding company survive and thrive in the container packaging industry.

Newer Blow Molding Equipment Enhances Service, Adds Potential Markets 

In the custom blow molding industry, to grow and sustain exceptional customer service, a company must invest in infrastructure. New blow molding equipment upgrades in custom blow moldering facilities will allow better product quality, consistency and production capacity as they work to capture more intermediate-sized jobs for blow-molded plastic bottles and containers. That investment in infrastructure means more options and better service for their customers.

Here’s an example case study:

Apex Plastics Invests in Bekum H-155 Press and MTM Systems Bottle-Takeaway System

Apex Plastics, a manufacturer of blow molded bottles and containers, invested $1 million in their company’s growth by installing a Bekum H-155 press and an MTM Systems bottle-takeaway system. The state-of-the-art press, which replaces two separate machines, has boosted production speed and volume—up to 4×100 head spacing—while making their production workers’ jobs easier and better. The bottle-takeaway equipment increases speed and efficiency by handling and trimming bottles (and checking for possible container leaks) before they ever reach the hands of the workers.

Mold Cavity Size and Number vs. Production Needs 

The size and number of cavities in a blow mold are largely determined by your output needs, and these are the primary factors in calculating mold cost. What is the anticipated annual volume of your product? More cavities generally return a lower piece price over time. However, additional cavities cost more at the outset of a project. Chances are that minimum order requirements and/or setup charges will increase with the number of cavities. Your Apex representative will work with you to evaluate all of these factors to determine how many cavities are required to meet your output needs.

“This investment separates us from other small molders, in part because it helps us win mid-sized business from bigger molders,” says Operations Manager Nick Hansen. “Some customers at bigger providers get overlooked and shuffled through the system without the best service, just because they have small runs or special requests. We can give those customers what they need, and treat them with the importance they deserve.”

Apex has also added 1,700 sq. ft. of production space and 2,400 sq. ft. of warehouse space. In addition Apex also installed two new resin silos and a new cooling tower. Apex also built a new 4,000 sq. ft. office space to help better serve their customers.

“We’ve expanded before,” said Apex president Damon Neff, “but past modifications were made to the plant simply to bring us up to speed to meet client needs at that time. With this new expansion, we are thinking well into the future. The new space will accommodate a wide range of anticipated client needs and allow us to creatively engineer project efficiency as we head into the last half of the 2010s.”

Increased Capacity and Greater Flexibility with Transferable Molds

The new blow molding equipment, combined with our small-capacity machines, assures Apex’s reliable plastics manufacturing services will be available in the future for any size client. The new machines increase production capacity without compromising the quality Apex Plastics’ customers expect.

Apex also reported that visiting customers have been pleased to hear about the Bekum H-155, because the press is well-known and respected throughout the packaging industry. Because the Bekum is widely used, installation of the equipment even allowed Apex to make bottles from molds transferred in from other manufacturers, which further expands Apex’s the market reach and helps provide greater flexibility for customers.