In the fall of 2022, a manufacturer of molded integral skin urethane products contacted Accessa to ask about our in-mold coatings. We learned a lot during that first phone conversation.
Every Accessa customer is different. Their challenges, needs and priorities vary. It’s our responsibility to understand these things so that we can deliver the greatest value to them.
Not long after that first phone call with the manufacturer, we set up a time to visit their facility to learn more about their company, products and processes. Between these two conversations, we became much more aware of not only what they were looking for, but also what pains they were having and how urgent and acute those pains were.
They told us that one of their goals was to move to a water-based product, but through asking more questions about their processes and priorities, we discovered that this wasn’t the most important goal. Plus, that transition wasn’t going to be simple. After reviewing their manufacturing process, certain aspects of their line and their urethane system, we could see that switching to a water-based product would be highly impractical for them.
Most important, by spending time with their team, we discovered that eliminating inventory headaches and cutting costs would actually benefit their company much more.
As a result of knowing all of these things, we recommended a test of Accessa’s Phlexthane product. Despite being solvent-based, on paper, Phlexthane appeared to be the best solution. The true test would be running some parts with the Phlexthane coating to see how it performed.
During our second site visit, we came armed with demo material. Over the course of a couple of hours, we conducted multiple tests inside their facility, applying Phlexthane, post-mold, to parts to check levels of adhesion, flexibility, color and gloss. The results were promising. All of the variables we looked at, including aesthetics, feel, adhesion and flexibility, tested positively.
At the end of the day, we repeated our test, this time in-mold, on more parts. The Phlexthane performed so well in this second run that the manufacturer asked us to incorporate it into another line that was still running production parts, where we tested it a third time. Again, the manufacturer was very pleased with the resulting processing times and the way the finished part looked and performed.
After the initial demo and line trial, both the manufacturer and Team Accessa felt confident we were getting close to the right solution, though these sample parts would need to go through additional testing to confirm the performance and physical characteristics of the Phlexthane material.
That said, when we compared Phlexthane to their current coating, four major advantages emerged:
Sourced With a Local Partner: The manufacturer was sourcing their material internationally. As such, they had to order three or four months’ worth of product at a time due to the lengthy lead time. Through Accessa, they could place an order for only about two weeks’ worth of product at a time and would have a responsive partner close to home.
No Costly Cash Outlay: Because the manufacturer had to buy large amounts of their existing material from the international seller, they had to make a large cash outlay with each order. By placing more frequent, smaller orders with Accessa, they would never have to pay for more material than they actually wanted, and their cash wouldn’t be tied up in inventory sitting on a shelf.
No Need for Additional Warehousing: Using their current material, the manufacturer had to find additional storage space since they weren’t allowed to keep large amounts of flammable material on their site at one time. Not only was this inefficient, but it also brought about an additional expense.
Overall Lower Product Costs: While they were using a solid-performing product, the costs didn’t add up. It was not only expensive in terms of cost-per-gallon, but by the time the manufacturer added in freight costs, it was considerably more expensive. Using Accessa’s product wouldn’t have any high freight costs.
After the manufacturer completed about 60 days of various testing, and the Phlexthane coating passed with flying colors, they were ready to run a longer line trial. Accessa matched their primary colors, and once we received approval on those matches, the manufacturer produced a nominal quantity of product. The objective was to successfully run enough parts to give them the confidence that this new product would integrate easily into their routine production environment. Everything ran smoothly with little to no adjustment to their line equipment, coatings application equipment, etc. Both the line operators and company management were pleased with the results.
Now just six months later, the four key advantages we hoped would materialize for this new Accessa customer are being realized.
Every time we acquire a new customer, we at Accessa strive to improve our customer’s products and bottom lines. This experience was particularly satisfying due to the overall value and immediacy of the benefits we brought to them.
Are you interested in considering new materials? Are there cost or time inefficiencies we might help you eliminate? Please contact your Accessa consultant or call 800.593.0126 to start a conversation.