How a simple Ford F150 factory visit and an old machine resulted in substantial cost and time savings. While visiting the TRW factory that makes the headlight switch cover (this is the switch that gives you several headlight operation options, each of which is illuminated when selected) for the Ford F150, we observed a worker hand trimming each and every complicated part. This part is quite deep and, therefore, difficult to make. It’s even more difficult to properly trim due to its multiple angles. On top of that, the plant needed to supply 50,000 of these covers every week! Recognizing a need, we asked for the opportunity to solve this problem and did so with a custom laser trimming machine we had originally designed for a sleep apnea product. With a few modifications, the machine worked perfectly, completely eliminating the need for laborious hand trimming. This ensured their tight deadlines were met and saved everyone a lot in labor costs not to mention countless workers the pains associated with such repetitive handwork. Get Started
Automotive When the console is an eyesore, cover it – and quickly! A major auto manufacturer had a shipment of finished vehicles on the boat headed to the US. But market studies showed they had a problem. It seemed that their console color scheme was not going to work in the US. Their solution was [...]
TRICO Products Corporation (dunnage trays) Wrapping windshield wipers was wiping out profits until Jamestown Plastics came to the rescue. TRICO Products Corporation is a major manufacturer of windshield wipers. As part of their packaging pack-out process, TRICO employees would wrap every pair of wipers in kraft paper and place the wrapped wipers into cartons. The problem with wrapping wipers [...]
Tesla How Jamestown Plastics saved the day for Tesla, creating a hood liner that both cost less and weighed less. In their all-important introductory year, Tesla’s EPP foam supplier, responsible for making a hood liner for the “frunk” in a model S, was unable to meet criteria called out by Tesla and reached out to [...]
TRICO Technologies (retail packaging) How JP innovated retail packaging and reduced pack-out costs TRICO Technologies approached Jamestown Plastics to create a retail clamshell for their windshield wiper product line. They challenged us to eliminate all the traditional methods of keeping a clamshell closed such as plastic welding, snap locks, glue, and overwrap sleeves. Plus, they demanded that the [...]
