Innovation Lives and Reigns

I am continually reminded of the innovation within the industries that we serve. Whether I am visiting a shop, speaking with a reader, attending a convention or simply researching a story lead, innovation is evident.

During a recent visit to a custom injection plastic molding facility in my hometown—Rebling Plastics (reblingplastics.com)—I witnessed a shop at work making parts, repairing/maintaining molds, designing tools, putting local tooling sources to work, creating jobs, developing processes and product … and a proud owner using years of experience to better serve his customer base. That is what manufacturing is made of: people, processes and product. People continually improving processes to make a better product.

It is with innovation in mind that we announce and celebrate our 2010 Leadtime Leader Award Winners and Honorable Mentions: Large Shop: Triangle Tool Corp. (Milwaukee, WI); Small Shop: Mold Craft, Inc. (Willernie, MN); Honorable Mention Large Shop: H.S. Die & Engineering (Grand Rapids, MI); and, Honorable Mention Small Shop: CS Tool Engineering, Inc. (Cedar Springs, MI).

These shops are examples of innovation at work in mold manufacturing today. They represent outstanding North American moldmaking shops and their ability to succeed in a globally competitive environment with winning strategies and technologies in place to continually improve leadtimes, sales growth, technology, industry involvement and customer service. We begin to tell their stories with this issue and will continue in the upcoming months.

This year’s Leadtime Leaders also will be honored this month at PDx/amerimold during an awards ceremony and panel discussion on the show floor on Tuesday, May 11th at 3:30 p.m. You still have time to register and attend! (pdx-amerimold.com). The theme of this year’s event revolves around innovation too—innovation across the supply and process chains.

A highlight on the show floor is The Innovation Center, an interactive display featuring leaders in design, innovation, education and product development. Visit the IC to experience emerging technologies, discover new ideas and offer innovations of your own. The participants are Eureka! Ranch, GE Aviation and University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP).

And last but not least, this month’s issue not only marks our PDx/amerimold show issue, but it also debuts MoldMaking Technology’s new look and feel. From the new logo on the cover to the bold and streamlined design, we believe the magazine now better reflects the innovative nature of your industry.