Category Archives: Quality

The Benefit of Using Recycled Resins   

| Posted in Custom Molding, Injection Molded Plastics, Plastics Manufacturing, Quality, Recycling | Posted by

As plastic products become more common throughout the world, we increasingly become more concerned about the effects it has on the environment. Many people call for waste control solutions, while others call for restrictions, reduction, and a push for strong recycling programs. Manufacturers are able to recycle plastic by shredding and reducing plastic products into pellets that can then be re-processed. These pellets are then re-molded into another useful product and provide value once again.

At DeKALB, recycling is exactly what we do – we process 100% recycled resins in many of our structural foam molded products to make sure old materials get a second life. Re-using plastic waste helps reduce our carbon footprint by keeping plastics out of landfills and creating products that can be used for another generation.

Cost Savings Opportunities

Using recycled resins can result in a significant price reduction in many products. Resin savings can be as much as 50% more compared to virgin resins, while some products can be made with up to 100% recycled material. DeKALB encourages our clients to consider the benefits of integrating recycled resins into their products when we first sit down to talk with them. We encourage the use of sustainable manufacturing solutions as it benefits both the customer and the environment.

The resin market can often fluctuate in price and product availability, especially during times of uncertainty. Many molding companies will lean more heavily on recycled materials when virgin resin costs increase dramatically or are not available. DeKALB consistently uses recycled resins to reduce customers’ daily costs, not just as an exception during unstable market times.

Where Our Recycled Resins Come From

DeKALB processes millions of pounds of recycled resin material each year in our structural foam molded products. Most recycled resins in DeKALB’s products are polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), although additional thermoplastic resins are recycled as well.

DeKALB purchases much of its recycled resin from recyclers or reclaimers who process the resins from post-consumer and post-industrial materials. These companies will process scraped products by sorting, cleaning, and grinding the material into pellets ready for molding new products.

DeKALB also directs scrap materials from our operation to be recycled rather than be sent to a landfill.  No matter if the recycled pellets come from home, the office, or a manufacturing facility—everyone benefits when plastics are re-used.

Choosing the Right Resin

With DeKALB’s wide selection of thermoplastics, we have the right material to suit the needs of your product’s specifications. Both Commodity and Engineered grade resins can be molded using recycled resins, and additives can also enhance product performance, strength, impact, or UV protection. Some resins and additives include:

  • High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
  • Polypropylene (PP)
  • Polystyrene (PS)
  • Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
  • Polycarbonate (PC)
  • Nylon (PA)
  • Glass Fiber or Beads
  • UV Protection
  • Fillers / Reinforcements
  • Impact Modifiers
  • Rubber

DeKALB’s plastic parts, fillers, and reinforcements are guaranteed to make a strong and long-lasting manufactured product. We can mold almost any recycled thermoplastic resin, which helps keep more debris out of landfills and get us one step closer to a cleaner future.

Benefits of Using Recycled Resin

We help companies save money, and surpass the uncertainty in price changes and resin shortages, by utilizing recycled resin instead of virgin resin for plastic manufactured products.

Some of the main benefits DeKALB can offer our customers with recycled materials are:

  • Lower cost
  • Long life expectancy
  • Increased strength and durability
  • Lower cost for molding
  • Excellent substitute for other materials

Leaving a Greener Footprint

Pushing for cost savings and sustainable alternatives is what makes DeKALB stand out from the competition. Our thermoplastics are manufactured with 100% recycled material, and some resins can even be recycled multiple times, all depending on the demand of the product and its purpose. The green advantage is taking recycled material while considering quality specs and ensuring they still pass the standards of new virgin resin.

Maintaining excellence with reclaimed products helps clear old post-consumer and post-industrial parts from making their way into landfills. DeKALB has recycled over 20 million pounds of recycled product in a single year, as stated by the CEO, Rick Walters. That recycled product has helped keep our planet clean as well as help consumers with significant cost savings in the long run. Every client we work with drives our green initiative to help them find quality parts for half the cost. Recycling is simply the right thing to do!

The DeKALB Difference

For over 40 years, DeKALB Molded Plastics has earned its reputation in the plastics industry for best-in-class quality products and services. We are dedicated to providing the best solutions and customer care that make a difference. We are an ISO 001:2015 certified full-service provider offering customization and value-added options, from structural foam molding to gas assist molding services. Our highly skilled team will work alongside our clients to produce the best quality products every time.

Want to know how DeKALB is paving the way for a more sustainable future? Contact us today to learn more.  

Dedicated to Continuous Improvement, Dedicated to Quality

| Posted in News, Quality | Posted by

With over 40 years of experience in structural foam molding, DeKALB Molded Plastics is proud of the world-class quality reputation we have built. At DeKALB, our mission is to provide unsurpassed customer satisfaction with the products and services that we provide. To achieve this, we have placed a heavy emphasis on continuous improvement, taking a comprehensive look at every detail of our process, understanding there are always ways to advance our capabilities. Our team has established clearly defined standards that help control all process variables, ensuring that every product that leaves our facility meets our standards before they exceed yours.

Standard Process, Custom to You

Being an ISO 9001:2015 company, we take great pride in creating quality parts that our customers can count on. DeKALB Molded Plastics has a standard process for every part that we mold, with established procedures inside of the practice as a whole. Our meticulous quality checks include processes for:

  • Material
  • Melt Flow Analysis
  • Colorants
  • Specifications of the material
  • Value-added inspections
  • Visual inspections
  • Weight tracking

In addition to our standard processes, we also have the flexibility to implement additional verifications and inspections, as required by our customers. Some of our additional quality process capabilities include the ability to complete gage R&R studies, understanding how the measurement determines repeatability and reproducibility, flatness checks to discover how well the part maintains its shape, verification of size and some capability studies. For customers with higher-level requirements or those in the medical industry, DeKALB offers a production part approval process or PPAP submission to ensure that part specifications are met.

What Makes Us Different

Some companies may pass on parts that require too many part inspections, while others do not have the capabilities to do part testing. Being committed to your solutions means that we are dedicated to finding a way to offer a complete custom molding solution, every time.

As part of our growing capabilities to ensure quality, we offer some product testing including:

  • Adhesion testing & plastic welding parts
  • Build up test
  • Falling dart test
  • Other various tests, as requested by the customer

As a custom molder, one of our greatest strengths is our flexibility. We regularly have customers ask us to do specific inspections and verifications for their products. At DeKALB, our customers set the standards for the quality checks and verifications that are completed on their parts through individual runs or set of runs. Far from simply molding a part and shipping it, what separates us from our competition is the number of quality checks we perform, our ability to produce parts in color, and our willingness to do as many inspections as needed by our customers.

Continuous Improvement in Action

Continuous improvement is a way of life at DeKALB, as we constantly strive to advance our company, never being satisfied with where we are. Our culture of continuous improvement means we are always looking at how we can improve our processes, quality, safety and how we can expand our capabilities.

Recently, DeKALB has experienced exciting growth with our expansion in automation and continued additions to our quality measures to support a high grade of aesthetics. At the end of 2019, DeKALB added a new robot, adding to our automation capabilities. Currently, the new robot is being used for multiple customers and will continue to be utilized more.

As DeKalb continues to expand capabilities to suit the needs of our customers, our team recently began working with new programs that require more analysis, including some hot stamping applications for multiple parts, as well as adding labels more accurately. These parts have labels that require very precise placement and have several requirements and standards related to their placement. Our team has added additional quality control measures, helping to improve our ability to meet these needs. Both of these examples are areas that highlight how DeKALB is growing and showcases how we continue to find ways to live out our culture of continuous improvement.

Future of Quality at DeKALB

We are excited to expand our abilities in electronic data collection and use lessons learned to improve our sampling and manufacturing capabilities. As we continue to grow, we maintain our commitment to delivering excellence, ensuring that our products and services are best-in-class, and understanding that each of us is responsible for the quality of everything we do.

Let’s start your next project together; contact us today!