One US-based medical technology company, specialising in POCT devices products, faced a supply chain challenge. Their original supplier required the mold for a POCT instrument part to be adapted.
The medical company began searching for a local supplier in China that could meet its technical requirements at the right cost. But the small batch orders and strict specifications made it difficult to find a manufacturer. After exhausting local options, they turned to Haizol.
Challenge: Balancing Cost and Quality in Low-Volume Production
The biotech firm required between 300-500 sets of POCT instruments annually. For small-batch medical products, the equipment cost isn’t recovered right away. Instead, it gets paid off over time through the sale of consumables. Because it takes so long to break even, keeping manufacturing costs low is really important. On top of that, their high standards for precision and quality added to the complexity.
Most manufacturers were either too expensive. Or could not guarantee the level of quality required for medical-grade products. This is where Haizol stepped in. The company was tasked with cutting production costs by at least 30% while maintaining the strict quality requirements.
Solution: Standardisation of Mold Bases
One of the biggest costs in low-volume production is mold creation. Normally, the 11 different parts required nearly 10 separate molds. This setup was expensive and time-consuming. To tackle this, Haizol focused on standardising the company’s mold bases. The goal was to combine the parts into just three standardised mold bases, reducing costs and speeding up production. Were there any challenges? One main challenge was maintaining plastic flow balance during injection molding.
To solve this, Haizol worked closely with its injection molding partner. They adjusted the flow rate and pipeline design to keep the quality consistent across all parts. Through ongoing communication and quick adjustments, Haizol, the factory, and the client finalised the mold design in just two weeks. The result? Reduced costs and quicker production.
Results:
- 30% savings compared to traditional molding methods.
- Reduced the need for mold exchanges which cut machine downtime, speeding up production.
- Medical-grade standards were met without any compromise.
Supply Chain Optimisation: Localising Production in China
Before working with Haizol, the medical technology company produced its equipment mostly in the United States. Moving production to China required setting up a reliable local supply chain, something that isn’t always easy to achieve.
Haizol stepped in to provide engineering support and production solutions, setting up flexible storage and warehousing to make the transition easier. They kept six months of stock ready which helped to reduce risks and speed up delivery times. Ultimately, this led to the company entering the Chinese market with more confidence.
Do you want to learn more about how our standardised mold solutions can optimise your production? Contact us to learn more about medical injection molding.