For more than 50 years, injection molding and design specialists at Revere Plastics Systems LLC has been in the business of helping clients achieve their manufacturing goals. Now the Ohio-based company is ready to scale up, with the capabilities and the drive to make that growth a reality.
More than molding
“At Revere Plastics Systems, we really like to focus on the ‘systems’ portion of our name,” said Revere President Glen Fish. Not content to provide injection molding services alone, Revere Plastic Systems prides itself on its multiple production facility sites, its engineering capabilities, and its fleet of nearly 300 presses ranging from 25 to 2,000 tons that support a variety of client needs. All of these assets allow the company to enhance its injection-molding core with a host of value-added services from welding and assembly work to supply chain management.
“We can literally be a one-stop shop,” said Fish, noting the clear benefits that this competency provides to Revere’s clients. Beyond just manufacturing a part, Revere is able to follow that part from conceptualization through execution, with all the prototyping and tooling in between.
“We are really like an extension of our clients, and that is the true benefit to them,” he added. “We have the expertise to manage all of those steps, and to go out and find suppliers that make the different components that we would assemble onto their parts. It helps them in their launch timeline, and it helps in the amount of effort they have to put into a product launch.”
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Revere Plastics Systems is not content to settle for providing service in just one aspect of injection molding, nor is it a business content to settle for making due with the technology it already has at its disposal. Over the years, Revere has committed to refreshing and updating operations with new and varied equipment to expand its capabilities.
“We have definitely invested in our business,” said Fish—and in addition to investments in both new and used presses, Revere is also investing heavily in peripheral technologies to aid every point throughout operations. “We are in the midst of purchasing a 3D printer to allow us to more rapidly prototype both parts and tooling so that we can make testing samples. We have made multiple quality enhancements in terms of investing in process capabilities on our equipment—there is different technology in welding we’ve invested in, plus engineering technology, like IT capabilities and software to help our engineers resolve issues quicker.”
Revere Plastics Systems also keeps its customers in mind with every investment. Fish added that Revere’s flagship location in Clyde, OH is currently undergoing a sizeable upgrade to add functionality for one of the company’s largest clients.
Investing in process and people
Even the best equipment is only as efficient and effective as the team member operating it. So to build the most effective business possible, Revere Plastics System also works hard to drive efficiencies and improve operations in a variety of ways. The business has long been engaged in the Six Sigma process, also incorporating elements of the Toyota Production System to streamline the different flows of the business.
“We’re really focused on leaning out our facilities and taking out waste—we’ve put Kanban systems in place, self directed work teams, formal problem solving training and leadership training with our team leaders and front level supervisors, a lot of visual management and getting the operators more involved, and we’ve seen significant improvements in labor efficiency and in scrap reduction,” said Fish. “We’ve made huge strides in terms of quality, delivery, end cost through efficiency, and inventory reduction. So the lean efforts, between lean and Six Sigma, have been huge in our operational improvements.”
In addition to improving efficiencies among its people, Revere is also working to improve communication and leadership among its people. “Our company culture is actually going through a renaissance,” said Fish. “Over the last year and a half we’ve really been emphasizing communication and teaching people the business side of things. They now are engaged in problem solving and continuous improvement—they have a voice.”
Through exercises ranging from newsletters to skip-level management meetings, Fish explained that morale alignment and development at all levels has been improving dramatically. “We put a lot of emphasis on our people, and I continue to remind everyone they’re our greatest asset,” he said. “It’s just really about opening up lines of communication. We’re still in the midst of this culture change, but it’s getting better every day.”
Flexibility: the Revere difference
Flexibility is more than just a property of plastic. It’s also a core trait that sets Revere Plastics Systems apart from the competition. While 50-plus years in operation could lead some businesses to rigid thinking and force of habit, Revere draws upon decades of experience and expertise to find fresh and creative solutions to fit into the requirements, budgets, and deadlines of any client.
“We emphasize our flexibility: ‘flexible thinking, design, and delivery’ is our mantra,” said Fish. “Being an engineering-based company— along with our willingness to be a problem solver—creates value for our customers. We can do things more efficiently because we can provide the full gamut of capability, from project management to sourcing to execution on the molding and assembly side and delivering a subcomponent as opposed to a simple ‘shoot and ship’ part.”
Looking Ahead
From 3D printing to projects that tackle converting traditionally metal items to lightweight plastic, Revere Plastics Systems had identified and is at the forefront of several industry trends through an increase in product development and R&D efforts. One rising trend in particular is a reshoring of the injection molding industry in the United States, and Revere is addressing this trend by turning its focus toward growth in the months to come.
“That is the number one priority: growth and expansion of our customer base,” said Fish. “We are actively working on expanding our presence in different end markets—looking in the automotive industry, packaging, medical products—and trying to find out where additionally our services best provide value for our customers. We want to get the word out about what our capabilities are and how we can help people. We have several initiatives underway now to grow and really to better market who Revere is.”
