Productive Plastics is looking for your help. In a effort to provide you with better solutions for your custom plastic thermoformed parts and projects, we reach out to professionals in the industry each year, seeking feedback on your experiences with either our company or other custom manufacturers.

We have put together a short 5 minute survey that will help us understand what facets of the custom component manufacturing process are key contributors or challenges to the success of your projects.

In recognition of your time and in the spirit of giving this time of year, Productive Plastics will make a $5 donation tothe Lifesong for Orphans organization for every completed survey.

Your feedback matters and has a direct impact on how we do business

(Productive Plastics will donate $5 to the Lifesong for Orphans organization for every survey completed up to a maximum of $1000. One survey completion per person and/or computer will be counted for donation purposes)

This survey has been completed and is now closed. Thanks to the many participants.

Productive Plastics values your input and would like to provide you with the best service and thermoforming solutions. Please help us by participating in our industry survey (less than 5 min) and join us this year in spreading some holiday cheer. In recognition of your time, Productive Plastics will donate $5 to the Lifesong for Orphans organization for every survey submitted. (Max $500) Thank you in advance for your time and input.

Happy Holidays!

Productive Plastics is honored, humbled, and proud of our dedicated and hard working team members to again be recognized at the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Thermoforming Division Conference this year with two top awards in the parts competition.

Below is an excerpt from the PLASTICS TODAY article by Clare Goldsberry covering this year’s conference.

The 24th Annual SPE Thermoforming Conference, held in Atlanta last week, provided real proof of just how far that industry has come since 1991. The parts competition in the cut-sheet/heavy-gauge section gave attendees cause for pause, as they looked in amazement at the parts. It was quite different from the first few conferences, held in small hotel venues with tabletop exhibits where most of the parts fit nicely on a few tables.

Over the years, as the conference got larger, so did the parts. One area of the thermoforming industry that has expanded is large-part forming using heavy-gauge sheet. Applications for this process include everything from pickup-truck bed liners to dental chair bases to automotive hoods and medical equipment, MRI machines to be specific.

According to a recent report from Peter Mooney, President of Plastics Custom Research Services (Advance, NC), medical equipment enclosures are increasingly becoming a big part of the thermoforming industry’s business. In fact, many of the large parts being produced today have been converted from injection molding to thermoforming, which is ideal for lower part quantities.

Gold Award – Heavy Gauge Value Added Category

MRI Scanner

Part Details:

Utilizing Self Moulding for tooling all 8 parts where pressure formed utilizing a Cast and machined mold.  In order to achieve the customer’s distribution of materials requirement all parts utilized pushers to pre-stretch materials.

Using Sekisui’s materials parts where produced in Kydex T.  The material allowed for the wall thicknesses required and consistency over multiple runs and hundreds of parts both in production and field replacements.

The 8 parts are using undercuts and formed in mating edges for better line to line fit up.  Cast and then CNC cut tools allowed for the precision required to have the assembly fit up after design.  The assembly allows for the parts to fit a separate metal frame that comes together at a staging location.  This custom hardware reduced the amount of tools required to install and service, and reduced the total time required for install and service (sample does not show hardware due to customer request).

The covers are painted using a PPG High Gloss Paint system.  This required a controlled environment that eliminated dust and the paint equipment had to be specially configured to eliminate debris.  Regular maintenance processes keep the line able to reproduce an 85 degree plus gloss finish.  The center bore represent a finished paint process that eliminates all surface imperfections related to paint and increased the gloss to 98 degrees.

Silver Award – Heavy Gauge Pressure Forming Category

Automated Diagnostic System

Part Details:

Utilizing Baystate Casting and Borke Mold for tooling all 3 parts where pressure formed utilizing a textured mold.  In order to achieve the customer’s distribution of materials requirement both parts utilized pushers to pre-stretch materials.

Using Sekisui’s materials parts where produced in Kydex T. The material allowed for the wall thicknesses required and consistency over multiple runs and hundreds of parts both in production and field replacements.

The design of the kiosk had the part fitting to a metal skeleton that required +/- .020 geometric tolerances for the attachment.  The full assembly is 7 different parts, this display is showing 4 of those parts.

All of these three pieces utilize undercuts to make formed in seams.  Due to the depth of the location of the undercut the tooling loose pieces had to be temperature controlled to reduce the effect of warpage during processing.

The paint is a Sherwin-Williams custom color masked off to only paint select areas.

Both entries demonstrate Productive Plastics’ long-standing expertise in contract manufacturing for the medical diagnostics equipment industry, where there can be many engineering challenges,” stated Evan Gilham, Productive Plastics COO. “So we really appreciate the recognition from SPE for our work with these medical heavy gauge thermoforming projects.

See our press release for additional details.

Productive Plastics is pleased to host and present at the IDSA Medical Design Conference breakfast event this year.

Product Development Collaboration: A Design for Success

Will you be at this year’s conference? If so, please join Productive Plastics Principal and VP of Sales, John Zerillo, for breakfast as he explores the importance and benefits of product development collaboration between OEM, Design, and Manufacturing resources. John will discuss and present case studies on how faster time to market, fewer development pitfalls, and seamless design to finished product compatibility are all achievable outcomes resulting from collaborative efforts that begin in the early design stages of a project.

Productive Plastics Breakfast and Seminar

IDSA 2015 Medical Design Conference

Thursday, October 22nd

8:00– 8:45am

Dining Room

Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS)

Seating is limited

Productive Plastics will be attending and presenting at the 2015 SPE Thermoforming Division Conference in Atlanta later this month.

Parts Competition

Productive Plastics has been hard at work to replicate our success in previous part competitions (2011 SPE Thermoforming Conference Awards) This year we will be showcasing 3 high quality, complex, and innovative heavy gauge thermoforming parts that are the culmination of our industry leading engineering, manufacturing, and solutions providing team at Productive Plastics. Submitted parts represent the Medical Device and Kiosk industries.

Productive Plastics Technical Presentation

COO Evan Gilham will be presenting at the conference at 10am on Wednesday, Sept 2nd, on Using Another Processor’s Tools – A Look into Tooling Comparison and Spec Sheets.

Click for more info on the presentation.

If you are attending the conference, please stop by our display at the Parts Competition or join Evan for his presentation on Wednesday.

Effective May 1, 2015 it is with great pride that I announce the appointment of Evan Gilham to Sales and Marketing Manager in addition to his Chief Operating Officer position.

This is a result of our growth and plans for expanding the commitment for excellence.  Evan joined Productive Companies eight years ago and has been successful in developing IT Production, Procurement, and other Executive positions resulting in his transition to grow our companies.

Evan will now be responsible for the management of sales and marketing in Productive Plastics and Sensigraphics along with all operations at Productive Companies.  His executive team has developed a world class organization in quality, lean manufacturing, procurement, and advance production to the forefront of the best in technology.

Please welcome Evan to this new responsibility and feel free to discuss a mutual goal to provide a successful transition to better service our valued customers.

Thank you for your continued support!

Cordially,

Hal Gilham

Harold S. Gilham

CEO

left to right: Evan Gilham and Hal Gilham

Productive Companies announces that Evan Gilham has been appointed Chief Operating Officer as of January 1, 2015. Gilham brings a strong background in engineering, IT, procurement, lean manufacturing and financial analysis along with experience with the three businesses of Productive Companies: Productive Plastics and Productive Industrial Finishing.

Mt. Laurel, NJ, February 9, 2015 – Productive Companies announces the appointment of Evan James Gilham as Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective January 1, 2015. Productive Companies includes Productive Plastics, Inc. and Productive Industrial Finishing, Inc.

“Evan brings strong leadership skills with over 7 years in custom thermoforming and electronic user interface technology.  His diverse background in IT, Procurement, Engineering/Design, Lean Disciplines, and Financial Analysis will take our company to the next level” said Hal Gilham, CEO. “As a third generation entrepreneur, Evan will continue our focus on world class manufacturing processes, safety, and quality to exceed our valued customers’ requirements in achieving our vision of being the solution provider of choice in the thermoforming industry.”

Evan Gilham is a graduate of Lehigh University majoring in finance.  His leadership skills in the Lehigh Football Program provided an excellent foundation for his success in the manufacturing field.  During his tenure with Productive Companies, Evan has developed strong skills in process improvement, contract negotiations, and sales training as demonstrated with customers in electronics, bus and rail transportation, aerospace, kiosks, and other OEM markets.

“Productive Companies is highly regarded for our expertise in product development, design/engineering, and manufacturing excellence”, said Evan J. Gilham. “2015 represents a pivotal point.  We have set the foundation in efficiency, process control, and a strong management team to continue Productive Companies as a legacy manufacturing facility. Our goals moving forward include strong core values, advances in process technology, lean disciplines, and unprecedented financial success.”

About Productive Companies

Over its 60 years, Productive Companies has developed its business reputation built on a foundation of strong integrity and core values.  Productive Companies includes Productive Plastics, a leader in custom thermoforming and electronic enclosures and Productive Industrial Finishing. With about 70 employees and 3 facilities, Productive Companies is committed to excellence.