Offshore suppliers often promote lower prices, but savvy companies realize that when comparing local plastic manufacturers to overseas plastic suppliers, local will always win— particularly if those local manufacturers are involved in custom fabrication and plastic injection molding. Local plastic manufacturers are not just comparable to offshore manufacturers—they are exceeding them in capability and turnaround times!
Whether your parts are consumer products, automotive parts, medical devices, or acrylic displays, below are 4 reasons why local might just be your best—or smartest—option when selecting a plastic manufacturer.
1. Faster Turn-around and Shorter Lead Times
One of the primary advantages of a local plastics manufacturer is speed. Off-Shore suppliers may provide lower unit costs, but the long shipping route and customs delays—and if there can even be effective communication with the supplier—can stretch the lead times to weeks or months!
With local injection molding entities, you can expect:
- Quick prototyping and lower production times
- Faster design changes and tooling changes
- Effective communication in the same time zone for live updates
These benefits can be crucial for new product offerings in areas of business that require quick timelines or evolved product iterations. Examples can include, but are not limited to, electronics, medical devices, and consumer goods.
Real World Example:
A kitchen utensil startup was designing an ergonomic design for kitchen utensil and utilized a local plastic manufacturer in Las Vegas for their local custom fabrication. They could test prototypes in days—not weeks—which meant quicker product iterations and faster time-to-market than a competitor reliant on offshore suppliers.
2. Higher Quality Control
Quality control is a genuine concern for plastic injection molding. Overseas factories may not always follow the same quality standards or use the same quality material. Poor quality is a direct result of:
- Defective parts
- More returns
- More costly rework, or product recalls
- A local plastic manufacturer generally operated using:
- Inherent accountability of the production process,
- On-site inspections and testing,
- Mandatory compliance to U.S. laws and regulations.
Using a local custom fabrication partner allows the company to continuously inspect the molds, parts, and finished products to ensure the brand quality standards are maintained.
3. Improved Communication/Collaboration
Good collaboration is critical during the entire manufacturing process, especially for custom plastic fabrication or complicated acrylic parts. There are hurdles when working with overseas manufacturers; time zone differences, language barriers, and cultural differences can create breakdowns in communication.
Utilizing a local injection molding manufacturer can alleviate these issues:
- You can meet in person, or have on-the-spot communication.
- Engineers need to work directly with the design team, in real time.
- Confusion or mistakes can be remedied easily.
Resources and time are further reduced, which allows your designer or engineer to iterate on the design based on testing and prototype launches.
The hopelessness of setting up a communication process with an offshore partner and finding time to have a real-time meeting can be time-consuming.
The advantage of being able to have and continually adjust a flexible and dynamic partnership is incomparable, and could mean all the difference between having a successful product launch to cost-exceeding delays.
4. Greater flexibility for customization projects
Offshore suppliers tend to be inclined towards mass production, and tend not to be willing (or perhaps bank on the fact) to pursue low-quantity, heavily customized projects. In contrast, local plastic producers are much more flexible in providing:
- Small to medium production runs
- Fast tooling modifications
- Custom solutions and modifications for prototypes and niche products
From acrylic to ABS to polycarbonate and many different thermoplastics in between, local manufacturers can move with velocity and precision along with the types of plastic materials your evolving needs.
5. Intellectual Property (IP) Safety
When businesses move injection molding overseas, product and technology designers have to start worrying about protecting their designs and technologies. Misappropriated designs, misuse, or weakly enforced IP laws undermine both your product and your business.
Plastic manufacturers in the U.S. and even in Canada must also contend with strong IP safety laws. Staying local helps reduce the likelihood of:
- Design theft
- Misappropriated distribution
- Loss of competitive advantage
When working with local manufacturers, you will also have additional control over who has access to your molds, CAD files, and product specs.
6. Cost Transparency and Predictable Pricing
Even though offshore production may seem less expensive at a glance, you quickly start accumulating costs that may not be front-loaded:
- International shipping and freight charges
- Customs duties, tariffs, and taxes
- Currency valuation
- Unforeseen delays resulting in rush orders
Local injection molding services provide upfront, transparent cost structures. You will be better informed to understand:
- Mold fabrication cost
- Cost per unit of production
- Tooling costs and material costs
And you no longer have to worry about incurring cost overruns for international logistics and delays.
7. Environmental and Ethical Benefits
Now that consumers and businesses are more focused on sustainability and ethically-sourced products. Many overseas plastics manufacturers are sloppy in their compliance with environmental standards and universally accepted standards of fair labor practices.
Decision-making from overseas front manufacturers is often less transparent and compliant simply due to:
- Environmental protection regulation
- Worker safety and standards
- Waste management/recycling
In the local plastic fabrication story, local plastic fabrication manufacturers stand for sustainable manufacturing, offering a clean supply chain and corporate social responsibility.
8. Supporting Your Local Economy
Beyond the product benefit from a local manufacturer is supporting your local economy. These dollars help grow:
- Jobs for the community
- Acknowledgment as a local business
- Partnership with other local businesses
- Regional innovation and infrastructure
Manufacturing locally strengthens your brand as a socially responsible corporation and gains goodwill with your customers, stakeholders, and community.
9. Simplified Post Production Services and Customer Service Support
Manufacturing products is more than injection molding. Many products require:
- A post-production finishing
- Laser etching
- Acrylic bonding and
- Assembly and packaging
Most local custom fab companies will be actively providing, or have connected with trusted community partners, to offer these value-added services. You will be supporting a less traumatic disruption to your product development ecosystem.
10. Response Time to Crisis
Global supply chains can be unraveled in catastrophic events like pandemics, port shutdowns, or political civil unrest. The agility of local plastics injection molding companies, faced with the unpredictable, is astonishing.
With a supplier in Canada or the USA, you will minimize:
- International shipping delays
- Continuing production
- Real-time order changes
This nimbleness allows you to maintain viability and respond to market needs in unfortunate times.
Which Industries Are Resetting Their Focus On Local Plastic Manufacturing?
Some industries are re-focusing on local custom fabrication and injection molding opportunities.
- Automotive - precision and durable plastic parts and assemblies
- Medical - cleanroom product fabrication and FDA compliant materials
- Consumer Products - product designs and time-to-market
- Retail Displays - custom acrylic signage, holders, branded displays
- Electronics - vibrant housing for functionally usable electronics, custom doors.
All the industries listed require precision, timeline, and dependability, the areas where local plastics manufacturers excel.
Final Thoughts
The local versus overseas injection molding processing debate is more than a cost decision; it is a consideration of quality, vision, creativity, sustainability, and lifetime value.
Local plastics manufacturing partners offer:
- Better turnaround and flexibility
- Better quality assurance and assurance of your IP protection
- Better service, accountability, and responsiveness
- The opportunity to foster a better and more engaged working relationship.
In an era of on-demand production and shifting consumer expectations, the strategic decision to form communications and work with local partners is not only the better choice, it is the smarter choice.