How to Source Injection Molds Overseas to Save Money

Figuring out how to source quality injection molds overseas with an injection mold maker in China can be a daunting task.  This endeavor can end up costing you more than it would be saving if not implemented correctly.  How do you know the quality of steel and craftsmanship that this foreign company will put into making your molds?

When providing a competitive foreign quote depends upon landing that big contract or losing it, don’t leave this huge business endeavor to chance.  Work with a domestic mold making company who can provide overseas sourcing, and overseas pricing, with the same domestic quality and service your project demands.

Offshore Mold Sourcing from Domestic Provider

Michiana Global Mold is a mold making company located in the Midwest, USA, with a business partner in China to provide the same quality in complex injection molds as our domestic locations.  Both facilities are ISO registered, following a strict quality policy in mold design and construction.  With our offshore mold making partnership, we take care of all overseas communication and quality inspections for a hassle-free transition for you.  With one domestic customer service contact, you will have tool status updates and assurances of quality with on-time delivery.  

Our Chinese mold making partner, Modular Molds, uses only North American and German Steel to construct molds built to customer KPC’s.  We supply Initial Sample Inspection Reports (ISIR), with final inspection conducted at our domestic location for complete assurances to full print specification.  

Michiana Global Mold has more than 50 years of experience designing and constructing complex, precision tools.  We tackle the challenging molds that other mold builders shy away from.   WE are a full-service mold making facility providing prototypes, insert cavities, cold-runner and hot-runner tools,  three-plate tools and shuttle molds.   Download our FREE Guide to Sourcing Your Tools in China, and let Michiana Global Mold assist with your offshore mold sourcing project.

Michiana Global Mold is a leader in plastic injection mold making, serving the Automotive and various industries since 1964.  We offer high-quality, precision tooling from our domestic or overseas location, on time and to your specifications.  Contact us today to learn more about our offshore mold making capabilities.  

Overseas Injection Molds with Domestic Support

It can be challenging finding an injection mold supplier that can provide overseas injection molds with competitive pricing, and full-service domestic support.  Michiana Global Mold is located in the Mid-West USA, with a partner company in China, offering the best of global sourcing with superior service.  

Modular Mold in China offers full service injection mold designs and manufacturing, for a variety of mold types including semi-finished or fully finished molds constructed with the same technical expertise and attention to detail that you will find from our location in the United States.  We employ only highly skilled journeyman mold makers and design engineers experienced in constructing custom, precision injection molds.  

Michiana Global Mold has been supplying various industries, including the demanding Automotive industry since 1952, providing high quality precision tools to customer specifications for decades.   We are an ISO Registered injection mold making facility, in both our US and China locations.  Our Quality Policy is practiced throughout the organization, providing you with the same level of high precision accuracy from either our US or overseas location.  All molds are inspected for conformance from our US location, and all service is from our Indiana location with one main point of contact providing tool status updates throughout the entire scope of the project.  

Modular Mold’s capabilities include equipment to produce molds accommodating presses up to 3,000 tons, in our more than 40,000 square foot facility.  We focus on precision, lead times and high quality by following our processes according to our quality policy adhering to ISO9001:2008 standards.  

When you need a high quality constructed tool with precision geometric tolerances, you need to call on Michiana Global Mold!  We are your one stop shop for precision injection molds whether you need overseas or domestic suppliers, or overseas pricing with domestic support.  There is never a problem due to a language barrier, as we manage all communication from our US location, and make regular visits to Modular Mold in China.

Let Michiana Global Mold show you how you can have overseas injection molds with domestic service.  Download our FREE book on sourcing injection molds from China.  

Michiana Global Mold is a supplier of superior quality plastic injection molds for various industries including automotive, medical, consumer electronics, and defense for over 50 years.   We maintain high customer satisfaction through continual product and process improvement at both our United States and China locations.   

Finding a Chinese Injection Mold Provider Consideration List

Searching for a China injection mold provider can be incredibly difficult and time consuming. There are plenty of blogs and articles that cover different aspects of what you need to consider, but you"ll need a list. This ensures that you look at all of your potential China injection mold source options and the range of questions you need to ask.

Remember, the cost is not your only consideration. Things like shipping time, communication, and QA process play very important roles in determining if a particular China injection mold provider is cost effective.

Your Sourcing Options

You have three options for finding a provider in China:

• Direct Chinese source
• Broker who recommend and negotiates with a Chinese source on your behalf
• Domestic provider with a Chinese partner

Initially, this list appears to reflect the cost in ascending order. A direct source will often appear to be the most cost effective source and a domestic partner will appear to be the least cost effective.

However, when you take the following considerations into account, you will see the initial cost for the domestic provider has some distinct advantages, including easier negotiations, design time, and predictable delivery times.

Considerations and Questions

When you talk to each of your potential sourcing options, the following considerations and questions will help you determine if the source is likely to meet your needs.

Communication

This is one of the biggest potential issues, particularly during the design phase. You need to be able to talk to the people who are responsible for the designs. There are several potential communication issues to consider:

• Time zones can pose a problem if you work directly with someone in China
• Designs can be more difficult to finalize when you cannot speak directly to one of the professionals working on the design
• Shipping times may be off because of holidays, so you need to know the production schedule for the entire time your product is being processed

Planning

Planning is one of the most important aspects as it sets the tone for the entire project. Here are the things to consider for the planning phase:

• Materials
• Design time
• Production time frame

Quality Assurance and Shipping

Make sure that you discuss your QA needs and shipping expectations. If you are working on a tight deadline, you need to make sure that the product is high quality and can be turned around quickly.

The Right Choice for Chinese Injection Mold Makers - Domestic Versus Offshore

Finding the right China plastic injection molding provider is a difficult decision. With a number of different considerations to make, you want to get it right the first time. You will also need to be prepared to negotiate.

Research

Research is essential to avoid making the wrong decision, which can cost you not only money but a lot of time, and potentially customers. There are three sourcing options:

• Direct sourcing
• Broker sourcing
• Domestic sourcing

Each of these options has their own appeal. To help you determine which is right for you, consider the following three points:

• The material the China plastic injection molding uses
• The kind of quality sampling provided
• The lead and shipping times

Finding the Right Material

The material used for the China plastic injection molding is one of the most important aspects because it determines the durability of your final product. If you do not specify what materials you want used at the beginning, you may end up with a product that does not meet your expectations.

Materials Originating in China

Many Chinese mold makers have their own material providers. This means without specifying the type of material, you are almost guaranteed to have a final product made that uses steel produced in China.

The Chinese regulations and standards are typically lower than steels made in Europe and North America. As a result, your final product may wear down faster, be more fragile, and require more frequent replacements.

Materials Originating in Europe

This is easily the most cost effective material. European standards are comparable to the standards of North America, but the product has a much shorter distance to travel.

Testing

Mold testing often requires the use of a representative to conduct a review at the facility to check the functionality and quality of the product. If you have tune-ins built into the contract, you will have a better product by the time you send your representative to conduct the review.

Lead Times

The shipping lead times are important because the different sourcing options handle shipping differently. Having excessively long lead times could end up negating cost savings. The following are important to know before you sign anything:

• Time zone difference for communicating and shipping
• Chinese holidays
• The receipt of sample shots from T-0
• Import duties

You need to know how each of these are handled so that you can plan accordingly.

Choose the Right China Injection Mold Supplier

Finding the right China injection molding supplier can be a very time consuming endeavor. You have three different channels to consider:

• Find a direct Chinese mold maker
• Hire a broker
• Work with a domestic provider

Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Direct Chinese Mold Maker

Initially, this will seem like the most cost effective method of getting a reliable China injection molding supplier. You won’t have to pay for a middleman, substantially reducing the initial cost.

However, it can end up being the most costly. The biggest issues are the language barrier and additional QA efforts. It will be much more difficult to negotiate if you do not have a native speaker who can work with the supplier. While they will surely have an English speaker, you will need someone who speaks their language as well. This can be very costly. You will also need to manage more of the QA to ensure the product meets your needs.

China Injection Molding Broker

The issues you could encounter with a direct provider can be largely avoided by using a broker. It will also look a bit more expensive up front. This is because they have established connections to help you find the right provider, as well as managing the monetary conversions.

Do keep in mind that they are only brokers. You will not be able to discuss specifics with them, only the people at the companies they recommend. This can also create lag time in getting your questions answered.

Domestic Providers

Domestic providers will appear to be the least cost effective China injection molding provider, but ultimately, they can save you a lot of time. Not only will you avoid having to research companies, they have the necessary experts to answer your questions. This substantially speeds up the design and development process, reducing the amount of time required to complete the project. They also manage the QA aspects, so that you can focus on other projects.

Initially, they are the most expensive option. However, cost is the only major drawback, and it usually ends up being far less costly than it appears at first. Because you save time and have the necessary experts to answer your questions, the final cost for domestic providers is a lot more competitive than you may initially believe.