|
Original Date: 04/24/2006
Revision Date: / /
Information : Lead-Time Reductions Paint
Midwest Metal Products maintains facilities and equipment to meet its customers’ requirements for powder paint finishes. Working with its suppliers and the material manufacturers, Midwest Metal Products is able to purchase the raw powder in a wide variety of colors, glosses, and textures and in economical quantities, which reduces cost and lead-times to customers.
Midwest Metal Products (MMP) is a full-service, contract precision-metal fabrication shop that employs approximately 125 people. As a full-service contract shop, MMP is able to completely fabricate, assemble, and finish a wide variety of metal components. One of the main finishes used on metal components or assemblies is powder coat paint, which has many advantages over standard wet paint because the process of applying the powder is VOC-compliant. Powder coating gives improved end-product durability and has a lower applied cost, saving the customer money.
Until early 2000s, powder coating had some drawbacks for the user as manufacturers’ lead-times were extensive, limited colors were available, minimum orders for amounts of powder to be ordered were very high, and the material was extremely expensive.
MMP wanted to provide additional metal-finishing support to its customers in a shorter timeframe and in a more economical manner. To accomplish these goals MMP and other low-volume users began working with the powder suppliers and manufacturers to develop a broader base of standard colors manufactured, gain better technical support from the suppliers, develop purchasing strategies to allow the users to procure smaller batch sizes of powder, and reduce lead-times on new orders.
As a result of these efforts and a wider acceptance of powder paint finishes, powder paint users now have a greater selection of available paint colors: users experience less powder waste due to being able to purchase powder in smaller quantities; different types of powder choices are available (e.g., epoxy, hybrid, urethane, polyester, etc.); and lead-times have been significantly reduced.
For more information see the
Point of Contact for this survey.
|
