Purveyors of Purposeful Plastic Manufacturing: Meet Plastic Design Inc.
This month we sat down with the folks over at Plastic Design Inc. (PDI) out of North Chelmsford, Massachusetts and presented them with a handful of questions that would best place their company in the spotlight.
To start, Plastic Design Inc. have positioned their core competencies into four key buckets. They are as follows:
DESIGN
Plastic Design, Inc. will work from your drawings or create a design for evaluation based on your needs. Their design team has the ability to take your idea to a turnkey product or system without formal documentation. With all the resources available in house, cost control is assured.
CUSTOM FABRICATION
Plastic Design, Inc. specializes in turning simple to complex ideas into reality. PDI utilize the latest in automated fabrication equipment and expert computer aided design capability to supply finished product to your specifications in any quantity. From the one-off prototype to a full production run, their highly trained staff of engineers and technicians have years of experience in plastic fabrication, and are dedicated to producing a quality product at a reasonable price.
COMPLIANCE
Plastic Design, Inc. products can be produced to meet or exceed your pertinent standards specifications such as Factory Mutual, Semi, NFPA, OSHA, and many others.
ONSITE SUPPORT
Plastic Design, Inc. offers on-site surveys to review new projects as well as evaluations of an existing system requiring modifications to extend their current usefulness. Engineering support is also available in preparing system specifications to ensure the finished product meets your expectations. Virtually any aspect of pre and post production engineering support is available.
PDI’s state of the art 30,000 sq. ft. facility has 21,000 sq. ft. of open manufacturing area with complete manufacturing capability.
The following is an overview of PDI’s current manufacturing equipment:
- 14 – N2 feed Plastic Welding Stations (NOTE: All in-house welding is done using nitrogen)
- 1 – Anderson Exact 5′ x 10′ CNC Machining Center
- 1 – Kern Laser 52′′ x 100′′, 400 watt CO2 Laser
- 1 – Anderson Exact Plus T.C. 5′ x 12′ CNC Machining Center
- 1 – Holz-her Precisions 5′ x 12′ Panel Saw
- 1 – Wegener Computer Controlled Butt Welding Machine for 10′ wide sheet
- 2 – 8′ x 10′ Flat Table Cutting Stations
- 10 – Manual Routing Stations
- 1 – Thermal Forming Oven
- 2 – Pipe Fusion Systems
- 1 – Full Machine Shop
- 1 – Stainless Steel Plasma Cutting & Welding
- 2 – DI Water Test Systems
- Computer Aided Design Using Alpha Cam / AutoCAD and Solidworks
What you’re about to read is the meat of that conversation. If you have any further questions, or would like to learn more about Plastic Design Inc, their contact information can be found at the end of this feature. Without further ado, please join us in learning all about Plastic Design Inc, and what they’ve been working to accomplish within our industry for 40+ years of experience in their industry.
Please, fill us in on the history of Plastic Design Inc.:
Founded in 1976, Plastic Design Inc. has established itself as a leader and innovator in the field of custom plastic fabrication. The unique demands of the markets we serve are rarely satisfied by generic or mass produced products. Our expertise lies in creating products that meet the specific needs of each customer. PDI’s experience within the biomedical, pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries has resulted in the development of cutting edge products and methods by which they are produced. Application of the latest manufacturing technologies ensures that our products comply with the strict tolerances and requirements of these industries. Our engineering depth and strategic alliances allow us to produce products ranging from simple cabinetry to the most advanced, fully automated stations. Working from a professional design, rough sketch or simply and idea, PDI can make your concept a reality.
In November of 2017, PDI acquired Keller Products. Keller Products was founded in 1990 as a supplier of engineered filtration products for the industrial market. The major initial product line was a series of cartridge filters utilizing the unique Keller plastic stacked disc washable filter element. To meet customer requirements, cartridge filters with replaceable filter elements and bag filters were added to the line. Keller industrial filters continue to enjoy a substantial market in filtration of cooling water, municipal water supplies, pond and well water.
The Current owners of Plastic Design Inc are Daryl Flynn and Kurt Flynn Both have over 30 years of experience in the Plastic Fabrication Field.
What are PDI’s operative offerings? What do you do?
Plastic Design has its roots in custom fabrication, however we have hones these fabrication skills to build a company that has the ability to provide solutions in the areas of semiconductor fume hoods, materials handling, biomedical products, clean room essential products, CNC routing, laser cutting , and machining of plastic. With the addition of the Keller Filter Division we have the ability to sell filtering and machine tool tramp oil solutions.
PDI has a wide array of products from tanks used in semiconductor manufacturing, fume hoods used in R&D in the pharmaceutical & biomedical industries to custom displays for casinos to products for the NHL.
What types of industries do you typical serve on a day to day business?
PDI supplies systems and products to meet the demanding needs of industries from biomedical and pharmaceutical to microelectronics and photonics.
Any additional points you would like to tell potential buyers about?
Based on our years of experience we have the ability to bring many solutions to the table. We have the ability to bring a design idea to a reality.
Tell us about your company’s people (longevity, special abilities). Many of our employees have been here for over 10 years and we have several who have been here for over 25. Our company is more than a business it is a family.
What is your company’s level of technology?
3 AXIS CNC routers, laser cutting, CNC lathe and milling, combined with Solidworks, and AutoCAD— we can model man of our customer needs.
What does PDI have for in-house services?
PDI offers OEM builds, Kan Ban stocking, engineering services, contract manufacturing, and most often, the custom fabrication of components.
Have any process(es) been added or improved in recent times that your present customers should know about?
We are currently working on an agricultural line of products as well as bringing some of our solutions to an e-commerce platform.
Does your company offer special services?
We have done reverse engineer and/or product improvement, although its done on a case by case.
Fill us in on PDI’s quality, quantity and quoting practices:
Plastic Design, Inc. is dedicated to having the finest quality plastic fabricated products while ensuring our customers’ needs are met through personal service and continuous improvement while meeting applicable requirements.
Are you QS certified? Do you offer SPC? Any certifications your company has received?
We are ISO9001:2015 certified
What types of quantities are you presently producing, or want to produce?
We do it all! From a single piece prototype for a new startup, to high volume OEM, including new product development.
If you offer delivery services, what geographic area, or radius, do you cover?
We do offer a delivery service, although try to keep it within an hour of the office. However, we do work for customers all over the country.
Do you have any customer testimonies you’d like to quote?
Daryl Flynn, President of Plastic Design, Inc., was recently highlighted in an article by his alma mater, Bentley University, for the company’s efforts in supplying medical frontline workers with personal protective equipment (PPE). Here’s an excerpt:
Unlike other alumni who are running into production roadblocks due to a lack of materials amid the pandemic, Daryl Flynn ’93, co-president of Plastic Design, Inc. is lacking people. Namely, workers at his custom plastic fabrications company in Chelmsford, Mass. When we spoke, Flynn was overseeing a limited staff of 13—far lower than the usual 40 on the factory floor.
“It’s fear,” he says. Pick a crisis: fear of the virus, fear of spreading the virus. “You can’t manage fear,” he adds. “That’s something they really don’t teach you.” However, Flynn himself isn’t afraid. “I’m a realist,” he explains. “I look at the numbers. I wash my hands. It’s contagious, but I’ll take my chances.”
Because what’s on the line are nine-inch face shields— thousands of them. A plastic line of defense far surpassing any cloth mask an essential worker can find on Etsy.
Flynn’s parents bought Plastic Design, Inc. in the mid- ’80s. At 19, Flynn started working at the company, and joined up full-time after graduating from Bentley in 1993, as did his brother Kurt ’95, two years later. Since then, the duo has kept the family business in stride with the times, evolving from custom display cabinets to biomedical products and even casino tables. If you’re playing roulette at Foxwoods, chances are you’re sitting at a table made by the Flynn brothers.
When COVID-19 struck, Flynn answered the call of a friend: an anesthesiologist looking for safety glasses. “I had some extra material lying around, so I asked him if I could make a face shield instead,” Flynn says. He went into work the next day and mocked up a design using existing materials from a project he had done for the U.S. Navy—plastic shields used to encase wires on the ships.
“He said it was great.”
What one thing would you like prospective customers to know about your company?
Utilizing the unique properties of the many plastic materials available today, Plastic Design, Inc. supplies systems and products to meet the demanding needs of industries from biomedical and pharmaceutical to micro-electronics and photonics. With the latest in automated fabrication equipment and expert computer aided design capability, Plastic Design, Inc. can supply any quantity, from the one-off prototype to full production runs. Should your need be for a simple bio- isolation chamber, a fully automated semi-conductor etching tool, or a totally unique innovation, Plastic Design, Inc. will address your project in a quality, timely, and cost effective fashion.
180 Middlesex Street
North Chelmsford, MA 01863
Phone: 978-251-4830
www.plasticdesigninc.com
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