Blog

An Inside View: Dan Sullivan breaks down what we do at Toolless Plastic

Who am I…

My name is Dan Sullivan and I am the Sales Coordinator at Toolless Plastic Solutions and I want to discuss our process with you.

The job and the title I do not take lightly. My background is in electrical and mechanical
machine maintenance. As well as running crews of personnel. This is also a part of my
career here at Toolless Plastics. Helping to keep the CNC machines running and other miscellaneous machinery and facilities maintenance as well as sales. I also help with prototype assembly and have trained in CAD design.

All of this may not be necessary for a salesperson, but I believe it makes me a better
one. It has equipped me with a set of skills that can, and do, help me to guide the potential customer and aid in helping them in designing an enclosure that meets their needs and melds with our technology. The ability to troubleshoot and work out technical issues helps in problem-solving with potential customers.

Customers…

As I said earlier, I do not take it lightly as this is where it all starts. Without our customers, we
would not be in business. This is not news to most. I believe salespersons are key to
getting new business and retaining old customers. We are the interface between the
public and our company. The diversity of our enclosures and the many uses of our product
make it an ever-changing and constantly evolving industry.

We get our clients from two sources. Mainly they come from searches on the internet for plastic
enclosures. However, customers also come to us by word of mouth. It is very important for us to retain the customer base we have. We have worked with many of our clients for years. Some of our clients are like old friends to us. In these times of faceless large corporations and profiteers, I believe we strive for the personal touch. We enjoy talking and adding the personal touch that comes from taking the time to get to know our clients.

Constantly Improving…

We recently have completed the ISO 9001 certification. This will be a great boon to us as many medical companies and electronic companies require this level of certification. We have worked for many years to achieve this status and will continue to improve as we become more acquainted with using this tool. This is a part of our ongoing willingness to improve our process.

We also strive to source our raw materials within the USA and use local companies to help us achieve a more economical and sustainable product. At Toolless, we are a recycler of our scrap plastic and are working on ways to reduce waste and create a more eco-friendly environment. We will continue to improve in these areas as new and better raw materials come about. We do work with recycled plastic materials as well.

Moving forward we will be looking into ways to get better yields from our plastic sheet goods. We will also be looking into alternative plastics that are more sustainable like cellulosic plastics. We work closely with local recyclers and make sure as much scrap is recycled as possible.

Enclosures….

We have two engineers on-site to aid with the design of the enclosures once a design type is settled on. There are many configurations and geometries to fit into modern-looking designs that we can provide. We also have digital printing and engraving which can be added to the enclosures. Anything from a company logo to actual artwork the printers can handle the toughest print jobs. We can etch in lettering or inlay plastic for decorations acrylic windows to add multiple plastic colors to our designs.

We have recently added a website for automated basic enclosures called: www.electronicase-us.com.This is a website for people who would like to get an instant quote and know what they are looking for. It is still using our process and follows the same design concepts just more streamlined and basic for the simpler enclosures. We use a Toolless design which means we can change parts and do simple modifications very easily compare to molding or thermoforming.

Process….

Our process of making an enclosure is we start off with a drawing or design. First, there is the gathering of information first. Do you have any special plastic requirements? For instance, flame retardant or UV stabilized plastic? Do you need any coatings on the plastic? Like painting or an EMI coating, which is a type of conducting paint used for Electromagnetic Interference shielding. What color plastic would you like do we carry it in stock or is it a custom item?

We would also determine if you need any hardware: standoffs, inserts, acrylic windows, screws, nuts, etc. Once we decide on a basic layout then we then move on to doing a 3D drawing and you have a chance to work with the engineers. They then can do a basic sketch and you can approve it or work with you on the changes until everyone agrees. Next, we would proceed with the programming and prototyping of the enclosure.

This brings us to the post prototype review of the case where I would discuss with the customer if there were any changes and will requote it just how it was made for the end customer. Next, I submit an updated quote for the case and product pricing. Going forward if there are any modifications we would discuss them and decide if we can go directly into production or if we need to do another prototype. This allows us to be very flexible and change with the needs of the customers keeping up with an ever-changing electronics industry.

Evaluation…

The follow-up stage of our customer service is very important as it allows us to see how the enclosures fit the customers’ needs and if any changes are needed going forward. This important step keeps everyone in the loop and informed of the functionality of the product. It also allows us to internally review the pricing and raise or lower the cost as necessary. Based on the material, the number of parts, and difficulty of assembling the enclosures, as well as cleaning and preparation for shipping.

Once the product has been evaluated by us and the customer, we can then get a feeling of how our performance is and determine a customer satisfaction rating. This is very important to us as this is how we keep our old customers and get new ones. We may get a feel for how we are doing or ask directly what the customer’s experience was and if they would recommend us to other potential customers or partners in need of plastic enclosures or other plastic parts, plates, bezels, covers, etc. Their feedback is essential in keeping us competitive in the marketplace and helps complete the process.

Conclusion…

We are always striving to improve the relationship between our customers and or their end-users.

In conclusion, there is no perfect system for sales. We strive to improve ours for all our customers. Relations with our company and their satisfaction is paramount. This is an ongoing mission we are still learning and will continue to grow and evolve and improve.

This is my goal as a representative of Toolless Plastic Solutions.