ResTech Plastic Molding Portfolio

Anatomy of a successful molding business: 30+ years and

going strong

By Clare Goldsberry

Plastics Today

http://www.plasticstoday.com/articles/anatomy-of-a-successful-molding-business-30-years-and-going-strong-141015

Published: October 15th, 2014

Part 1 - Building a solid foundation

This is part 1 of a 3-part series on the evolution of an injection molding company. PlasticsToday was approached by

this company who wanted to tell their history, which isn't unlike the history of many injection molding companies out

there. History is important, and the history of this industry segment - and the molding companies that pushed the

industry forward - shows how the plastics industry as a whole evolved into the huge manufacturing business it is

today.

The year 1982 was just the beginning of what would become the decade of the boom in plastics, both for innovative

materials and applications.

It was also that auspicious year that George E. Danis decided to get into plastics. His metal fabrication company in

Watertown, MA, was doing well and many of the large original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the Northeast

were "growing like mad," explained Dick McKenney, a business partner of Danis. Companies like Lucent

Technologies, Codex Corp., Wang and Phoenix Corp. were exploding with new products and while metal fabrication

was the primary method for producing many of the housings and other components, plastics was coming on strong.

"The technology in the electronics industry was moving

forward and the complexity of the enclosures (housings)

for these high-tech products was becoming impossible to

manufacture in metal," Danis explained to PlasticsToday.

"My vision was to find ways to expand our customer base

and leverage the opportunities in the plastics industry by

converting these housings to plastic."

Danis was right on about the opportunities in converting

metal components into plastics, a fact recognized by

McKenney. "He was very forward thinking about the

plastics industry at that time," stated McKenney. "This

became our mission - to provide better solutions for our

customers' manufacturing needs. So we formed a partnership to get into plastic injection molding to augment his

metal fabrication operations, opening Plastic Molding Manufacturing (PMM)."

Danis's story of how the plastics company got its name is amusing. "Dick and I couldn't decide what to name the

company, so I said, 'well, what does the company do? We do plastic molding manufacturing.' So we decided that was

the best name we could come up with - to name the company for what we did," Danis related.

PMM started business with six used presses, and as plastic materials became better at replacing metal components,

the company began producing more products in plastics rather than metal. However, the knowledge base in plastics

was lacking in those early days in many of the high-tech industries.

George Danis

"Companies had good engineers but they were not conversant in plastics," said McKenney. "If you were willing to be

innovative you could help companies convert to plastics, and we did a lot of that for our customers. Codex, for

example, had a lot of young engineers and we'd discuss different possibilities for the product if we convert from metal

to plastic. That went well, and as these young engineers grew and changed companies they'd remember that we

helped them, and we continued to get new business."

PMM didn't have a sales force per se. Because injection molds and molding involves technical sales the company

hired engineers to work with OEMs, offering these potential customers help and advice in order to get the business.

"The key to growing the business was making sure PMM offered good customer service to build confidence, and we

had to put our engineering expertise on display as well," commented McKenney. "At the end of the day, people do

business with people. You have to keep that in mind. During the 80s, manufacturing was converting; regardless, the

old buyers that played their cards close to their chest made it more difficult to get the project."

McKenney finds it interesting that early on, PMM was often told 'you can't do that' when it came to exploring a metal

conversion. He recalled a lottery ticket printing machine for a customer that wanted to eliminate machining for a

complex bearing mount in a printer housing and yet hold a tolerance of +/- half thousandth. And it was a glass-filled

material to boot. "We did it," boasted McKenney, "and we made tens of thousands of those housings. It was simple

really, but we just had to think about it differently. How can we reasonably accomplish this?"

"We'll often take on challenge because no one else wants it, like a disk that one company was machining out of

polysulfone bar stock," McKenney added. "They were skeptical that we would be able to mold that part, but we did it."

While the plastics business was good, it wasn't always self-sustaining back in the early stages of the company's

history. PMM received financial support from Danis' successful metal forming business, as well as his other "smart

investments" such as real estate that supported the plastics operation. "We always worked on a budget," emphasized

McKenney. "We didn't start out with a lot of debt and what we had was all internal."

Plastics processing technology advanced in the 1980s as well, which helped

PMM become more successful. "It used to be dial-turning, back in the day

before we could profile our materials and processes," McKenney added. "We

had one technician who used to stand and stare at the injection molding press.

We'd ask him what he was doing to resolve a molding problem and he'd say, 'I'm

trying to think like a piece of plastic.'"

No longer do process technicians have to learn to "think like a piece of plastic."

With the evolution of processing technology and machinery becoming more

sophisticated with advanced controls and monitoring, PMM was able to take on

more conversion projects. "We were often the guinea pig for a company

manufacturing injection molding monitoring systems looking for a live laboratory

- so we got an advanced look at machine monitoring," McKenney said. "The

electronics for process controls got better, and the company could profile the

whole injection process."

A key to the company's early success with these types of projects was applying their experience, knowledge and the

information at hand to new applications. "Back then, when there wasn't the proliferation of schools with a focus on

plastics, there were more shop rats like me," McKenney joked, half seriously. "And there were toolmakers like me

who went on to get their formal education, but also had the hands-on experience that became extremely valuable.

Today, young engineers with formal education can be given a few years of experience and they turn out to be very

proficient."

"As molding equipment controls improved it enabled PMM to become a better molder; more consistent in processing

and process controls," said McKenney. "Dial in the process - and monitor the process, that's where we are at this

stage of the game. We have that process and quality control standardized for zero defects for the high volumes we

run today. Of course we audit the manufacturing process and the results and retain the metrics to ensure customer's

requirements are met."

Dick McKenney

McKenney said that PMM's success was a result of this "benchmark philosophy" that everything is a process - from

the time you say hello on the phone to the final billing. "We embrace that same philosophy today as a best practice,

and to do that you need to know your customer and the metrics."

PMM had its beginnings in what was the decade of the boom in plastics and the company's early foundation was built

on the talent and commitment of its employees who demonstrated a passion for innovation and customer service.

"Our legacy was our customer's success - making manufacturing of plastics better tomorrow," McKenney added. "It

defined what we stand for and believed in. Standards our company has upheld since its founding in 1982."

ResTech keeps its manufacturing

jobs at home

George E. Danis, CEO of ResTech Plastic Molding LLC,on the manufacturing floor of the company's Hudson facility on Tuesday. (T&G Staff/PAUL KAPTEYN)

By Joshua Lyford CORRESPONDENT

Worcester Telegram & Gazette http://www.telegram.com/article/20141005/NEWS/310059952/0/SEARCH

HUDSON — ResTech Plastic Molding, a plastic molding injection manufacturer, has had plenty of opportunities in its

45-year history to move operations to lower cost locations in Asia.

ResTech chief executive officer George E. Danis said despite the temptation, he is adamant about keeping his

business firmly planted in the United States, even while other companies have moved manufacturing overseas to cut

costs.

"At the beginning of the 21st century the manufacturing just disappeared," he said. "It moved out to the Far East."

Mr. Danis says that instead of moving overseas, ResTech has been working on efficiencies to cut costs, through

automation and concepts like the company's paperless initiative.

"Without question, it is important to keep our employees in the states," Mr. Danis said. "We've had many

opportunities to go overseas, but we have not moved our whole operation in any way. In many ways, our entire

economy depends on manufacturing. You can't be a consuming society and survive, it doesn't work."

Plastic injection molding is a process which injects raw material into a pre-crafted mold. Using this basic process,

ResTech manufactures a huge variety of plastic products across a vast swath of industries, from toothbrush handles

to telephone cases, industrial pump-heads to high-volume packaging.

The company has manufactured products for the defense industry, like packaging for practice rounds of ammunition.

The company built a "clean room" for manufacturing items for the medical industry, like brackets for temperature

gauges, and a casing for mobile blood-pressure stations. They work within the transportation industry as well, crafting

components like seatbelt clips.

ResTech Plastic Molding, based at 34 Tower St. in Hudson, was formed in 2010, when Hudson-based Plastic

Molding Mfg., Inc. acquired Res-Tech Corporation, which was based in Clinton. Res-Tech currently employs about

250 people.

The Tower St. building that houses ResTech Plastic Molding encompasses 80,000 square feet, and was purchased

by Mr. Danis in 1989. The building was used by Mr. Danis throughout the company's early years, but because it had

not yet been fully rehabbed, the company had a hard time renting out space to other businesses. Instead, the

company chose to renovate much of the building for its own use. The facility is undergoing a huge transition into a

completely redesigned business complex.

As part of a planned expansion, ResTech purchased two Connecticut-based companies in the past year: Tech

Atlantic of Berlin, Conn. in 2013, and Northeast Mold & Plastics of East Hartford, Conn., which was purchased earlier

this year. The two companies have been consolidated into the East Hartford location, which has become a division of

ResTech.

Company founder, Mr. Danis, emigrated to the United States from Greece in 1961, unable to speak a word of English

at the time. He eventually earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University.

He launched a metal fabrication business called DAMCO in 1968. While involved with this company, he spotted a

trend of using plastic instead of metal. That germ of a business idea eventually became Plastic Molding

Manufacturing, Inc., which was founded in 1982. Res-Tech was founded in 1976.

He said he is proud of what the company has become.

"Especially for me, coming from another country," he said. "I didn't speak English well, and now we have over 250

people working in our plants, it is encouraging and I'm learning every day, every month and every year."

45 years of Made in America manufacturing, – Today’s Medical Developments

by ADMIN on MAY 6, 2014

http://reshoringmfg.com/45-years-of-made-in-america-manufacturing-todays-medical-developments/

Boston, Massachusetts – Commemorating the 45th anniversary, ResTech Plastic Molding LLC (RPM) is looking

back at what helped it sustain American manufacturing growth during the last forty-five years.

“For decades, ResTech Plastic Molding has been driven by a desire to continuously improve quality and service,

rather than the offshoring model, outsourcing services and personnel overseas,” said George E. Danis, CEO of

ResTech Plastic Molding. “We never reconsidered our ‘Made in America’ manufacturing strategy and

macroeconomics with the draw to move some of operations overseas. Unlike other companies, we continued to

adapt to what our new and current customers were demanding: a long-term perspective to provide low-cost

manufacturing.”

First American manufacturing company

In 1968, Danis successfully launched his first American manufacturing company to serve the state of Massachusetts

emerging high-tech industries with electronic manufacturing services. Every company that they dealt with had its own

service, quality, and supplier requirements. They quickly learned that managing the customer’s drawings, quality

paperwork, and logistics was just as demanding as managing production of the product itself. To meet growing

customer demand, they relocated to Hudson, MA, into an 80,000ft2manufacturing campus with expansion plans for

Cleanroom facilities. The facility was upgraded and includes a climate controlled tool room and tool storage space.

ResTech started designing and making its own tools on-site with a preventative maintenance program, guaranteeing

the life of all its tooling projects.

Integrated vertical manufacturing

Danis launched Plastic Molding Mfg. Inc., (PMM) a custom injection molder and single source manufacturing

company for molded plastic components, plastic design, and assemblies in 1982. At that time, he wanted to solve

problems no one was addressing: an all-inclusive local partner, shortening the time-to market and lowering costs.

“Our integrated manufacturing and product development model solved this problem with a focus on small and

medium size OEMs, brought together Box-Build capabilities, PCB assembly and mechanical services and

engineering, all under ‘one roof’,” said Danis.

During the SARS epidemic, there was urgency for inexpensive, non-hospital testing for the virus. They stepped-up to

the challenge when this medical equipment leader called upon PMM to meet the worldwide demand, ‘revved up’

production and shipped units directly to Asian logistic centers on-time for field testing and distribution. This durable,

easy-to-use diagnostic product is designed for critical patient care by healthcare professionals who require hospital-

grade quality in non-hospital settings.

Enterprise Resource Planning system

PMM was doing business nationally, with several Fortune 500 companies who conducted site audits. That year, the

company decided to make a critical decision replacing the dated computer program designed for accounting and

billing, but not managing supply chain or administering quality procedures. They knew they needed a better quality

system and a better management system. In 1999, ResTech migrated all of its data into a single ERP application that

would manage all aspects of its business: the solution integrates supply chain management, accounting, inventory,

and production.

“We continued to adapt our Made in America manufacturing strategy,” said Danis. “Whether or not we won their job,

we knew we needed a new system and, to implement additional best practices to provide low-cost manufacturing.”

First acquisition

The company acquired a Clinton-based plastic injection molder company and merged with PMM. The new combined

entity in 2010, re-branded and became

ResTech Plastic Molding, operating a total of 28 injection molding machines with contracts in medical, industrial,

defense, automotive and food service industries. A majority of new customers, domestic OEMs who offshored work

and well-paying jobs, were spending more time managing multiple suppliers and long-distance relationships. Their

sense of urgency shifted from quality intensive due to constantly re-evaluating sourcing and costs of overseas

production. They found ResTech’s engineering and manufacturing systems yielded some promising results: reducing

total cost of production, return to localized sourcing with the ability to reshore manufacturing back to the USA: they

could make their products here, in New England.

Participation in statewide manufacturing program

Danis joined Building Bridges to Growth: A Roadmap for Advanced Manufacturing in Massachusetts in 2011.

Launched by Governor Deval Patrick, the initiative is an ambitious plan designed to revitalize and enhance the

competitiveness of the manufacturing industry. That same year, Massachusetts State Senator Jamie Eldridge (in

picture, center) toured the Hudson manufacturing campus and said, “Skilled manufacturing is a thriving industry in

Massachusetts thanks to companies like ResTech Plastic Molding. To keep it that way, we need to increase our

investments in workforce development and building our infrastructure are the best things we can do to grow our

economy over the long run. I’m committed to making sure these are the economic priorities of our Commonwealth.”

Enhanced quality system

The company completed a new ISO Class 8 100,000 Cleanroom with 6 JSW Electric Molding Machineswith

clamping forces of 40 to 120 tons.

“We focus on growth and excellence, but the only people who can do it are the employees. And to get the results you

need to give them the tools, and the training program is one of them,” said Danis.

Usually a book or paper is prepared to help with a job, but ResTech wanted to go further and installed a video system

on machines that details what to watch for and how to handle a job. The Mobile Automated Trainer (in picture, right)

is installed company-wide. The process is tightly controlled: various departments and the customer have to sign-off

before it is implemented and, shows what finished products look like and even how to pack them.

Adding two-shot molding technology

Perceptive companies closely follow the total cost of ownership to reevaluate offshoring vs. reshoring. ResTech has

been focused on a new turnkey approach, providing a customer-driven single-source solution accelerating low-cost

manufacturing for its customers and to keep them from offshoring. In January 2014, ResTech acquired Northeast

Mold & Plastics, adding Two-Shot molding technology to its portfolio.

Danis said, “The real payoff of two-shot plastic injection molding of thermoplastic materials is an economic one: parts

of two different materials can be fabricated with the speed, efficiency, and economy of thermoplastic processing. This

eliminates the labor-intensive secondary operations used for so many years and replaces them with high-speed

automated operations, to yield a more consistent, higher quality fabricated part at a significantly lower cost.”

Leading the future in plastic molding technologies

Today’s ResTech Plastic Molding, is a leading Northeastern United States injection molder and a single source

manufacturing company, and employs more than 200 people in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Danis said sales

have been steadily rising 15% over the last three years and expects the same this year. The company is also getting

a boost from work coming back from China, gaining 2 projects that been manufactured overseas. Although focused

on the future, ResTech Plastics Molding tries not to forget how far it has come in 45 years.

“For a company like ours to grow in an increasingly competitive global economy, the need for exceptional people is a

given,” said Danis. “However, having first rate quality systems and technology will be more critical.”

Source: ResTech Plastic Molding LLC

'Whatever you can dream of, you can make it' Published: June 18, 2014 1:33 pm ET

Updated: June 18, 2014 1:40 pm ET

http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20140618/NEWS/140619895/whatever-you-can-dream-of-you-can-make-it

Share

George Danis of ResTech Molding Inc. has been involved in manufacturing for 45 years -- most of that time in

plastics.

Plastics News correspondent Frank Antosiewicz talked with George Danis, owner and CEO of Hudson, Mass.-based

injection molder ResTech Plastic Molding Inc., about how the plastic industry has changed in the past 32 years.

Q: I know that you have been involved with American manufacturing for 45 years. How did you first get involved

with plastics?

Danis: We were manufacturing metal fabrication prior to the plastics. The last 35 to 40 years the industry started

exploding. Most important is because of the conversion of many metals into plastics I decided to start the plastic

injection molding business. The business is really because of the conversion to plastics. The materials have different

types of combinations. You have over 35,000 different material combinations. That is how broad and expansive the

industry has become. It will continue on for a long period of time because it is much easier to use. With engineering

and development, you have a product that you can continuously use the same molds to make your parts.

Q: What year did you get involved with plastics?

Danis: 1982

Q: Do you remember the first part you made?

Danis: We made a part for Analogic. It was a very small piece of their board and then we continued to build for them.

Then we started business with Motorola — some of their modems were used in those days to transmit data. Then, of

course, we did business with many others including Lucent, General Electric, IBM and some of the military companies

— Raytheon and others. The entire industry really started to convert all metals. They expanded into research and

development and found a much faster and more effective way than when they were trying to take piece of metal and

bend it, form it or do whatever you needed to do with it.

Technology has really improved. The old machines were much more difficult to operate, and not as flexible or accurate.

As the technology improves the products get smaller and smaller. Many of the secondary services to the metal

fabrication are now incorporated in the mold to start off with it. Whatever you can dream of, you can make it. The

materials that they were using in the past needed painting and all kinds of cosmetics whereas with plastics you can

automatically have it done right at the start.

Q: What have you learned from the plastics industry over the years?

Danis: How quickly you can really adapt and improve your processes. Because when you finish the part you have the

complete part to assemble that the exact product the customer is looking for. For example, with the telephone: The

industry started with big phone, then a cell phone or car phone. That become smaller and smaller. Today it becomes a

smartphone, even replacing the laptop. You make billions of those across the world. Unfortunately, some of that is in a

different part of the world because of the labor cost that we can’t afford in this country.

What we are doing more and more looking in this country is looking to automate to take some of cost out of process so

we can compete with low-cost countries. We are very committed — both the industry and ourselves to resourcing and

bringing back manufacturing to the U.S. That is the only way to create jobs. The political leaders are talking about

creating jobs, but you can’t create them unless you invest in automation so you can be competitive. That’s exactly what

we need to do and that’s what the industry is doing and that’s what we are doing here at ResTech Plastics Molding.

We’re very committed to reshoring and creating jobs and making products we need and can market in our own country.

For many years we have been continually automating and adding training processes for what is the most important

area of manufacturing and the general economy. We have patented a training machine that we can have [instructions]

both visually and orally and the operator doesn’t have to be wondering what to do. It is all there. They can hear as often

as want and visually see it.

So the industry in total has accelerated its growth and technology. Innovation is really the key and the foundation to

creating more jobs in America.

Q: How would you say that the industry has changed over the years that you have been involved?

Danis: I believe the industry is continuously evolving in the areas that we need to keep up with in technology and the

invention of new products. We are committed to the manufacturing and it is one of our most technological challenges.

Today miniature products have been growing rather than shrinking like other manufacturing product lines in past.

Q: What is new in the industry? Are there new materials or processes that make a difference in how the industry

operates?

Danis: Again, new equipment is more up to date, more versatile, easier to operate and more consistent in output.

Quality improves. Productivity improves and energy reduction is much more effective than in past. We have new

equipment that can run with half the energy that was needed in the past. A lot of equipment is also electric so you don’t

have to use hydraulic oils and things that are sometimes becoming hazards to our environment and difficult to dispose

of.

The materials again, I believe, between the combination of colors and raw basic materials that we have multiplied by a

thousand times to few thousand times to over 35,000 different material combinations available for our future.

The addition to the industry of the two-shot equipment so you don’t have to worry about making a part in two or three

or four different colors without removing it from your tool. ResTech Plastic Molding has invested and we have four of

those two-shot machines doing a super job, and they are very effective to make the final product. It comes out whether

it is red- black, or red-white, or blue-white, and it Is a finished product and ready to go to final assembly. So, technology

in the Industry really accelerated and is continuously moving in right direction.

Robotics takes out some of cost of labor where we were finding difficult to compete in earlier years. The low-cost

countries have very low labor costs so unfortunately we needed to automate with robotics and automation including

packaging — you take it from machine to box automatically. Obviously depending on volume, you can have total

automation including inspection.

Q: What is the biggest challenge the plastics industry faces at this point?

Danis: I believe the human elements of technological experience. We are lacking that due to the past years of losing

our manufacturing economy and we have not really have tried to continuously educate our young people to look at

manufacturing as a good job with good wages and a future career. So the more we are expanding in the industry, the

more we need better technical and experienced people. I believe that UMass Lowell has really been a pioneer in the

plastic engineering and we applaud their dedication and their innovative ways of moving forward in plastic engineering.

Q: I know ResTech is growing through acquisition, the latest being the acquisition of Northeast Mold and

Plastics. Is there a certain size a company needs to be to operate efficiently?

Danis: I believe that to be most efficient to be somewhere between $10 [million] and $20 million. Location is very

important as well because industry and customers are looking for an emergency plan in case of a catastrophe in one

plant. So, one of the criteria that must be built into your growth plan is to have more than one plant to satisfy a customer’s

contingency needs.

Q: Is the perception of plastics changing and how can companies work to maintain a good image?

Danis: A customer looks for engineering work up front, assistance to develop a manufacturing product to be effective

and someone to hold their hands because they are looking to cut costs. That is one thing they are looking for. The other

is to provide and deliver on time with impeccable quality that don’t have to scrutinize or try to figure how to use it or

what needs to be done.

Quality is a very expensive process so it must be up front and focused. That is why Restech developed portable wireless

system and brings it to the machine. Everything will be paperless. Everything is in videos and on our screens that are

portable and we move it. Everything from blueprints to all work orders to all documentation including the count and

everything that was needed on paper is now on screen and stored for repeatability without any human hands on it. Not

soiled, not ripped — no mistakes.

Q: Lastly do you find young people more ready to work in the industry?

Danis: I believe it is true that they see the industry growing. They see it as a viable alternative to other careers. It is

also looked as a way to get back to the manufacturing end of the economy.

I am very encouraged because a lot of people enjoy clean areas and they enjoy seeing the final product — it is

something not very visible or doable in other industries. You have to move things from one end to the other before you

see it, but here it is out of the machine, into a box and you send it into shipping room. One thing I have seen is young

people interested. Young people do come around and want to learn.

ResTech buys Northeast Mold & Plastics By Frank Antosiewicz

CORRESPONDENT

Published: February 7, 2014 12:56 pm ET

Updated: February 7, 2014 12:57 pm ET

http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20140207/NEWS/140209939/restech-buys-northeast-mold-

plastics#email_pndaily

ResTech Plastic Molding Inc. is adding two-shot molding capability to its portfolio with the acquisition of Northeast Mold

& Plastics Inc. of Glastonbury, Conn.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Northeast Mold, a custom molder, was established in 1983. It has done work for many industries, including

telecommunications, electronics, instrumentation, printing, automotive, water purification and medical components.

It has four two-shot molding machines — an 88-ton and three 220 ton machines.

Hudson, Mass.-based ResTech, which purchased Tech Atlantic Inc. of Berlin, Conn., in April 2013, plans to combine

both to form its Northeast Mold and Plastics Division. ResTech said the management team will be unchanged and will

continue to be led by Ron Bodeau, NEMP's general manager.

"NEMP will blend seamlessly with our current operations as we expand our technology strategy in the northeastern

United States and execute our customer care program," said George Danis, CEO of ResTech Plastic Molding, in a

statement.

Danis said NEMP will be situated in Berlin, and will have 33 injection molding machines ranging from 30-500 tons of

clamping force.

The company is currently following a year-long agenda to expand its customer care expertise, invest in research and

development, and improve access to technical assistance, internal workforce development and external education

programs.

He also said adding Northeast Mold & Plastics gives ResTech customers the ability to take a two-piece product and

redesign it for two-shot molding. Danis said some customers have already expressed interest in the new capability.

Northeast Mold's customers will also gain from working with ResTech, which includes a circuit and assembly division

for mechanical contracting.

ResTech was established in 1976. It was acquired later by Danis and Plastic Molding Manufacturing.