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Tag Archive: Manufacturing

  1. CGR Products News Release

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    CGR Products News Release: Growth Leads to a 30,000 sq ft Expansion and New High Volume Manufacturing Machinery

     

    Click Here to read the full news release.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  2. CGR’s Open House: Facility Tour, New Equipment and More

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    CGR Products will be hosting an open house at our Wisconsin facility — offering tours of our ISO 9001:2008-certified facility and showcasing our new high-quality equipment.

    We want to show you our new state-of-the-art machinery used for our custom cutting and fabrication services. Our equipment is involved in a number of manufacturing processes, including die cutting, knife cutting, waterjet cutting and laminating.

    New Manufacturing Equipment

    CGR-knife-cutting-machineOne of the latest additions to our list of machines includes our new knife cutting Flashcut Flex HD.

    The new Flashcut Flex HD is able to total cut, score cut, and kiss cut with a single knife chuck and rotating punches that can handle small diameter holes. Alongside this machine, CGR hosts a collection of other machines for waterjet cutting, custom die cutting, custom fabrication, and more.

    Wisconsin Facility Tour

    wisconsin manufacturing facility tour

    Don’t forget dinner & drinks!

    Whether or not you can make our Open House, please join us Tuesday, Oct. 25, at Coopers Hawk in the Brookfield Square Mall. Cocktails will be served at 6pm and dinner starts at 7pm.

    To learn more about the open house click here, or click the button below.

    New Call-to-action

  3. [INFOGRAPHIC] Insider’s Tips to Packaging Issues

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    An OEM’s guide to avoiding common packaging issues and eliminating unnecessary costs

    While generally overlooked during production, packaging solutions have a significant impact on your project’s overall costs.

    chrtopblog

    For OEMs requiring custom fabricated rubber, foam, and plastic products — such as gaskets, seals and  tapes — there are a number of packaging solutions to not only reduce costs, but also protect the product during shipping. After cutting and fabricating these products for over 50 years, CGR Products put together an infographic that lists some of the common packaging problems we’ve seen customers encounter, followed by the solutions we offer to combat each of the issues.

    The infographic includes solutions to problems such as:

    • Long processing times
    • Messy line assembly
    • High packaging costs
    • Slow data entry or inaccurate data
    • Overflowing warehouse
    • Excess parts or shortage of parts
    • And more

    Check out the infographic below to find the solution to your issue.

    Click image to enlarge:

     

    Add this infographic to your website by copying and pasting the following embed code:

    "[Infographic]

    [Infographic] Insider’s Tips to Packaging Issues by CGR Products

     

     

    Other Steps to an Optimized Supply Chain

    oem-optimize-supply-chain-coverNow that you know how to fix your packaging issues, take the next step to reducing product costs with an optimized supply chain. Our guide, How OEMs Can Optimize Their Supply Chain, offers six research-backed solutions to get you there, including how to manage your inventory properly and tips for selecting the most cost-effective supplier.

    Download your free copy of the eBook here.

  4. 3 Reasons Manufacturing is Coming Back to America

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    Everyone is familiar with offshoring — the process of sending manufacturing projects across seas in an effort to save costs has been in practice since the 1960s.

    But now a new trend is emerging called reshoring. Also known as “inshoring” or “backshoring,” reshoring manufacturing is returning previously offshored manufacturing processes back to America.

    American-manufacturingThe original benefit of offshoring — lower production costs — is now dwindling as wages outside the U.S. increase. While offshoring may still allow you to reduce some cost to your product, you  may actually be incurring more costs in other ways.

    Reshoring carries a number of benefits by helping to reduce the unseen costs of offshoring.

    Better Quality

    In the United States, companies are incentivized by competitive market pressures to maintain strict adherence to relevant ISO and TS technical specifications, as well as standards from other standardization bodies.

    Products manufactured from offshored components, however, may not meet the same quality as ISO-certified manufacturers in the U.S. Tolerances  can be looser and fail rates can be higher. These substandard-quality parts can lead to increased replacement costs and even loss of business, cutting into your bottom line.

    Significantly Faster Lead Times

    Offshoring parts adds considerable lead time to your orders. A general timeline for an offshored part looks something like this:

    • 2-4 weeks — Manufacturing time, varies depending on complexity and volume
    • ~5 weeks — Shipment to an American port: while some parts can be shipped via air cargo rather than sea cargo, doing so comes at a considerable expense
    • ~1 week — U.S. Customs approval
    • ~1 week — Removal from bonded freight
    • 1-2 weeks — Packaging and transportation to final destination, varies depending on location

    With offshored parts or components, final delivery can come four months or even longer after order placement. In contrast, reshored manufacturing processes  can finish and deliver parts in half the time or less.

    Performance Guarantee

    When you accept delivery of offshored parts, you never know what you are going to find. It can be incredibly difficult to trace the supply chains of offshore contractors. Certain offshore companies have even been known to use counterfeit materials, falsely branded with the logos of reputable suppliers.

    With reshored manufacturing, tracking the provenance of all of your parts and their source materials is drastically easier, giving you the peace of mind that you are always receiving goods at the level of quality that you expect.

    Learn More

    oem-optimize-supply-chain-coverIf these three reshoring benefits are not enough to get you to consider reshoring your currently offshored manufacturing processes, there is one more to consider — the United States economy. By keeping vast amounts of raw material and manufacturing dollars in the U.S., reshoring as a whole can be a great boon to the American economy.

    The Reshoring Initiative compiled job data from January 2010, the point of lowest employment in the manufacturing sector, to December 2015: they found that roughly 248,000 manufacturing jobs were created in America thanks to reshoring efforts.

    To learn more about how you can reduce your production costs, download “How OEMs Can Optimize Their Supply Chain,” our newest white paper, for free today.

  5. U.S. Manufacturing Companies like CGR Expand at a Sustainable Rate

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    As demand from overseas markets has cooled while domestic markets have remained steady, U.S. factories have begun to expand at a sustainable rate. Although there has been slowed order growth due to falling energy prices, many production facilities are likely to produce at the same or higher levels. This is due in part to increased consumer spending resulting from falling oil prices and higher employment rates.

    U.S. economist Michael Montgomery from IHS Global Insight believes manufacturing will keep expanding even with the lower rate of exports because demand is gaining stateside. The Markit Economics gauge saw a decrease in manufacturing in the U.S. with an 11 month low marked last December. The index dropped from 54.8 to 53.9.

    U.S. on Top as a Global Producer

    Globally, many countries are seeing decreases in their manufacturing output. Those based in Europe saw a 17 month low by last November while China had come to an 18 month low, according to factory purchasing managers.

    However, in the U.S., numbers from last year show stocks maintaining while erasing previous losses. Gains in both the energy and utility sectors offset declines in small caps while the S&P 500 Index dropped less than 0.1%. Out of 18 industries surveyed by purchasing managers’ group, 11 posted growth, including those in the metal, printers, and furniture sectors.

    Due to lower crude oil prices, input costs were down and were the lowest since the summer of 2012. Chemicals, plastics, and the primary metals industries all paid lower prices during December. In total, 13 manufacturing industries reported they paid lower prices. Since the economy in the U.S. is expanding and consumer spending is up by 3.2%, the orders will likely keep factories busy in the future. Consumers account for just shy of 70% of the U.S. economy.

    With employment up and gas prices down, Americans are helping to keep the economy afloat, and one of the largest manufacturers to benefit is carmakers. Auto sales are rising and from October to November of last year, they increased to 17.1 million from 16.4 million. However, some U.S. manufacturers will be hurt by overseas markets due to recessions in other parts of the world like Russia, who is facing economic decline from decreasing oil prices.

  6. A Record Year for Auto Sales

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    Last year was a record year for the auto industry, which seems to have finally bounced back from bailouts and recession woes. Americans were out in full force buying new cars and trucks, a far cry from the near hopeless automotive sector of 2008. The most popular vehicle of the year proved to be Ford’s F-150 truck, which sold 763,402 models in 2013, about 40% of the entire truck market. Overall, 15.6 million vehicles were purchased in the U.S., prompting an 8% increase in auto sales year over year. These strong sales were not only good for the automakers themselves, but our economy as a whole.

    Jerry Hirsch of the LA Times notes that “Car companies and parts manufacturers have added more than 173,000 jobs over the last four years and now employ more than 826,000 workers in the U.S., according to federal jobs reports. That’s still down from the 1.1 million before the recession, but it represents vital growth, economists said.” That’s big news for a nation that has been struggling with unemployment for the better half of a decade. More demand has sparked production across the country, employing workers and bringing new business to manufacturers throughout the supply chain. Interest in new cars and trucks does not seem to be waning either: this year’s Detroit Auto Show had the highest attendance record in its history.

  7. The Many Benefits of Waterjet Cutting

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    Now that you better understand Kiss Cutting, it’s also important to understand when Waterjet Cutting benefit your manufacturing process. Perhaps the most important characteristic of  waterjet cutting is that it can be used on materials that are sensitive to high temperatures that are common of other methods. Essentially,Waterjet Cutting is the use of a high pressure stream of water to shape or cut a material. The process can be dated as far back as the 1930s when high pressure erosion devices  evolved into industrial cutting machines. Although they could only cut softer materials such as paper in the beginning, the technology developed methods of increasing water pressure which now give us the ability to cut materials as tough as stainless steel and at extremely high speeds.

    At CGR, we find that Waterjet Cutting is the ideal choice for samples, prototypes, and quick-turn jobs because of its ability to offer excellent material yield. Utilizing a CAD operating system, our waterjet equipment has a rapid changeover time and allows for quick and easy dimensional changes to your parts. We are also capable of producing 76” wide cuts with an unlimited roll length. The CAD system that we use allows for maximum yield gains when compared with standard press die cutting. Add in the four head design of our waterjet fabricator and you’ll see why we are able to make multiple cuts with a faster production time. Using our waterjet fabricator services also lowers your initial set-up charge because the machine requires no tooling or tool maintenance, which means no cost is passed on to you and your business. Next time you need a prototype or a quick turnaround, consider Waterjet Cutting; it’s environmentally friendly and exceptionally effective.

  8. Kiss Cutting

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    Cutting a high volume of precision, custom parts with laminate and/or adhesive takes a special kind of process. The applications for kiss cut products are numerous, including uses in the automotive, marine, HVAC, industrial, farming, electrical, medical, and military industries. You will even find kiss cut materials on  escalators and elevators. It is superior in holding tight tolerances, has easy “peel and stick” application, can be done at high speeds, and is even ideal for prototyping. But what exactly is kiss cutting and how is it useful in these industries?

    Kiss cutting is part of our Rotary Die Cutting process and can be performed on a wide array of materials, from 3M™ Scotchmate™ Hook and Loop Fasteners to Mylar® to cork. Rotary Die Cutting is high speed, cost effective, and can handle a high volume of orders with ease. Done at high speeds, it involves the die cutting down into the chosen material, through one thin adhesive layer of laminate, and then partially through the adhesive liner. This highly evolved and extremely precise manner of cutting ensures that you get the exact shape and size you want, including materials with adhesive backed parts. The parts are then supplied on a roll or pad for easy “peel and stick” application wherever they are needed. CGR Products can cut material as thin as 0.002” for films and up to 3/8” thick for sponges. We can cut materials up to 16” x 20” in one single stroke, but we can also apply other production methods for larger parts. Call us for a quote on your next batch of adhesive parts.

  9. 3M to Increase R&D Spending

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    It is no mistake that 3M is one of the most successful American-born companies. Formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, 3M now employs 88,000 people worldwide with about $30 billion in annual sales.  The manufacturing giant makes more than 55,000 products such as adhesives, laminates, medical supplies, car accessories & cleaning supplies, and optical films. 3M is responsible for game-changing products: waterproof sandpaper, masking tape, Post-It Notes ©, Scotch© Tape, and more. It’s one of the 30 companies included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and number 97 on the Fortune 500 list.

    We are proud to work with such a successful company with such humble American roots.  3M is a supplier of CGR Products and the partnership enables us to provide the best possible products and services. But it’s not just 3M’s past that makes it a great company: 3M is constantly innovating and researching new ways to come up with newer and better products. Each year, they spend billions on research and development to redesign existing products and invent brand new ones. In 2010, 3M reformulated Scotchgard to eliminate the use of perfluorochemicals and make it safer for the environment. Current CEO Inge Thulin plans to increase R&D spending to increase organic growth and focus on new and more profitable business ventures such as products for the renewable energy arena. New products from 3M could mean more for CGR Products and our customers, too!

  10. Not Your Average Tape

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    You may not even realize that you come across foam tape in your everyday life. It could have even been this morning when you opened your front door! Whenever there is a need to keep out water, dust, or to protect from UV exposure, foam tape can really come in handy. It’s so easy to apply that anyone can do it, which makes it even more likely that you’ve seen it today and may not have even known! CGR makes our product by laminating a tape to the foam with adhesive on one side. A customer can then peel the liner off and stick the foam tape where they want weather stripping. Super easy, super effective.

    These insulating tapes are made with closed cell foam and can be found in a long list of applications ranging from acoustical insulation to medical devices to tractors to HVAC equipment. They can form a tighter seal to keep out wind, cold, dust, dirt, water, and UV rays from sensitive equipment and areas. We can make foam tapes as narrow as 1/8” wide and then create long, vulcanized rolls to accommodate virtually any length. CGR can also make tapes in a variety of thicknesses with clean, accurate, and consistent cuts to meet your specific needs. So the next time you open your screen door or roll down your car window remember to take a look at the insulating foam tape!