Revere Plastics Systems Demonstrating Its Strengths

– Plastics News, June 18, 2018

Revere Plastics Systems LLC focuses on doing more for its customers, going beyond molding and shipping parts to adding value that sets the company apart from its competition. According to Doug Drummond, vice president of sales and marketing, the core competency for Revere, which recently moved its headquarters to Novi, Mich., is injection molding and assembly. The company’s engineering and technical resources set it apart.

“We are not one of the standard molders that just molds a part and puts it in the box and ships it,” Drummond said. “We can do that, but about 85 percent of the company’s business features some sort of value-add.”

Additional core competencies include engineering, stack molding, tandem molding, insert molding, multi-shot molding, mold-to-mold transfer, in-mold decorating and vertical molding. Another way that Revere sets itself apart from the competition is with its top-flight technical resources and capabilities that add value for customers.

“We have more than 40 engineers on staff,” Drummond explained. “As we build up relationships with our customers, we try to dial in on that. The customers value all that we can bring to the table.” While some customers may just want a molded solution, others may be looking for a vendor that can provide a part that features multiple molded parts and several components that are then assembled and shipped. Complexity is no problem. In fact, this is where Revere excels.

Revere performs a lot of the final assembly and design work in-house, which is another value-add for its customers. During a tour through a Revere facility, a customer will witness an elevated level of the latest automation technology. Drummond also noted that the company has a dedicated sales engineering group.

“Their primary focus is to be externally tuned into what we can do for the customer,” he said. “It goes beyond maximizing efficiencies.” This includes a formal program in which the company details a plan that is geared for each customer. “Many customers are looking for a price reduction,” Drummond noted. “The easy way would be to reduce the PO price. That is easy to change, but in the end, taking cost out is the best way to reduce price.”

The sales engineering group works to develop innovative technologies that can be shown to customers. “It may not be applicable every time, but just showing customers that you are working on new things and have new ideas flowing is a positive,” Drummond pointed out.

Revere is very proficient at handling high-volume customers with complex products. Drummond noted that the key to be a valued supplier in these relationships is communication. “It goes beyond a sales person talking to a buyer,” he said. “Once your engineering group gets heavily involved with their engineering group, and your quality group gets heavily involved with their quality group, it forges the relationships and they gain trust in giving you that kind of business.”

“Revere is very proficient at handling high-volume customers with complex products. Drummond noted that the key to be a valued supplier in these relationships is communication.”

The company also is adept at being flexible. Drummond noted that many customers also have multiple locations and the company can move equipment and processes across locations to where it is needed by customers. One example is a project in which Revere is making fuel tanks for a very large manufacturer.

“We have done this work for them for a long time in our Poplar Bluff, Mo., facility. We had an opportunity to supply them tanks at another one of their facilities near our Jeffersonville, Ind., plant,” he said. “There was some apprehension by the customers, but we showed them that we had the ability to transfer that capability.” Companywide, Revere has more than 230 injection molding presses ranging from 25 tons to 1,880 tons.

“We have a lot of welding capabilities,” Drummond pointed out. The company also has been instrumental in working with customers to develop parts that previously had been made from metal. Revere currently is working on a project with an auto OEM to mold a brake component that has historically been made of metal.

“They needed to take weight out of the assembly,” he said. “We started working with the original metal part design. They got us involved very early in the process.”

Revere worked through a couple of versions of the part. “That led to some additional enhancements, which turned into prototype tooling,” Drummond noted. “It has been a terrific opportunity for us in the automotive industry. It is one of the opportunities that we really look for.”

By providing solutions for its customers, Revere is ensuring that 2018 will be a great year for the company and Drummond noted that “this year is looking pretty good for us.” Drummond concluded that bringing more value to its customers will be a central focus for Revere during the coming year.