Characteristix – automation helps beat Far Eastern competition

Characteristix produces 33,000 custom moulded plastic novelties a day including birthday card badges, pendants, fridge magnets and pencil toppers. To compete in this market is very challenging due to ongoing price reductions required by customers and very low price competition from the Far East.

To compete, Characteristix has automated their complete production process including the unloading of the moulding machine, printing and part removal from the sprues. This produces 30 pieces in about 18 seconds and boosted production by 100%. This increased efficiency allowed Characteristix to exploit a niche in the market to supply quick turnround, small to medium sized batches to UK and European customers. Not only has the cell ramped up production it has also brought interest and variety to the production workforce.