Why Innovative Products Are Designed & Manufactured With Northwest Plastics

Do you have an idea for a product you would like to see designed and developed for manufacturing? Great! Northwest Plastics works with clients to bring their product ideas to life every day. Maybe your design could benefit from minor tweaks that would result in a product that is easier to manufacture, or your idea is still in its infancy? Either way, we can help! Whether you have a design that needs to be tweaked or have a concept that needs to be designed and brought to life, our design and development team can assist you with every step.

The next step in product design and development is to build a mold, or “Tooling” as we call it in the industry. Without the proper guidance in this step you can find yourself feeling overwhelmed really quickly. Our team works with you to identify the most efficient and cost effective tooling option. We source and project manage fabricated, machined or cast tooling from local and international suppliers. We leverage our longstanding relationships with quality tool makers on your behalf. We will help you specify requirements, choose the right contractor to supply tooling, review bids with you, and inspect the final product.

The rotational molding process (also known as rotational moulding – depending on which side of the 49th parallel you are on) is remarkably simple, as most profound things are. Pigmented plastic beads are added to a mold or form, which is then heated in one of our ovens. The plastic part is formed as the beads melt and fill each of the hollows in the mold as it rotates in a seemingly random (but actually very specific) pattern. The mold is cooled, and the plastic part is removed. Great for short lead times, low tooling costs and complex yet consistent part production.

We finish and trim plastic parts using our 5-axis CNC machine. Having a 5-axis CNC machine means it has the ability to trim complicated shapes without having to do multiple part setups as it has the ability to move on five different axes at the same time. This helps the cutting tool approach the part from all directions resulting in almost limitless applications possible. It also means the parts can be produced quickly and efficiently while maintaining accuracy. A process that can be endlessly repeated. A process that can accurately scale with the quality and manufacturing demands of your business. What does this mean for you? If it can be done, we can do it.

Having over 40 years experience means we have pretty much seen it all. No matter the material, size, timing needs or stringency of quality control; we do it all. Some parts need to be one-piece, others multiple pieces that fit together. Some need to be shipped in individual parts, others assembled. Some need to be simple, others very complex. Some even require complex design inclusions such as metal inserts, graphics, or even foam in the wall of the part. No matter what you need, our response is pretty much always the same: “absolutely, we can do that!”

Our process is profoundly simple; so what makes Northwest Plastics unique? What makes us stand head and shoulders above the crowd? Our ability to handle EPS foam processing is one of the things that does. We realized that there was a need to make massive things float. So we thought of an innovative way to make that happen! We custom designed, built, tested, and implemented a one-of-a-kind Boiler and Pre-Expander system, that has since become tried and tested. What does this mean for you? Simple: if we don’t already have a solution for your business challenges, we’ll build one!

We are conveniently located on the Canada – US Border in BC, Canada. Every day we ship finished products locally, and around the world, and everywhere in between. What about in between production runs? We store and maintain our client’s Forms and Tooling. In fact, we’ve built our entire facility around ensuring we can continue doing so! Many other rotomolding companies charge for this, or expect their OEM Partners to arrange their own removal, storage, and maintenance of Forms and Tooling. It’s just a part of what we do!