Case Study — New Berlin Plastics

CONFIRMING WHAT YOU THINK YOU ALREADY KNOW

Injection Molding Training Programs from Paulson Help Confirm Skill Levels of Machine Operators and Technicians

New Berlin Plastics, New Berlin, WI USA
Key contact: Mark Siewert, Vice President/COO
Custom Molder — in business since the early 1980’s, 125 employees, 37 injection molding machines — custom molds products for a variety of markets/industries including industrial components, packaging.

When Mark Siewert and his partner, Jeff Held, purchased New Berlin Plastics in 2001, they set out to improve manufacturing productivity and efficiency by implementing a number of new programs. ISO certification was achieved and lean manufacturing programs were put in place, and comprehensive training for employees was also added. After reviewing a number of commercially available training programs for molders and technicians, Paulson Training Programs were chosen over the competition due to “the more comprehensive nature of the training, and better value for the cost,” according to Siewert. Benefits of implementing the Paulson training methods include:
New employee orientation — programs are valuable for orienting new hires about what a molding and manufacturing plant are all about.

Setup training for technicians is also good, and the Paulson program has helped improve skill levels in areas such as: the interrelationship between Injection Speed, Melt Temperature, Pressure and Cooling; the effect different screw designs have on the quality of the melt for different types of resins; the differences between Amorphous and Crystalline materials in terms of melt temperature and meeting dimensional requirements; and the effects of cavity pressure on part properties.

Dramatic improvement in scrap reduction (40%) and overall productivity (25%) has been realized, at least partially because of the implementation of training; in addition, customer returns have gone down 30%. “I’m sure Paulson has played a role in this improvement,” said Siewert.

The improvements in operations have encouraged management at New Berlin to take the training further by training more frequently and implementing training on an ongoing basis.

An added benefit of the Paulson training methods included confirmation, through the use of Paulson’s SkillBuilder program, that most of New Berlin’s technicians and operators already had a strong knowledge of good molding practices. Knowing how much your employees know about molding is valuable information, according to Siewert. “It confirmed what we thought we already knew,” he said, “and that is that we have a good, well-trained group of employees here.”

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"The Paulson Training programs have helped our company on every level.  All employees have, at a minimum, the basic understanding of the injection molding process. Our inspectors, team leaders, and operators have the ability to visualize what is going on inside the injection molding machine and our setup technicians now know the effects of changes in temperature & pressure settings and can get the mold running more quickly and efficiently.” 

— Mark Siewert, VP/COO,
New Berlin Plastics
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