Innovation Project Injects New Growth into Plastics Company

Company Profile

Rex Plastics is a custom plastic injection molding company located in Vancouver, WA. They are widely respected in the industry, family owned and operated, and remain proud in keeping their molds and production domestic.

Rich Clark who serves as the President of the company and his pride in his 25 employees and the integrity for which his company is known is reflected in his story.

Situation

Rich previously attended an ExporTech session offered by Impact Washington. During that session, the Impact Washington team determined that the attending audience was in need of an innovation evaluation program in order to help identify and market their companies’ unique advantage. Impact Washington, a NIST MEP affiliate, offered the session to the attendees as part of the ExporTech program.

Solution

Rich was quick to take advantage of this half day session evaluating their current programs in search of a uniqueness they could highlight in order to differentiate his company in the marketplace. He initially thought that an export program would provide a differentiating advantage, but through the innovation program found a domestic opportunity which provided that uniqueness and gave his company a quick boost in tooling revenue. The program allowed Rich to focus his effort on marketing an advantage rather than spending substantial dollars to pursue new, foreign markets.

Through the work during the session, Rich and his team identified an opportunity to offer two programs that substantially increased their business. They now offer rebates to inventors on CAD work and prototypes when they move forward with the mold. This reduces the risk and startup cost for the inventor and is something unique to Rex Plastics. They also offer a lifetime guarantee on their molds as long as the production parts stay with Rex. This program also reduces risk and expense for their customers and gives Rex a marketable edge that is mutually beneficial to their customers.