MassMEP Molds a New Direction for Leominster Company
Innovative Mold Solutions, Inc. (IMS) may be a small company, but like many small manufacturers what they lack in size they make up for in quality and speed of delivery. The Leominster, Massachusetts based company develops advanced, high-speed, high-performance injection molding systems for companies in the plastics and medical fields. By employing highly skilled workers, including almost a dozen engineers, IMS is able to produce lower cost, higher quality products than its competition. But IMS faced a problem of how to relay the significant cost and quality differences between the company and its competition.
Paul Boudreau, President of IMS brought in the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) and their partner Intellisource International to help the company articulate in print the type of industry-leading work they produce on the shop floor. As a result of the project, IMS has seen sales grow, necessitating the construction of a 12,000 square foot clean room to manufacture biomedical devices, the doubling of their manufacturing space, and hiring more employees to keep up with the additional business.
"We never would have been able to make these dramatic changes at IMS without help from the MassMEP," said Boudreau. "With the MassMEP’s assistance, combined with a US Department of Labor High Skills Training Grant, we were able to access $50,000 in matching grant funds. That leveraged our company’s transformation."
"Small manufacturers don’t always have the resources they need to develop marketing materials that portray the valuable work they are doing and how they can deliver that value to other companies. This process helped IMS develop a detailed corporate product presentation sales tool that has resulted in the company gaining new sales opportunities," said Jim Gusha, Lead Project Manager of the MassMEP.
Since completing the training program, IMS has redefined their business, branching out from solely being an engineering design solution company, to growing a new business line as a high-end contract manufacturer using these designs. The company now provides solutions for the military, several Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s), and other world-class manufacturers.
"We are delighted with the effectiveness that the training has provided to all of our employees," said Boudreau. "We are receiving a tremendous return on investment from this program and thank MassMEP for their assistance in helping us to build ourselves into a company that’s built to last."
The MassMEP is an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The national MEP system is a network of manufacturing extension centers that provide business and technical assistance to smaller manufacturers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Through MEP, manufacturers have access to more than 2,000 manufacturing and business "coaches" whose job is to help firms make changes that lead to greater productivity, increased profits, and enhanced global competitiveness. For more information, please visit www.massmep.org, or phone 1-800-MEP-4MFG.
