Whether you are doing simple blends, or complicated multi-stage reactions, finding the right equipment and enough open production capacity to meet the demands of your customers can be a challenge.  In today’s environment, it is often more cost-effective to outsource your chemical mixing and blending needs to a competent and trusted toll or contract manufacturing partner.

So, what advantages could a toll or contract manufacturer bring to your supply chain?

• • The Plant: It may be difficult for you to handle your own chemical mixing, blending or reaction processes in-house. Every chemical process is different and has specific requirements. Some of these requirements you may be able to meet easily, but others will require excess capacity or a large capital investment to install new equipment. Outsourcing this production to a toll or contract manufacturer can help to mitigate many of these costs without sacrificing any of the health, safety, environmental and quality goals of your business.

• The Equipment: It’s expensive to put “steel in the ground”.  The ability to mitigate capital expenses for a new or existing product line may be the difference between meeting your customers’ needs or discontinuing a product.  Toll manufacturers have specialized equipment already on-site and may be able to provide open chemical mixing or blending capacity without requiring large sunk costs.  Pieces of equipment like wiped film evaporators, molecular stills, high shear mixers, and high viscosity mixers are costly, and can be very difficult to operate and maintain.  When looking for a potential toll manufacturing partner, you should make every effort to find companies that already have the necessary equipment and expertise on site.
• Trusted Expertise:  Your intellectual property is valuable, and you need to know that any products that you outsource will be safeguarded by people and companies with integrity.  When looking for a toll manufacturer, try to find one that will:
  • Not make products that compete with yours.
  • Not have their own product line that is similar to yours.
  • Have the quality systems necessary to make sure that only people with the “need to know” get to learn the details of your process.
  • Never make changes to your process without your expressed written consent.
  • Always share potential process improvements with you for free.
    • “Continuous improvement is a virtue that should benefit all stake holders”

Toll and contract manufacturers can provide you with a cost-effective way to meet the changing needs of your customers.   Trusted contract chemical manufacturers not only produce your products, but also help streamline operations, grow revenues and increase margins.  A competent outsourcing partner may help you decrease the cost of production, and free-up capacity in your own facility without sacrificing any standards related to health, safety, environmental and quality.

Here’s a list of common technologies that can be handled by a qualified toll or contract manufacturer.

• Chemical blending
• Chemical synthesis
• High-shear mixing
• Dispersions
• Emulsion
• Flaking
• Particle size modification

Contact InChem today to learn more about how we can meet your chemical blending needs. Use our online contact form or call 1-800-331-7721.