Diversified Plastics, Inc.

Diversified Plastics Expands, Adding New Clean Room and Medical Quality Lab

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 20:02:00 +0000

(Minneapolis, Minn. — September 14, 2016) Diversified Plastics, Inc. announces the addition of a new medical quality lab and a class 100,000 cleanroom facility. The expansion is in response to the growing demand from the medical device industry for products assembled and packaged in a cleanroom environment.

“We’ve increased our cleanroom space in response to our medical device customers who are experiencing their own production growth,” said Annette Lund, vice president at Diversified Plastics. “The production demand has overwhelmed our original cleanroom and by tripling our clean room space to nearly 1,000 square feet we are helping our customers meet production requirements for their medical devices.”

The new cleanroom features a “pass through” portal, which will accommodate pallet-sized quantities of parts to be transferred in and out of the cleanroom from an adjacent and much larger environmentally-controlled white room. While the white room does not have HEPA filtration, it has positive airflow and all workers wear cleanroom gowns. Many production steps can be completed in the white room and then sent into the cleanroom for final hermetically-sealed packaging.

“We recently formed a medical device production department and quality lab to focus on contract medical device assembly and packaging,” said Lund. “We’ve hired additional people in this area including an experienced quality manager and quality inspector, dedicated to medical device production on two shifts.

In addition to medical device manufacturing in their clean facility, Diversified Plastics also manufactures parts for the aerospace and lithium-ion battery industries. Because production in industries like these often take place in a clean environment, the additional cleanroom space allows the company to better service these and other high-tech industries.

“It’s uncommon to find cleanroom assembly facilities at plastic injection molding companies due to high construction and maintenance costs,” said Lund. “However, with the addition of the new cleanroom, our business is growing. Currently our sales growth is 28 percent above last year. This high growth rate is expected to continue due to the increased cleanroom space. The more space we have, the more business we can take on in the medical device and other high tech industries.”

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 39-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

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For more information:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Juno Spacecraft Contains Components Manufactured by Diversified Plastics

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 20:41:00 +0000

Launched by NASA in August 2011, the solar-powered Juno spacecraft entered Jupiter’s orbit on Monday, July 4, 2016. The spacecraft is carrying the Jovian Auroral Distribution Experiment (JADE) instrument, which contains three parts manufactured by Minnesota-based Diversified Plastics, Inc. Engineered by a nationally recognized independent research and development laboratory, the JADE sensor is being used to measure electrons and ions that produce Jupiter’s strong aurora.

Proficient in producing high-precision, small-quantity parts, Diversified Plastics was selected because of the company’s extensive experience molding polyetheretherketone (PEEK) components for medical-device companies. Resistant to ultraviolet radiation, PEEK has a low outgassing profile when exposed to the high vacuum of space and features stiff, strong and lightweight characteristics.

“We are proud to be part of this mission,” says Annette Lund, vice president of Diversified Plastics, Inc. “Our in-house capabilities allowed us to perform all operations required and saved the customer time and money.”

One of the parts required over molding PEEK around an aluminum ring. Another part contained twelve metal inserts machined by Diversified Plastic’s tooling division, Design Tool and Engineering. The inserts were press-fit into the molded plastic. The unreinforced part is an electrical shield to prevent arcing. Molded at approximately 700 degrees F (371 degrees C) in single-cavity tools, the parts measure 5 to 7 inches (127 to 178 mm) in diameter.

The first spacecraft to study Jupiter at such a close distance, Juno will travel 348 million miles (560 million kilometers) in orbit around Jupiter at different distances to get the best possible data and images under the planet’s cloud cover. The spacecraft was suitably named after the Greek god Jupiter’s wife Juno. Juno was able to see through the clouds to reveal the god’s true nature.

Diversified Plastics Exceeds Food Drive Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 20:34:00 +0000

(Minneapolis, MN — April 7, 2016) Diversified Plastics, Inc. exceeded its food and fund raising goals for the 10th Annual Bonnie Schulz Food Drive by more than 55 percent. The 53-employee company set a goal to collect 600 pounds of food and, by the end of the event, the final total reached 933 pounds of food, along with cash and gift cards. Diversified Plastics has collected more than 9,000 pounds of food for charity over the last 10 years. The food drive was held March 1-31, 2016 and coincided with the Minnesota FoodShare’s March Campaign.

The annual, month-long food drive was created in honor of Bonnie Schultz, a Diversified Plastics employee who selflessly gave to the less fortunate in her community. Bonnie passed away in February of 2007, but her passion to help others continues through this memorial food drive.

“I am so pleased and proud with the phenomenal results of this drive — everyone was very generous,” said Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics. “It was the 10th anniversary of the Bonnie Schultz Food Drive and we really wanted to honor Bonnie’s memory by exceeding this year’s goal. She was a special person and it was very sweet that her fellow employees wanted to pay her generosity forward.”

All donations will be given to the Community Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP), a community-based, non-profit agency dedicated to providing information, referrals, advocacy and assistance to low-income families and individuals, senior citizens and adults with disabilities.

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

####

For more information:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics Names Edward Andrews Quality Director

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 21:12:00 +0000

Diversified Plastics, Inc. has named Edward Andrews as its new Director of Quality. Andrews will manage the company’s quality department, providing direction and growth as well as ensuring the company’s compliance to ISO standards and maintaining various industry registrations and certifications.

Annette Lund, Diversified Plastics vice president said: “We are excited Ed has joined our company. He brings a broad manufacturing background and a wealth of quality management experience. Quality is our lifeblood and a strong, proactive quality department is essential to guiding manufacturing in the production of consistently high quality parts.”

“I was attracted to Diversified Plastics because of its diverse customer base,” said Andrews. “My background, especially in the medical device industry, compliments a key growth area for the company. With Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and medical device requirements constantly being updated, a large part of my job will be to keep abreast of any changes so that we can be compliant.”

Prior to joining Diversified Plastics, Andrews held quality positions in manufacturing companies serving many industries, including medical, automotive and aerospace. He has been a member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) since 1989. Andrews is currently an Executive Board member, serving as Vice Chair for Member Development for the Minnesota Section of ASQ. He has been active with various committees including: Programs, Voice of the Customer, Minnesota Council for Quality, ASQ Six Sigma Forum, ASQ Lean Enterprise, and ASQ Team and Workplace Excellence. He was honored with the ASQ Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Award.

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

For more information:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics Creates Environmentally Controlled Room for Injection Molding

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 21:04:00 +0000

Diversified Plastics, Inc. has just finished building an environmentally controlled room for injection molding parts that require a cleaner-than-normal manufacturing environment, but not as clean as a certified clean room. The 1,800 square foot space will house one horizontal and two vertical injection molding machines with additional space for sonic welding and packaging—meeting customer demand and providing opportunity for growth.

“We’re responding to increasing customer requests for their contamination-sensitive parts to be produced in a clean environment,” said Annette Lund, vice president at Diversified Plastics. “Many of our customers are in the medical device, aerospace and electronics industries and some of their parts have requirements to be produced in a cleaner environment. Although the cleanliness in our production area is more than satisfactory for most customer needs, our new facility bridges the gap between providing a production space that is cleaner than a typical molding facility, but not necessarily the level of an ISO-rated clean room.”

The company’s environmentally controlled molding area features venting systems directly over the injection nozzles of each machine to remove fumes from the molding process. All wall surfaces are coated with a special paint for clean areas. Resins are dried and stored in an external room and supplied by way of a vacuum system. Employees follow clean area procedures by wearing gowns and cleaning shoes with clean room sticky mats when entering the work area.

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 38-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

For more information:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics Receives Gold Award for Wellness by Design

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 14:01:00 +0000

Janel Rosine and Elaine Haglund add the 2014-2015 award

to Diversified Plastics' Wellness by Design banner.

Diversified Plastics, Inc. has received the Gold Level Award for Hennepin County’s 2015 Wellness by Design competition. The Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department each year recognizes organizations that make employee health a priority through creative and effective wellness initiatives. The awards were presented during a June 25 ceremony at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center, Minn.

Diversified Plastics also received a “+Green” designation at the ceremony. This additional award is new this year and it recognizes companies that minimize their impact on the environment.

Many factors contributed to Diversified Plastics achieving gold level recognition and it started with commitment from the company’s management. “Without upper level management support, we wouldn’t have any of this,” said Roger Vang, Diversified Plastics’ chief financial officer. “Not only do we have very good support from the entire management team, they encourage the wellness program by budgeting money every year for activities and maintaining a well-equipped, on-site exercise facility.”

Activities and events play a big part of Diversified Plastics’ wellness initiative. The “Step to It” program each year during May has been a popular activity. Employee steps are counted at work and at home with the winner having the highest number of steps recorded. “Every year we try to change it up,” says Janel Rosine, sales assistant/customer representative at Diversified Plastics. “In our first year of the competition we had individuals competing against each other and then in following years we divided participants into teams, which produces a lot of playful rivalry and makes the event fun for everyone. Another popular company activity is the “Frosty Challenge”, running from Thanksgiving to the New Year, helping employees focus on keeping active and not gaining weight during the holidays.”

Ongoing communications and counseling help round out the wellness initiatives at Diversified Plastics. The company creates a monthly wellness newsletter that is included with employee pay checks and they have hired Trig Life Services to help employees with individual healthcare navigation. A Trig representative visits the company once a month to answer employee questions—often meeting one-on-one to discuss health insurance claims, doctor referrals or even help on what kind of questions to ask when visiting a doctor.

Vang observes a definite shift in attitude about health and wellness at the company over the last few years. “You’ll hear people in the lunchroom talk about different diets or different foods and more employees than ever are using our exercise facility. I really believe the wellness concepts are becoming more deep ingrained in everyone’s minds than ever before.”

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 38-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

###

For more information, contact:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics' Roger Vang Selected as Finalist for CFO of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 14:24:00 +0000

Roger Vang, chief financial officer at Diversified Plastics, Inc. was selected as one of four finalists for CFO of the Year by Plastics News magazine. Recognition came during the Plastics Financial Summit in Chicago on June 3. This was the first year that Plastics News presented this award recognized top individuals in senior management at plastics processing companies based in North America.

“It certainly was an honor and a highlight of my career to be a finalist for this award,” said Vang. “I was surprised when our company’s president, Jim Dow and vice president, Annette Lund nominated me for the award and even more surprised when I received a phone call learning I was one of four finalists. Diversified Plastics has really given me the latitude for creative ideas and they’ve let me run with a few of them. That type of support has really helped improve the performance and professionalism of our company over the years.”

Vang put his creativity to work when he helped Diversified Plastics develop an innovative employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) in 2009. He obtained the funding and performed financial analysis for the project and reduced the overall cost of the transition. Diversified Plastics’ ESOP now provides its employees with an excellent source of retirement income. The employees took ownership of the company in November of 2011 and since that time they have seen the value of the stock increase almost seven fold. “The company was recently named ESOP Company of the Year by the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of the ESOP Association and that is something we are all very proud of,” added Vang.

Additionally, Vang has helped the company obtain the necessary capital for new equipment, including high-end 3D printers that have helped the company gain national recognition for additive manufacturing.

“CFO’s today are not just accountants, they are required to have a much broader knowledge of the organization’s functions,” points out Vang. “They have greater input on the company’s direction today more than they did several years ago. The CFO is a sounding board and idea generator for upper management, because they stand back and look at the whole picture, not just the numbers.”

About the Award

Plastics News’ CFO of the Year Award honors the top individuals in senior management at plastics processing companies based in North America.

Nominations are judged by members of Plastics News along with an independent panel of professional financial practitioners, top plastics executives and members of government or academia. Consideration is given, but not limited, to leadership, ethics, business growth, strategic transactions, challenges met and industry/civic contributions.

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 38-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

####

For more information:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics Named ESOP Company of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Mon, 04 May 2015 19:03:00 +0000

Roger Vang and Annette Lund with ESOP Company of the Year Award

Minneapolis, MN -- April 30, 2015) Diversified Plastics, Inc. has received the Company of the Year Award by the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of the ESOP Association (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). Diversified Plastics’ ESOP provides its employees company stock like a typical 401K for an excellent source of retirement income. The employees proudly took ownership of the company in November of 2011 and since that time they have seen the value of the stock increase almost seven fold.

“Our employees have always thought of themselves as more than just employees. Even before the conversion to ESOP, they took pride in the company and worked hard,” says Annette Lund, vice president at Diversified Plastics. “They are truly dedicated to the success of the company.” Diversified Plastics has a strong commitment to employee ownership through their involvement in the ESOP association and its programs, providing ongoing employee communications, and supporting employee participation, wealth creation, and individual dignity and worth—all criteria for “ESOP Company of the Year”. The award committee was impressed the company invited U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Representative Erik Paulsen to visit Diversified Plastics for tours and an opportunity to speak about their support for ESOP companies. Diversified Plastics’ community work was also recognized by the committee, saying it was outstanding for a company of their size.

Diversified Plastics is known for its willingness to take on and complete difficult projects. Becoming an ESOP was yet another challenge. Over the past three years employees have become educated on what it means to be an employee-owner. “It’s been an evolution, but employees have grown to be more aware of offering improvements or suggestions that would help grow the company and what that means as far as an investment to them,” says Roger Vang, chief financial officer at Diversified Plastics. “Our stock value has essentially tripled over the previous year and it was quite fun to see the employee’s reactions when we reviewed their stock certificate statements with them.”

The employees understand that through their hard work, dedication and teamwork they now share in the wealth they all helped create. “When looking at my fellow workers I see how they really want our company to succeed, so what we are doing together as a team will help our company grow and be even better,” explains Joni Davis, sales representative for Diversified Plastics. “Everyone is thrilled for being part of our ESOP company and I also believe this will help us in hiring and retaining good, skilled workers.”

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 37-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

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For more information:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics Hosts Educational Business Session

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 22:18:00 +0000

Diversified Plastics, Inc. participated in the North Hennepin Area Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Academy on March 27 by hosting an on-site educational session for business and community leaders who want to advance their careers and expand their business knowledge.

The Leadership Academy is a 13-week course that was created by the Chamber of Commerce to help participants learn leadership skills, business management and community service. “This series of courses provide a wealth of information from our community business experts, advanced learning institutions and government experts,” says Annette Lund, vice president at Diversified Plastics. “We support this program because of its community focus and its purpose to develop future leaders. It’s a great way for attendees to broaden their understanding of business and benefit from the practical experience of current business leaders.”

The role of mentorship in producing future business leaders was a focus at the Diversified Plastics session. “As one of the speakers I was pleased to share my story on becoming a leader and the importance of having mentors that help you work through the issues of the day and help you grow,” added Lund.

Roger Vang, chief financial officer at Diversified Plastics, chamber board member, and session speaker was happy to share his background and personal leadership growth with the upcoming business leaders. “I addressed how Diversified Plastics became employee owned through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP),” says Vang. “The attendees were quite interested in the ESOP process and how ownership allocations were made.” Vang also pointed out the chamber’s concept of using guest speakers with broad experiences is an effective way to help companies cultivate future leaders.

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 37-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008

and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

For more information:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast

Helping Employees with Healthcare Awareness

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 20:15:00 +0000

From 2005 to 2006, Diversified Plastics lost three employees to heart attacks. That prompted the company to reverse the trend of its employees’ health care. They implemented a wellness program, but also started working with an outside resource to help employees learn how to use the healthcare system. Read the full story.

Diversified Plastics Named One of Most Innovative Suppliers at MD&M West

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 20:05:00 +0000

Diversified Plastics, Inc. was named one of the ten Most Innovative Suppliers exhibiting at the recent Medical Design and Manufacturing (MD&M) show in Anaheim, Calif. The company was recognized for using additive manufacturing (3D printing) technology to create plastic injection molds for producing prototype parts. This innovative prototyping approach saves Diversified Plastics’ customers time and money validating product design,

Typically, prototype plastic injection molds are built using soft steel or aluminum — a process that is time consuming and expensive. “The time and cost savings, for our customers, on small parts has been about 70-80% over traditional tooling,” said Annette Lund, vice president. “This process allows us to produce injection molded prototype parts using the product’s final plastic material. Our customers can now very quickly evaluate geometry, design, performance and even the ‘feel’ of prototype parts. And for medical devices, it means having the ability to evaluate how the sterilization process affects the part before production.”

Lund sees this mold-making process as a real paradigm shift for producing not only prototypes, but production parts. “In the future, I think this molding technique will cause a big disruption in the plastics molding industry. This process will find its way into production where 3D molds will be used for short runs of maybe 100 parts. Mold cavity and cores may have to be produced every time a new run of parts are needed, but this also gives the customer the opportunity to quickly and easily make engineering changes to their parts between production runs. I think this will be a big, big change for our industry.”

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 38-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

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For more information:

Annette Lund, vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics Adds Environmentally Controlled Manufacturing Space

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 15:46:00 +0000

Diversified Plastics, Inc. has installed a 1,300 square foot controlled environment production room inside their manufacturing facility. With this expansion, additional clean space is available for use in product assembly and packaging operations with increased cleanliness requirements.

“We’re excited about the possibilities that our new clean area brings to the company,” said Joni Davis, sales engineer. “We really needed a unique space where parts assembly and packaging operations could be performed in a clean environment—away from other production areas. Our customers in the medical device and aerospace industries are requiring more of their parts to be assembled and packaged in facilities that ensure contaminants are kept at a minimum. The growth of our business necessitated we build a room of this type, while providing us an opportunity to exceed customer requirements.”

The environmentally controlled space is a separate room with its own ventilation system. “Our objective was to establish a clean space that was more conducive for medical device assembly and packaging,” said Joe Bourgeault, director of quality. “This facility allows us to improve workflow while creating an awareness among employees of higher quality production requirements.” This visible level of clean assembly and packaging is

important to not only employees, but to visiting customers. “We give tours to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and they are very impressed with our focus on enhanced production and our ability to meet their specialized product needs,” adds Davis.

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 38-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008

and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

For more information:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics Reduces Power Consumption with New Electric Press

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 20:15:00 +0000

Diversified Plastics, Inc. has added a Toshiba 310-ton electric plastic injection molding press to their production facility. This machine replaces a similarly sized hydraulic press and is the fourth electronic press the company has added in recent years.

“The new machine gives us the ability to produce larger parts than our other electric presses and it can operate in a clean or white room,” said Mark Gremmels, director of operations at Diversified Plastics. “The electric press can produce plastic parts that are more accurate, consistent and of higher quality over its hydraulic counterpart. This improved performance can help reduce piece part prices because it runs faster and can do simultaneous operations, such as ejecting parts while opening — something hydraulic presses can’t do.”

One of the many benefits of an electric press is the reduction in power consumption. The electric motor and hydraulic pump run constantly in a hydraulic press, while an electric press uses servo motors that operate only when motion is needed. “You save close to half the cost of electricity of a similarly sized hydraulic press,” Gremmels points out. “Our new press requires an electrical load of 43 amps while the hydraulic equivalent would need about 75 amps of power. And, since there is no hydraulic oil to cool in an electric press, no oil cooling units are necessary. On a hydraulic press of this size about six tons of cooling would be necessary, but with the electric press there is zero cooling.”

About Diversified Plastics, Inc.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 38-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

####

For more information:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics Approved as Supplier for Gulfstream Aerospace

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 14:46:00 +0000

Diversified Plastics, Inc. has become an approved supplier of injection molded plastic parts for Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. Gulfstream is a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics that designs, builds and services advanced business jet aircraft.

Partnering with Gulfstream was a good fit for Diversified Plastics. “From our experience producing high-performance, high-precision injection molded plastics for numerous aviation and aerospace manufacturers, to producing parts for NASA’s Juno Probe, we definitely have the qualifications and experience that Gulfstream was looking for in a supplier,” stated Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics.

The very selective supplier evaluation process to certify Diversified Plastics took approximately three months to complete. “To begin, we were set up as a potential supplier with Gulfstream,” said Tony Cavadias, sales representative for Diversified Plastics. “Next, they reviewed and evaluated our capabilities and certifications, with special attention paid to our processes and quality procedures. Our ISO 9001:2008 and ITAR certifications were a very important part of the review and were required for the overall approval process. The final step was being set up in their quotation system.”

“We’re looking forward to working with Gulfstream, a leading aircraft manufacturer, and continuing our growth in the aerospace market,” added Lund.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small-to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 37-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, FDA registered, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

For more information, contact:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

New Use of 3D Additive Manufacturing Technology Saves Customer Thousands of Dollars

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 20:45:00 +0000

3D Printed Mold Components in Plastics Injection Mold

3D Printed Mold Components and Prototype Part

Diversified Plastics, Inc. saved 88% in prototype part development costs and 80% development time for medical device maker Coloplast by using a new, 3D additive manufacturing process to create injection mold components.

Coloplast needed to produce prototype medical device parts from injection-molded thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material to accurately evaluate geometry, design, and performance. Most important, they wanted to evaluate the “feel” of their new device and to allow them the opportunity to analyze the durometer before proceeding to production. Typically, tools for forming injection molded plastic into prototype parts are built using soft steel — a process that is time consuming and expensive.

Looking to save time and money for Coloplast, Diversified Plastics recommended making the preproduction mold utilizing a new, cost-effective 3D additive manufacturing process. Using their Stratasys Objet Polyjet™ printer, Diversified Plastics produced a highly accurate injection mold for creating prototype parts.

Once Coloplast’s tool design file was prepared and loaded into the printer, it took approximately 11 hours to build both halves of the mold and center core. Diversified Plastics’ tooling department inserted the printed mold components into a mold base and the prototype thermoplastic parts were injection molded. The entire process, from initial discussions, through mold production, to final prototype, took just five business days. Using additive manufacturing technology to produce a prototype mold of their part helped Coloplast quickly determine if the design was going to meet their product requirements. The process saved Coloplast thousands of dollars and weeks of time.

For more information, contact:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Annette Lund of Diversified Plastics Speaks on PolyJet Additive Manufacturing at Annual SPE Technical Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Wed, 14 May 2014 15:56:00 +0000

Annette Lund, vice president of Diversified Plastics, Inc., spoke recently at the Annual Technical Conference (ANTEC^®) for plastics engineers. The conference was hosted by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and it was held in Las Vegas, April 28-30. Her presentation, PolyJet Printing—An Injection Molders Point of View was part of the ANTEC program, New Technology Forum: New Frontiers in Additive (3-D) Manufacturing.

ANTEC is the largest technical conference in the U.S. for plastics industry. The event attracts more than 2,000 attendees, from scientists and academics to engineers and technicians — anyone involved in the plastics industry. The conference featured more than 600 technical and business presentations.

Lund was invited to speak at the conference by ANTEC organizers because of Diversified Plastics’ work in additive manufacturing with PolyJet printing. “We wanted a perspective on additive manufacturing technology from a processor/practitioner and Diversified Plastics fit the bill,” said Maggie Baumann, consultant, G.H. Associates. “Her presentation met every expectation regarding the program and was frank, to the point and the case studies were very helpful”.

“I explained how Diversified Plastics has used PolyJet additive manufacturing to produce prototype parts,” said Lund. “I described the wide variety of PolyJet materials available, including clear and flexible selections, and how we used secondary production steps such as gluing, decorating, pad printing, hot stamping, silk screening and painting to finish the printed parts.”

A large part of Lund’s presentation centered around several case studies and her company’s use of additive manufacturing to produce 3D printed injection molds and cavities. This was of particular interest to the audience since Diversified Plastics is one of the first plastics injection molding companies in the U.S. to use additive manufacturing for prototype molds. “Audience members were most interested to know what was possible and what challenges we had encountered,” said Lund. “And, they were very curious on how we worked through those challenges.”

After the presentation, attendees approached Lund and Diversified Plastics Tooling Manager, Mike Bartell to ask more questions and to exchange contact information. Lund added, “They wanted us to keep them up to date on our latest developments and what we are learning about the additive manufacturing process.”

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small- to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 37-year-old company is a full-service contract manufacturer, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

For more information, contact:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Klobuchar Highlights ESOP in Visit to Diversified Plastics

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Sun, 06 Oct 2013 20:22:00 +0000

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) visited Diversified Plastics, Inc. to highlight Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) companies and learn more about Diversified Plastics’ transition to employee ownership. Joining Klobuchar during her visit were members of the Minnesota/Dakota chapter of the ESOP Association, two Brooklyn Park city council members and city manager.

Klobuchar is a cosponsor of the Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2013, which would eliminate barriers faced by businesses and their owners when setting up a new S corporation ESOP. Klobuchar said they are trying to make sure rules are fair to allow an even playing field with other types of entrepreneurial businesses.

Diversified Plastics employees took ownership of the company on September 30, 2011. Five years earlier, Jim Dow, president, CEO and founder of the company, began planning his retirement. Working with the company chief financial officer, Roger Vang, they started exploring the possibilities of an ESOP strategy. After a few more years of substantial growth, Dow was ready to move ahead in making Diversified Plastics an employee owned company.

Recently, Vang learned that Klobuchar was visiting ESOP companies in Minnesota and he invited the senator to visit Diversified Plastics, meet with employees and learn more about their transition.

Annette Lund, vice president of Diversified Plastics, led Klobuchar and others on a tour of the company’s facilities where they had an opportunity to speak with employees and learn more about the effects of employee ownership. “Even though it’s been two short years, we’ve already seen the benefits,” said Lund. “The employees are more empowered, morale has risen and productivity has increased. It has proven to have been a sound investment.”

“We, the senators involved in this effort, think we can up the ante and start having people within government understand the value of the this kind of business ownership where employees actually get some skin in the game,” added Klobuchar. “This is a company that has proved that employee ownership is a successful business model that leads to more jobs, higher wages, increased productivity and higher retirement security,”

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small- to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 36-year-old company is a full-service injection molder, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

For more information, contact:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics Participates in Minnesota Governor's European Trade Mission

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 18:12:00 +0000

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton with Diversified Plastics Vice President Annette Lund

Diversified Plastics, Inc. was part of a recent Minnesota trade mission to Germany, Norway and Sweden from June 12-21. Representing Diversified Plastics was Annette Lund, company vice president. She was part of a 35-member delegation of business and education leaders and government officials led by Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton. According to Katie Clark Sieben, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the goal of the trade mission was to attract foreign direct investment and identify distributors and new business partners to increase exports. She said Germany and Scandinavia are key export markets for Minnesota, generating over $1 billion in annual export sales for local companies.

“Earlier this year, the Minnesota Trade office, part of Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), asked if we would be interested in joining the governor’s trade mission to Europe,” said Lund. “We had not given much thought to doing business in Europe, and this opportunity piqued our interest. We applied and were selected to join the delegation and thus able to explore the possibilities.”

Preparation for the trip included a pre-mission meeting for participants to address expectations and a two-day program, Gateway to Europe, featuring members of the U.S. Commercial Service operating in the countries the delegation was about to visit. “This gave us an opportunity to meet with the Commercial Service people before our trip and discuss opportunities for establishing business contacts and ways to promote our company,” Lund said.

In each city they visited, delegation members met with industry representatives and business leaders in conferences arranged by the U.S. Commercial Service. “I had opportunities to meet with groups from plastic trade organizations in Sweden and Germany to learn more about the plastics industry in their countries,” said Lund. “We discussed ideas for potential partnerships with European molders and our counterparts seemed to be very receptive to the ideas.”

In Oslo, Norway Lund visited the Oslo MedTech offices where she had a chance to meet with the agency’s staff and medical device industry executives. “We met with a company that was expanding to the United States and discussed a possible partnership where we would manufacture for them here,” she said. “This was the type of business opportunity we were looking for.”

While in Germany, Governor Dayton announced the establishment of a new Minnesota Trade Office in Düsseldorf to promote exports and foreign investments in Minnesota. The Minnesota delegation was present for the announcement and it provided them a unique opportunity to meet with governmental officials and other business leaders that they would not have had if visiting Germany on their own.

“The trade mission opened up my eyes to the possibilities of doing business in Europe and I realized that it would not be as hard as I once thought—it’s just takes time, effort and planning,” added Lund. “This trip opened doors for us; we made key contacts, explored potential partnerships and learned of the resources and tremendous support from the Minnesota Trade Office and U.S. Commercial Service.

Employee-owned Diversified Plastics is a contract manufacturer specializing in custom injection molding of high-precision, close tolerance, small- to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 36-year-old company is a full-service injection molder, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, ITAR certified, and UL registered.

For more information, contact:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Selecting the Right Steel for New Plastic Injection Molds

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:47:00 +0000

There are many considerations when selecting steel for a new plastic injection mold:

• Production volume and longevity of the mold

• Abrasiveness and corrosiveness of the resin being used

• Mold detail or complexity

• Any mechanical actions inside the mold

• Surface finish requirements

• Machinability of the steel

• Size of steel inserts

Production volume and longevity of the mold should be the first things reviewed when choosing a steel type. If the mold is going to be used for low-volume or for a prototype, P-20 or prehard steel would be a good selection since it is relatively easy to machine and does not require a heat treat process. If the plastic material used will be extremely abrasive, a hardened steel such as A-2, S-7 or H-13 would be a good choice for a production tool. Steel selected for abrasive or corrosive materials should have a high hardness value; S-7 and A-2 steels have a high hardness range and will withstand these conditions. It is a good practice to use a coating or plating process to give mold steel a longer life under severe or abrasive conditions,

To retain the crisp edges of molds with a high level of small and fine detail, a high hardness value steel such as A-2 would be best. For molds that require long coring detail and high molding pressures, H-13 steel is a good choice for its tough qualities. For molds in between these two examples, S-7 is a well-rounded material choice.

Two different steel materials should be used when building a mold that has mechanical actions such as cams, lifts or stepped parting lines that require slide by shut-offs. The difference in material and hardness will keep the steel surfaces from galling as they rub against each other. The more complex component should be made from the hardest of the two materials.

Remember, always consider intended mold use, resin type, mold complexity and other factors when selecting the right steel for new plastic molds.

For more information, contact:

Mike Bartell, Tooling Manager

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763-488-7124

Diversified Plastics Adds New Injection Molding Equipment

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:22:00 +0000

Diversified Plastics, Inc. has announced the purchase and installation of a Toshiba ISGS 610W horizontal hydraulic injection molding machine. Rated at 610 U.S. tons, the new press will give Diversified Plastics the ability to mold larger, high-performance plastic parts for industrial markets including the filtration, battery and aerospace industries.

"Due to ongoing strong demand for larger, high-precision parts, we continue to invest in advanced equipment to expand our range,” said Mark Gremmels, operations manager for Diversified Plastics. “This new press will further enhance our flexibility to respond quickly and efficiently to our customers’ needs. It not only gives us the capability to produce larger parts, but it can run some of the existing molds from our smaller presses, providing more overall production capacity. The delivery of this newest press brings our total number of molding machines to 16, with a range of 50 to 610 tons.”

Diversified Plastics is a custom injection molder of high-precision, close tolerance, small- to medium-sized injection molded components for medical device, filtration, aerospace and a variety of other industrial markets. The 35-year-old company is a full-service injection molder, from design assistance and mold construction, to intricate molding and clean room assembly. Diversified Plastics is ISO 9001:2008 and 13485:2003 certified, and UL registered.

For more information, contact:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics Announces Expansion of Manufacturing Facility

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:18:00 +0000

Diversified Plastics, Inc. (www.divplast.com) has announced plans to expand its manufacturing location in Brooklyn Park, Minn. The additional 10,000 square feet will bring their total facility size to approximately 53,000 square feet.

"Our business has been growing, specifically in medical device components, and our facility expansion plans are key to meeting customer demand,” said Annette Lund, Diversified Plastics vice president. "This expansion gives us new white room space for recently purchased plastic injection molding equipment, more room for our assembly operations and additional space for quality control, tooling and our customers’ Kanban inventory.”

The company will completely occupy the new space within six months. “Several of our departments are busting at the seams right now, so we are redesigning our layout to improve overall workflow and make the best use of our new space,” explained Lund. “We are excited about this expansion; it allows us to efficiently and effectively satisfy customer needs and to accommodate future growth.”

For more information, contact:

Annette Lund

Vice President

Diversified Plastics, Inc.

763.488.7103

alund@divplast.com

Diversified Plastics of Brooklyn Park Wins Wellness Award for the Fourth Year

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 21:44:00 +0000

(L to R) Elaine Haglund, Roger Vang and Janel Rosine in the Diversified Plastics exercise room with the Wellness by Design Award.

For the second year in a row Diversified Plastics, Inc. has received the Worksite Silver Award for the 2012 Hennepin County Wellness by Design competition. The Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department presents this award annually to schools and workplaces that excel in creating a healthy working environment and encouraging healthy lifestyles. This is the fourth year Diversified Plastics has won a Wellness by Design Award, with the first two years being bronze awards. This year’s awards ceremony took place on June 21, at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center, Minn.
Read more...

Diversified Plastics’ Components Are Aboard NASA’s Juno Spacecraft to Jupiter

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:03:00 +0000

Plastic-molded components produced by Diversified Plastics, Inc. are currently speeding through space towards Jupiter aboard NASA’s Juno Space Probe. The craft was launched August 5, 2011 and is expected to begin orbiting the planet in early July, 2016.

The plastic components are part of the JADE (Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment) device. The JADE sensors are designed to measure and identify electron and ion particles, along Jupiter’s magnetic fields, that create the planet’s jovian auroral displays. JADE was developed for the Juno mission by a nationally recognized, independent research and development laboratory. JADE is one of 29 instruments aboard the Juno spacecraft. Read more...

Diversified Plastics Featured in Minneapolis StarTribune Business Section

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:36:00 +0000

The sale of Diversified Plastics to its employees was featured in the January 22nd StarTribune business column of Eric Wieffering. You can read the full story here.

Diversified Plastics Sold to Employees

noreply@blogger.com (Annette Lund, vice president, Diversified Plastics) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:57:00 +0000

Annette Lund, James Dow, Roger Vang (L to R)

James Dow, founder, president and CEO of Diversified Plastics, Inc., has announced the sale of his company to his employees through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).

The employees took ownership on November 1, 2011, but Jim will remain as president. The changeover has been smooth. We’re in the middle of a five-year plan and are continuing to follow those long-term goals. It is very important to us to have a seamless transition and maintain continuity for our customers as well as our employees. Read the full announcement.