Besides sophisticated processes, strategies targeting niche markets and geographies also are leading to moldmaker growth. When asked to rate the impact 13 different factors will have on the future success of their business, moldmakers rated “adding niche capabilities” as the second most important factor, closely behind quality molds and quick delivery, which were tied for first.

The high-growth markets for moldmakers are medical, new domestic automotive, packaging and military/defense . Medical molding is an ideal process to keep in the U.S. because of the complexities of working with FDA regulations. It also is becoming more important as the baby boomer generation ages and requires more medical care.

A smaller molder/moldmaker interviewed found this to be the perfect niche, “We got into the medical industry because of the high tolerance nature of our business. We are confident our growth will come from close tolerance, complex molds.”

The Northeast and West—especially California—are experiencing high growth in the medical molding market, making those areas two of the three most prominent regions for molding and moldmaking growth in the country.

The third and largest growth area is the Southeast, fueled by the booming new domestic automotive industry made up of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and others. This region is supported by an accommodating employment environment including many Right to Work states.
Molds are increasingly made where the molders are. Moldmakers and suppliers are finding that they need to be geographically close to customers to provide the level of support they demand.

With the growth in the Southeast, Northeast and West, successful moldmakers are looking to expand their operations to include nearby production and support in these regions. Like many other industries, moldmakers will face a labor shortage, as first- and second-generation experts retire. Even in the most promising markets and regions, one emerging challenge looms for all: the labor shortage created by retiring first- and second-generation moldmakers .

The research showed 29 percent of moldmakers ranked “aging workforce/difficulty in finding skilled workers” as a five on a one-to-five scale (five being the most significant challenge that they will face in the future).

The good news is that thriving moldmakers are in action to fill the labor and knowledge gaps through a combination of training and more efficient processes. Toolmakers are finding it hard to recruit—across the board, no matter what size company or region we looked at. To counter the lack of people interested in the industry, some successful strategies included in-house training, apprenticeship programs, partnerships with local schools/tech colleges and reliance on suppliers.

One molder/moldmaker taking this approach said, “We do a lot of internal training and internal development. It takes longer, but on the upside, it creates better employees.”

The other way to counter a smaller workforce is the implementation of processes and technologies that reduce labor in the molding process such as Lean, Kaizen and automation.
One moldmaker that is incorporating both strategies explained, “We’re dealing with the labor shortage on two fronts. First, we’re automating as much as possible and second, we’re doing more training ourselves than in the past.”