To put these challenges in context, consider that it takes 10 to 15 years to develop, test and gain full approvals for a typical vaccine. At least it used to.
Today, the target timeline is ASAP.
As a contract manufacturing partner who works with leading companies to expedite the delivery of life-saving devices, an unprecedented focus on each customer’s changing needs led to real, transformative change. And to investments in three key areas.
Smart, Accountable Partners
Strong medical manufacturers know they’re only as good as their entire supply chain. Given the disruption in many supply chains, this is a high priority today. Our goal is to handle more of the manufacturing process and supply chain in-house to take the burden off the OEM.
Committed to being our customer’s first choice contract manufacturing partner, we leverage our niche expertise and partnerships with industry-leading companies to act as a single source of supply coordinating:
- Material selection and supply
- Advanced manufacturing technologies and equipment
- Component or sub-assembly sourcing
- Inventory management and planning
- Quality, cost and delivery
As we build our supplier relationships, we’re careful to choose companies who share our commitment to collaboration, to our values and who move with the agility and speed critical to our success.
That’s why our new partnership with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is so important. Combining their expertise with ours, we’re expanding our manufacturing footprint and accelerating the integration of unique capabilities that utilize our niche expertise to the customer’s greatest advantage.
Committed, Talented People
Exceptional people driven by a customer-first attitude are Beacon MedTech’s single most important asset and the drivers of our customer focus. As part of Beacon Manufacturing Group, we’ve surrounded ourselves with talented people from different industry sectors, businesses and applications (like LSR and Single-Use Technologies). These varied backgrounds – technical, engineering, production and operations – better enable us to advance new solutions to complex manufacturing problems.
We invest in a variety of ways, including continuous learning opportunities – peer-to-peer, technical, cross-training – to empower our people to apply new thinking to our customers’ programs.
Building and developing a team of tenacious, technical problem-solvers enables us to collaborate with our customers and our partners to confront manufacturing problems in powerful new ways.
Best-in-Class Processes & Technologies
In an era of high volumes and fast turnarounds, many manufacturers are anxious to start running parts right away. So are we.
When speed is critical, it’s essential to evaluate programs from every possible angle. Steps like upfront engineering and designing a custom manufacturing environment are key to driving new, sustainable customer value. Seemingly minor improvements in part geometry, tolerances, materials and more (where possible) can deliver cost savings, consistent quality and other benefits.
But even with the best processes, programs that don’t integrate best-in-class technologies can fall short. Beyond the best production equipment, enterprise technologies are key to bringing projects in on-time, on-budget, and at the non-negotiable quality customers and end users demand. Programs like our company-wide implementation of IQMS, give us an important line of sight into our production processes and the ability to proactively address issues – before they happen.
Case Study: A Threefold Investment in Customer Success
A major Life Sciences product manufacturer recently needed to boost volume of a critical part for a bioreactor nearly four-fold. The part was injection molded using a challenging and expensive material – Polysulfone (PSU) – with a single-cavity collapsible core mold and cold runner system.
The Problem
As volumes ramped up, so did the criticality of improving manufacturing yields. And, without the ability to recycle this scrap back in the process, costs were escalating. Beacon MedTech put its people, partners and processes to work.
People
While troubleshooting the process, our experts in tooling, engineering, materials, quality and production evaluated the situation. The team recommended a more efficient process and led the development of tooling, technology partners and more.
Partners
The team worked closely with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag to customize new all-electric injection molding machines to maximize efficiency, accuracy and output. We also worked with local suppliers to select and install the right automation.
Processes
Our engineers designed a new, two-cavity unscrewing mold with a valve-gated hot runner. This design eliminated the need to de-gate the part, improved part fill characteristics, and reduced scrap due to part defects.
Leveraging our investments in people, partners and processes, our team turned a costly customer problem into a sustainable solution – driving increased productivity and profitability while meeting the upswing in demand.
Putting Our Investment to Work for You
In these times of unprecedented demand and complexity, what can we do to take the weight off your shoulders and put our people, partners and processes to work for you?
Discover more about the Beacon MedTech Solutions approach to customer success. And if there’s any problem you need help solving, don’t hesitate to contact us.