US Sales rep for Plastic Injection Molding

Anyone know of a strong US sales rep for plastic injection molding? We are looking to bring aboard such a rep(s) to help our business survive given that China is draining all customers away.

I think I'd be calling on Fisher Price toys about now...Joe

I hate to be so negative, but good luck in finding business... Our sister Co keeps a rep on the road, and there is very little business to be had.. 2 chances to quote last week, or rather than quote, customer told the price they would pay.. After calculating resin, and packaging, each job (different customers) would have paid 16 dollars an hour for a 300 ton press with an operator.. After paying an operator, power, supervision, overhead, etc.. those jobs would be losing at least 10 bucks an hour, as opposed to probably 5 per hour, sitting idle..

All injection molders and mold shops should just take a 6 month vacation.. let the greedy customers do without...

Once a customer gets a taste of China prices, they are ruined, just like a dog that killed his first chicken.. Those customers are not even worth wasting time on.. They like to keep a few local shops on the back burner for emergencies. but that is not a fair way to play.. They can all rot & burn, for all I care..

To temper my rant a bit, I think that the only way that US molders can survive, is to find a specialized, niche market.. Insert molding, 2-color/material molding, huge parts (2,000 ton range & up), cleanroom, or just get a good relationship with customers that are looking for value, not just price.. Those customers that look for value are most often smaller companies, often family owned, that are smart enough to see beyond a tenth of a cent.. Those type of customers are hard to find, but once found, are a real pleasure to work with...

Davis,

Its a grim situation out there. In the end its business. If a competitor moves production to china, then your forced to do the same to compete. How can the US compete against China when they pay their people nothing and quality is a distant second to cost. Of course we can't look to the US government to level the playing field, that would be providing representation for taxation.....which is apparently no longer necessary or expected in this greedy corrupt f'n government.

Split, in your search for a rep, just a few things I would look for in a Rep.. He/she needs to have a fairly good knowledge of materials, molds, secondary operations, etc.. Preferably a person that has spent a few years on the shop floor, actually working. Nothing turns a potential customer off, like a sales rep that has to call back to the office for answers to a simple question..

The ability to see that certain jobs (as well as certain customers) are not worth quoting on, unless there is a very good chance of leading to bigger and more profitable work.. Customers often dangle the carrot, to get shops to do the small unprofitable jobs, but no real intention of giving them any good work.. I have found this to be common in the automotive sector.. Farming the crummy jobs out to small local shops..

I have always felt that there should be a way to compensate Reps on the profits of jobs, rather than just sales dollars.. I would be hard to structure, but it would help bring in a better quality of business..