Today’s OEMs need more than a company that simply molds plastic parts. Successful manufacturing programs often require engineering, Design for Manufacturability (DFM), prototyping, mold and tool manufacturing, plastic molding, machining, finishing, assembly, testing, packaging and supply-chain support.
Hi-Rel Plastics & Molding Corp. is a California-based plastic parts contract manufacturer and complete contract manufacturing service provider supporting OEMs throughout California and across the USA.
With more than 40 years of plastics manufacturing experience, Hi-Rel Plastics provides a broad combination of manufacturing technologies under one organization, including plastic injection molding, blow molding, Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) molding, thermoforming, vacuum forming, rotational molding, mold and tool manufacturing, 3D printing, rapid prototyping, plastic and metal CNC machining, clean room manufacturing, assembly and value-added secondary operations.
For OEM purchasing professionals, engineers and product developers searching for a plastic contract manufacturer in the USA, this integrated approach can simplify the journey from product concept to finished production parts.
Plastic parts contract manufacturing is an arrangement in which an OEM outsources some or all of its manufacturing requirements to a specialized manufacturer.
A traditional plastic molder may only produce a molded component. A full-service plastic contract manufacturer, by comparison, can support multiple stages of the product lifecycle.
A typical program may involve: Product Concept → Engineering & DFM → Prototype → Material Selection → Tooling → Plastic Molding → Machining → Secondary Operations → Assembly → Inspection → Packaging → Production Delivery.
This integrated model can reduce the number of individual suppliers an OEM must manage while creating clearer responsibility throughout the manufacturing process.
One of Hi-Rel Plastics’ strongest capabilities is the ability to support multiple stages of a manufacturing program.
Instead of coordinating separately with an engineering company, prototype supplier, mold maker, injection molder, machine shop, assembly provider and packaging company, customers can consolidate many requirements through Hi-Rel Plastics.
Not every plastic component should be injection molded. Part geometry, size, material, annual volume, tolerances, wall thickness, mechanical requirements and tooling budget can determine which manufacturing process provides the appropriate solution.
Hi-Rel Plastics provides custom plastic injection molding services for precision thermoplastic components ranging from prototype and lower-volume requirements through high-volume production.
Capabilities include conventional injection molding as well as insert molding, overmolding, vertical molding, multi-shot applications and other specialized processes.
For bottles, containers, reservoirs and other hollow components, Hi-Rel Plastics provides plastic blow molding and blow mold manufacturing.
Available technologies include Extrusion Blow Molding (EBM), Injection Blow Molding (IBM) and Injection Stretch Blow Molding (ISBM).
For applications requiring the performance characteristics of silicone, Hi-Rel Plastics also provides Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) injection molding. LSR can be appropriate for medical, electronics, industrial and other applications requiring flexibility, temperature resistance or durable elastomeric performance.
Thermoforming and vacuum forming provide additional options for plastic housings, covers, trays, panels, enclosures and other formed components. Having these processes available alongside injection and blow
molding allows Hi-Rel Plastics to evaluate manufacturing technology according to the requirements of the product rather than limiting a customer to a single process.
For larger hollow plastic components and products with geometries suitable for rotational molding, Hi-Rel Plastics also offers rotational molding services. This broad process portfolio helps make Hi-Rel Plastics a valuable resource for OEMs with product families requiring several different plastic manufacturing technologies.
Production quality begins with tooling. Hi-Rel Plastics provides custom mold and tool manufacturing as part of its integrated plastics manufacturing capabilities.
Tooling support can include injection molds, blow molds, LSR molds, thermoforming and vacuum-forming tooling, rotational molding tooling, prototype tooling, production tooling, mold modification, mold repair, mold maintenance and existing mold transfers.
Integrating DFM, mold manufacturing and production molding can improve communication between the people designing the tooling and the manufacturing team ultimately responsible for producing the component.
Cost-effective contract manufacturing begins before production starts. Engineering decisions made during product development can affect tooling complexity, cycle time, material consumption, part quality, assembly requirements and ultimately total manufacturing cost.
Hi-Rel Plastics can support customers with engineering, DFM, Mold Flow Analysis, material selection and tooling optimization before production.
Moving directly from CAD data to production tooling can create unnecessary development risk. Hi-Rel Plastics provides 3D printing and rapid prototyping to help customers evaluate product designs before committing to production tooling.
Prototypes can help engineering teams assess form, fit, assembly, ergonomics and other design characteristics. A connected workflow can progress from CAD Design → DFM → 3D Printed Prototype → Design Validation → Tooling → Sampling → Production.
Not every component within an assembly is molded. Complete products can contain both plastic and metal components, and some molded plastic components require post-molding machining.
Hi-Rel Plastics’ plastic and metal CNC machining services provide another valuable component of its contract manufacturing capabilities.
For many products, molding is only the beginning of the manufacturing process. A plastic component may still require machining, welding, decorating, inserting, bonding, assembly, inspection or packaging before it can be delivered as a finished product.
Hi-Rel Plastics provides value-added secondary operations including plastic and metal CNC machining, clean room assembly, mechanical assembly, cable assembly, ultrasonic welding, ultrasonic insertion, heat insertion, heat staking, adhesive bonding, pad printing, hot stamping and foils, label application, surface treatment and enhancements, custom packaging, and filling and sealing.
OEMs increasingly want suppliers to deliver more than individual components. Hi-Rel Plastics can combine molded plastic parts with purchased or customer-supplied components to provide subassemblies and more complete assemblies, depending on project requirements.
Assembly operations can incorporate processes such as ultrasonic welding, heat staking, insertion, adhesive bonding, mechanical fastening and other joining techniques.
Medical, pharmaceutical, diagnostic and other contamination-sensitive products may require controlled manufacturing environments.
Hi-Rel Plastics offers both Class 10,000 / ISO Class 7 and Class 100,000 / ISO Class 8 clean room environments for qualifying manufacturing and assembly programs.
Quality-management systems are especially important when an OEM transfers responsibility for multiple manufacturing processes to a contract manufacturer.
Hi-Rel Plastics maintains ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016 and AS9100 Rev D certifications. These certifications support manufacturing programs serving demanding commercial, medical and aerospace markets.
Medical OEMs may require precision molding, clean room manufacturing, assembly and controlled quality systems from the same supplier.
Hi-Rel Plastics supports medical applications with ISO 13485-certified manufacturing and controlled clean room capabilities, including medical device components, diagnostic components, laboratory equipment, medical housings, fluid-management components, medical packaging, precision molded components, LSR components, subassemblies and clean room assemblies.
Aerospace and defense applications can require demanding tolerances, specialized engineering materials, documentation and controlled manufacturing processes. Hi-Rel Plastics’ AS9100 Rev D certification provides a quality-management foundation for appropriate aerospace and defense manufacturing programs.
Hi-Rel Plastics can support automotive and electric vehicle applications using injection molding, blow molding, tooling, engineering, machining, assembly and secondary manufacturing processes. Potential products can include housings, covers, brackets, fluid-management components, reservoirs, electrical components, interior components and other custom molded products.
Electronic products frequently combine molded plastic housings and components with inserts, hardware, wiring and other assembled components. Hi-Rel Plastics’ combination of molding, insert molding, machining, ultrasonic welding, heat staking, assembly and secondary operations can support custom plastic components and assemblies for electronics applications.
Hi-Rel Plastics’ contract manufacturing capabilities can also support consumer and household products, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and personal care, industrial equipment, agriculture and farming, research and laboratory equipment, construction and building products, sustainability and renewable energy applications.
One of the primary reasons OEMs use contract manufacturers is to simplify their supply chains. Every additional supplier can introduce another purchase order, production schedule, transportation step, quality interface and communication handoff.
A single-source contract manufacturing strategy can consolidate many of these processes. Hi-Rel Plastics can potentially support: Engineering → Prototype → Tooling → Molding → Machining → Secondary Operations → Assembly → Inspection → Packaging.
Companies do not always need to begin with a new mold. OEMs may already own production tooling located at another domestic manufacturer or overseas supplier.
Hi-Rel Plastics can evaluate existing customer-owned molds for potential tool transfer, maintenance, repair, modification and production readiness. This can be valuable for companies evaluating reshoring, dual sourcing, additional domestic manufacturing capacity or supplier consolidation.
Contract manufacturing requirements can change substantially during a product’s lifecycle. A new product may initially require prototypes and limited production. Demand can later increase into medium- or high volume manufacturing.
Hi-Rel Plastics supports prototype, low-, medium- and high-volume production, helping customers develop a manufacturing strategy according to their product lifecycle and volume requirements.
Material selection can affect strength, dimensional stability, temperature resistance, chemical resistance, electrical performance, appearance, manufacturability and cost.
Hi-Rel Plastics works with commodity, engineering and high-performance thermoplastics including materials such as PP, ABS, nylon, PC, PEEK, PEI/ULTEM, PVDF, LCP, PPS, PBT, acetal, HDPE, LDPE and TPE, depending on project requirements.
A complete manufacturing strategy can help reduce the number of suppliers to manage, transportation steps, manufacturing handoffs and work-in-process complexity while improving manufacturing communication, engineering feedback and scalability.
Hi-Rel Plastics is headquartered in Riverside, California and serves customers throughout Los Angeles, Southern California, Northern California and nationwide USA markets.
For California OEMs, proximity can facilitate engineering discussions, tooling reviews, sampling and production coordination. For companies elsewhere in the United States, Hi-Rel Plastics provides access to a California manufacturing partner with multiple plastics-processing technologies and supporting manufacturing services.
The distinction is not any single manufacturing process. It is the ability to combine multiple processes into a more complete manufacturing solution.
Hi-Rel Plastics brings together 40+ years of plastics manufacturing experience; ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016 and AS9100 Rev D certified quality systems; plastic injection molding; EBM, IBM and ISBM blow molding; LSR injection molding; thermoforming and vacuum forming; rotational molding; mold and tool manufacturing; engineering and DFM; Mold Flow Analysis; 3D printing and rapid prototyping; plastic and metal CNC machining; ISO Class 7 and ISO Class 8 clean room capabilities; secondary operations; mechanical and clean room assembly; ultrasonic welding; heat insertion and heat staking; pad printing and hot stamping; label application; adhesive bonding; surface finishing; custom packaging; filling and sealing; prototype through high-volume manufacturing; and mold transfer, repair and maintenance support.
What does a plastic contract manufacturer do?
A plastic contract manufacturer produces components or assemblies for an OEM according to customer specifications. A full-service provider may also support engineering, prototyping, tooling, molding, machining, secondary operations, assembly, testing and packaging.
Does Hi-Rel Plastics provide complete contract manufacturing?
Hi-Rel Plastics provides a combination of engineering, prototyping, mold manufacturing, multiple plastic molding technologies, CNC machining, secondary operations, assembly and packaging services. The exact scope of a turnkey program depends on the product and customer requirements.
What plastic molding processes does Hi-Rel Plastics offer?
Capabilities include injection molding, blow molding, LSR injection molding, thermoforming, vacuum forming and rotational molding.
Can Hi-Rel Plastics manufacture molds and then run production?
Yes. Hi-Rel Plastics provides mold and tooling support along with production molding, allowing tooling development and ongoing production to be coordinated as part of the same manufacturing program.
Can an existing mold be transferred to Hi-Rel Plastics?
Existing customer-owned tooling can be evaluated for transfer. The mold’s condition, specifications, machine compatibility and maintenance or modification requirements should be reviewed before production.
Does Hi-Rel Plastics provide secondary operations and assembly?
Yes. Available capabilities include machining, ultrasonic welding, heat insertion, heat staking, adhesive bonding, printing, hot stamping, labeling, assembly, packaging and other secondary manufacturing processes.
Does Hi-Rel Plastics provide medical contract manufacturing?
Hi-Rel Plastics is ISO 13485:2016 certified and offers medical injection molding, clean room molding, assembly, packaging and secondary operations for qualifying medical manufacturing applications.
Does Hi-Rel Plastics serve customers outside California?
Yes. Hi-Rel Plastics serves OEMs throughout California and across the United States.
Whether your company needs a single custom molded component or a more comprehensive contract manufacturing solution, Hi-Rel Plastics can evaluate your program from engineering and prototyping through tooling, production, secondary operations, assembly and packaging.
OEMs seeking to consolidate suppliers can work with one manufacturing organization across multiple plastic manufacturing technologies and value-added operations.
From a new product requiring engineering and tooling to an established program requiring additional capacity, mold transfer, assembly or secondary operations, Hi-Rel Plastics can review the drawings, 3D CAD models, material specifications, annual estimated volume and quality requirements to determine an appropriate manufacturing approach.
Contact Hi-Rel Plastics & Molding Corp. to discuss your next plastic parts contract manufacturing project.
