Case Study: Getting It Done When Others Could Not
| CUSTOMER Confidential — manufacturer of a safety-critical public-safety product |
SECTOR Public safety / safety-critical hardware |
| CHALLENGE Acquired IP from a U.S. supplier that could not deliver the required quality, reliability or volume |
OUTCOME From ~2,000 to well over 100,000 units per year — a controlled, scalable program |
The Challenge
In 2020, PreciKam was approached by a customer in the public safety industry that had acquired intellectual property from a U.S. supplier. The product had strong commercial potential, but the previous supplier could not consistently deliver the required quality, reliability, safety or production volume. The customer faced a high-risk situation: growing demand, but no stable manufacturing foundation to scale on.
This was not a simple sourcing problem. It was a total manufacturing-system problem. The customer did not need a cheaper moulder — they needed a plastic injection molding partner that could reduce risk, redesign components, stabilize processes, build documentation, manage suppliers, improve consistency, and scale production without compromising safety.
Why Lowest Piece-Part Price Isn’t the Lowest Cost
A lower-cost supplier might have quoted individual components. That would not have solved the customer’s real problem. The true cost drivers were hidden in the system: unreliable production, inconsistent components, supplier risk, incomplete processes, inadequate documentation, and the customer’s own time spent managing a failing supply chain — with a final product that could put people’s lives at risk.
For this type of product, the cheapest quoted part can become the most expensive option if it creates delays, quality issues, rework, field risk, management distraction, or worst case, injuries in the field.
PreciKam’s Role
PreciKam reduced the total cost of the program by taking ownership of the manufacturing complexity. The team re-engineered and improved multiple moulded precision plastic components, redesigned or developed key production processes, created the supporting documentation, and introduced the controls needed to move the product from unstable, low-volume production into a repeatable, scalable program.
PreciKam also developed customized automation to improve consistency, increase volume and manage unit costs — and took responsibility for upstream suppliers, working to eliminate a high-risk supplier of a critical component by bringing it into the PreciKam-managed system.
The Result
PreciKam helped the customer move from an unreliable, difficult-to-scale model to a controlled program capable of supporting significant growth. Just as importantly, the customer reduced operational risk: instead of coordinating disconnected suppliers, unstable processes and incomplete documentation, they gained a partner able to manage the full production stack — freeing them to focus on the business and new product development.
“PreciKam took a product others could not reliably manufacture and turned it into a controlled, scalable production program.”
— CUSTOMER VP
The PreciKam Value
The customer was not paying only for moulded parts. They were paying for:
- Manufacturing problem-solving and process redesign
- Component improvement and customized automation
- Supplier management and documentation
- Scalability and rigorous quality-management systems
- Risk reduction and long-term production stability
PreciKam may not always be the lowest-cost supplier on a component quote. But when a product is complex, safety-critical and difficult to manufacture, the lowest piece-part price is rarely the lowest total cost.
Your Name Is on It. Ours Is Behind It.
PreciKam is not designed to be the lowest-cost plastic injection supplier on a simple piece-part quote. Our value is different: we help customers reduce the total cost of bringing complex, safety-critical products to market.
For products in medical, aerospace, security and complex industrial applications, the cost of a supplier is not just the price of a part or assembly. The real cost includes engineering time, tooling risk, supplier coordination, process failures, scrap, documentation gaps, validation delays, quality escapes, corrective actions, inventory, delivery reliability, and the internal management burden placed on the customer.
PreciKam’s value is that we absorb much of that complexity. We combine precision molding, tooling support, clean-room production, post-molding assembly, process development, documentation management, supplier management, quality assurance and third-party logistics into a more complete manufacturing partnership.
Our quality foundation underpins all of it. That is why PreciKam can appear more expensive at the quote stage while often reducing the customer’s total cost of success.
The PreciKam Standard
- 60 years in business
- 1.9% scrap rate
- 94.8% customer satisfaction
- 99.2% on time delivery
- ISO Class 7 and Class 8 clean rooms
- ISO 13485:2016, ISO 9001:2015, and AS9100D certified QMS
- Controlled Goods Program Certification
- Precision injection molding, tooling, assembly & logistics under one roof
Have a complex product that needs a trusted manufacturing partner?
Partner with PreciKam to reduce risk, improve consistency, and scale production for demanding medical, aerospace, security, and industrial applications.
About Jack McDonald
Jack McDonald is the President of PreciKam, a leading North American precision plastic injection molding manufacturer based in Baie-d’Urfé, Quebec. With over three decades of industry experience, Jack is dedicated to producing quality precision molded plastic parts crucial to health and safety in the medical, automotive, and food sectors.
Follow Us