I recently returned from a trip to a cultured marble factory where I wasted so much of my time. It was unbelievable! A group who bought a package of molds from another company wanted me to come to their factory to train their employees. Sure- be glad to.
I arrived, went out in the factory, and basically all I saw were some molds and a blender. It seems they were sold a computer without the power cord. I guess they weren’t made to realize the importance of the various tools and supplies that are required to manufacture cultured marble. They said they were told they could buy most of those items locally.
Things like a clay extruding machine, air vibrators, gel coat spray gun, fillet tool, matrix knives, polycollars, knockouts, double sided tape, catalyst dispensers and some of the other items on the Supply list are not things you pick up at your local Home Depot, even if you ‘have’ a Home Depot. In this case, we didn’t even have an Ace! We spent more time shopping for some useable items than we did training them and their employees.
Okay, so don’t buy the conveyor system, tilting gel coat cart, storage rack and the scissor lift, but you will need a vibrating table, gel coat spray booth, pigments, overflow hoses, resin drum spouts, resin drum cradles, sandpaper, etc.
The easiest solution is to include a Supply package. Even if you order the minimum quantities, and especially if you’re outside the U.S. At least if you have one ‘knockout’ for example, the employees will be able to improvise if they know what it is and what its used for.
Anyway, we’ll probably have to ship some items, then I’ll probably have to go back.
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