The Rodon Blog - A Focus on Plastic Injection Molding and American Manufacturing

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

"We can't ask our employees to sort their trash."

"We don't recycle because it all ends up in the landfill anyway."

"It could end up costing us time and money."

There is a long list of excuses often espoused by organizations to justify their hesitancy to become involved in recycling programs.Most often these excuses are based on old myths, technologies and processes.  Today, recycling and waste collection companies have refined their procedures to offer hassle free, mutually beneficial recycling relationships with businesses throughout the country.

One stream or two?

Gone are the days of containers for every form of trash.  Many waste companies now offer either dual-stream or single stream recycling.  Dual stream recycling separates paper from all other forms of recyclable material.This method helps increase compliance and collection speeds.Single stream recycling was introduced in the late 1990's partly in response low recycling rates within communities and organizations.  This method allows all recyclable material to go into one container.  The material is sent to a sorting facility.Using lasers, conveyor belts and other equipment!various plastics, metals and paper are sorted and baled.

Make electricity not trash.

In Europe, countries have been creating energy from trash for a very long time.  In this country, the practice is fairly recent, and we are capitalizing on the innovations and successes of our European allies.  Many trash-to-steam plants have been built across the country.  These plants take just about any material, burn it at extremely high temperatures, heat water which converts to steam.  The steam is piped into generators to create electricity.

Below are a few common questions and answers in regards to plastic injection molding.  You can view all of them at our FAQ section.

Excerpts from a report by anadvisory council of Team Pennsylvania Foundation

Following the challenges brought by the Great Recession, the manufacturing sector in Pennsylvania is undergoing a renaissance.With gross state product (GSP) now reaching $71 billion, manufacturers in Pennsylvania account for over 12% of the total output in the commonwealth1.Pennsylvania remains the 6th largest manufacturing state in the United States (utilizing GSP as a benchmark).Pennsylvania outranks other historically industrial states including Michigan, Indiana, New York and New Jersey2.Pennsylvania is now producing more products than at any time in its history.For each of the last two years manufacturing employment has increased significantly and in 2011 alone 12,100 new jobs were created3.While employment continues to grow, the sector continues to experience measurable leaps in productivity driven by technology adoption and process innovation.Manufacturing productivity outpaces all other sectors with a staggering 259% increase over the last 40 years4.

With nearly 15,000 manufacturing establishments across the commonwealth, the outlook is bright for continued growth.Pennsylvania firms are building upon a proud heritage in manufacturing and have demonstrated new and creative approaches of integrating innovation into both products and processes.Recognizing the dynamics of the global marketplace, Pennsylvania hosts scores of multinational facilities exporting at record levels around the world accounting for more than 90% of all Pennsylvania exports.

Worlds Kids Love: Created Daily at Hatfield, PA Toy Manufacturer

Amazement.K'NEX President and CEO Michael Araten says that it is one of the most common reactions he receives when he tells people that K'NEX building toys are manufactured in Hatfield, Pennsylvania."So many people are used to toys from overseas that they don't even consider that these products may be manufactured not just in the United States, but in their own backyard," Araten said."That is the perception that we're hoping to change."

If amazement is the initial response to the news that K'NEX products are manufactured in Hatfield, PA, the sentiment only deepens upon hearing the uniquely American story behind the colorful plastic building sets.

When I first arrived at K'NEX in 2006 I was asked to outline a vision for growth.As president and CEO, I had to find a way to blend the culture of the toy business with our manufacturing business, The Rodon Group.

The two companies never really had a joint vision before so, in order to encourage growth in both organizations, I realized I would have to create a strategic plan that would move both companies forward yet maintain their separate agendas.

As I sought input from our nearly 200 employees and received advice from outside agencies, I realized that the key to a successful plan was to carefully craft objectives and then monitor progress towards them to ensure that our actions were effective.

Get an insider's peek at the Rodon Group facility with the inventor of K'NEX, Mr.Joel Glickman.

Take a tour of ourplastic injection molding factorywith the inventor of K'NEX toys, Mr.Joel Glickman through our YouTube channel.

In this video, you'll learn how we're able to make millions of parts per year using our state of the art technology operated by our experienced plastic injection molding professionals.

A toy that's "Made in the U.S.A."?These days, that might sound like a contradiction in terms, what with so many playthings produced in Asia.Yet, it turns out that one of the most innovative, stimulating, and just plain fun toys in the stores is just that - made in America, with pride, unmatched quality, and total commitment to environmental responsibility, no less.

It'sK'NEX, a construction system comprising hundreds of different building blocks that children of all ages can use to create everything from fully-functional robots to model racetracks to working roller-coasters to ...well, you name it.And every single K'NEX rod, connector and brick - some  30 Billion  - have been manufactured in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia.They then travel to over 40 different countries around the world as the various K'NEX construction systems.

This marriage of fun and function started more than 50 years ago whenThe Rodon Groupwas founded as a company specializing in a manufacturing process called plastic injection molding.Injection molding was hardly new back then - it actually dates to the 19th century - but Rodon's founders saw an opportunity to take the process to another level - to make it much easier, that is, to create large quantities of even extra-small parts with unheard-of quality.Until then, the small injection-molded parts were plagued by a host of flaws - bubbles in the plastic, imperfect shapes, and so forth - which greatly limited the yield, or portion of usable parts, in every manufacturing batch.That kept prices high and applications limited.