Case Studies

Case Study: Delivering 10 Million Automotive Parts in 3 Weeks

When a major automotive manufacturer needed a miracle, they turned to us for our flexibility and rapid production capabilities. This case study showcases our ability to meet tight deadlines and deliver high-quality parts, even during the challenging holiday season.

The Challenge

In mid-December, we received an urgent call from a client with a seemingly impossible request:

• Produce 10 million pieces
• Across 6 different part numbers
• Deliver within 3 weeks
• Navigate holiday closures

Our Rapid Response

Despite the holiday season, we immediately sprang into action:

• Accepted the order within 24 hours
• Began designing custom dies
• Ordered necessary materials
• Initiated die construction
• Started production without delay

The Results

Our team’s dedication and efficiency paid off:

• 10,000,000 parts produced
• Zero rejects
• Pipeline filling began by January 10th
• Met the client’s tight deadline

Key Takeaways

This case study demonstrates our:

• Flexibility in meeting urgent demands
• Ability to scale production rapidly
• Commitment to quality even under pressure
• Expertise in automotive part manufacturing

By delivering 10 million flawless parts in just three weeks, we proved that we are the go-to partner for automotive manufacturers who need reliable, fast-turnaround solutions. Our flexibility and dedication ensure that we can meet even the most challenging production demands, regardless of the season.

Case Study: Metal Stamping Revolutionizes Manufacturing Process

Talan Products Inc., a high-growth contract manufacturer specializing in metal stamping, recently showcased its expertise in progressive die metal stamping by transforming a traditionally machined aluminum extrusion part into a more efficiently produced component. This case study demonstrates how Talan’s innovative approach significantly reduced manufacturing time and costs while maintaining high-quality standards.

The Challenge

A customer approached Talan Products with a request to shorten their supply chain by manufacturing a part in North America that was previously produced overseas. The part in question was an aluminum extrusion with specific requirements:

• Cut to length
• Oblong hole on one plane
• Round threaded hole on another plane

Traditionally, this manufacturing process involved multiple time-consuming steps:

• Saw cutting the extrusion
• Loading parts into a CNC machining center
• Milling the oblong hole
• Drilling the round hole
• Tapping the hole
• Unloading from the CNC

These steps collectively added up to nearly a minute of factory time per part, making it challenging to compete with overseas manufacturing costs.

The Talan Solution

Talan Products’ cross-functional Design for Manufacturability team tackled the challenge head-on, developing an innovative solution that leveraged their progressive die metal stamping expertise. Their approach aimed to eliminate most of the time-consuming steps in the traditional process.Key innovations included:

• Eliminating the sawing process for cutting parts off the lineal extrusion
• Punching the long slot instead of machining it
• Punching the round hole and tapping it within the tool
• Incorporating in-die tapping technology

The Results

By implementing these innovative techniques, Talan Products achieved remarkable results:

• Reduced total processing time from nearly one minute to approximately 2 seconds per part
• Eliminated secondary manufacturing operations through in-die tapping and cam piercing
• Significantly lowered production costs, making the part less expensive to manufacture in North America
• Maintained high-quality standards while drastically improving efficiency

Conclusion

This case study exemplifies Talan Products’ commitment to innovative metal stamping solutions. By thinking outside the box and leveraging their progressive die experience, Talan not only leveled the playing field but exceeded expectations. The result was a win-win situation: a more cost-effective part for the customer and a showcase of Talan’s manufacturing prowess.

Talan Products continues to demonstrate why they are a leader in high-growth contract manufacturing, producing hundreds of millions of component parts for industry every year from their facility in Cleveland’s inner city.

Case Study: Streamlining LED Fixture Production Through Metal Stamping

At Talan Products, we recently partnered with a long-term customer to enhance the competitiveness of their LED light fixture chassis. This case study demonstrates how our expertise in metal stamping and Design for Manufacturability (DFM) led to significant improvements in production efficiency and cost savings.

Challenge

The customer’s LED light fixture chassis originally consisted of three separate metal stampings: a chassis body and two end caps. While functional, this design presented opportunities for improvement in component mounting and overall efficiency.

Solution

Our team, in collaboration with the customer and our tooling partner, developed an innovative solution:

• Integrated Design: We redesigned the chassis to incorporate the two end caps into the main body, creating a single-piece component.
• Progress Die Implementation: Utilizing a progress die in our stamping process, we were able to produce the entire chassis in one manufacturing cycle.

Results

The redesigned chassis yielded multiple benefits for our customer:

• Reduced Part Count: From three separate components to a single, integrated part.
• Improved Material Yield: Less waste, resulting in reduced material costs.
• Streamlined Inventory Management: Only one part number to track, reducing processing and storage requirements.
• Simplified Logistics: Fewer components led to reduced packaging and transportation costs.
• Efficient Assembly: Elimination of the assembly step for end caps significantly reduced labor time.
• Consistent Production Time: The new single-piece chassis required the same production time as one of the previous components.

Key Takeaways

• Early involvement in the design process allows for impactful DFM improvements.
• Integrating multiple parts into a single component can lead to substantial cost savings and efficiency gains.
• Collaboration between manufacturers, customers, and tooling partners is crucial for innovative solutions.

This case study exemplifies Talan Products’ commitment to leveraging our metal stamping expertise and DFM capabilities to create more competitive products for our customers. By getting involved early in the design process, we can help optimize your products for manufacturability and cost-effectiveness.

Contact Talan Products today to see how we can apply our expertise to your manufacturing challenges and help make your products more competitive in the market.

Customer Relationships

When you deliver on your customer’s needs you get to deliver again, and again, and again.

Talan Products has been smashing out parts for 33 years and here is what Talan has, it’s first 4 customers.

Yep, the first 4 customers that Steve Peplin started signing up in 1986 to do business with Talan Products remain customer’s of Talan Products today.

We have grown with those customers.  We began our relationship with one of the world’s largest building products companies in 1988 when they were a $100mill company and we were a $1mill company. They are now a $2 bill division and we are at $50mill.  We have literally grown up together.

How is that possible?  It takes delivering on trust. Those customers trust that they are going to get their parts delivered on time, when they say they need them.  Those customers trust that they are going to pay a globally competitive market price.  Those customers trust that the parts they ship to their customers meet, or exceed, every specification.  If Talan Products didn’t perform on all of this at the highest level, those relationships would not have endured to today.

Additionally, staying on top of raw material markets, technological advancements and process improvements are imperative to being the world class supplier our customers expect.  These fundamentals have allowed us to continue to grow along with our core customers.

Overall we have a very low churn of customers.  We thrive on relationships.

How do you keep your first four customers from the founding of a business to closing in on 35 years?  You continue to be the best value for them, day, after day, after day.

Like Steve likes to say “We were partnering before partnering was cool.

A Real “Win-Win” Case Study

A REAL “WIN-WIN” HELPS TALAN CUSTOMER IMPROVE ROA

Talk about “Win-Win,” smiles Talan Products CEO Steve Peplin. “This is textbook.”

For years, Talan had counted a major international fastener company in the building products arena as a small customer with great potential.  Talan manufactured stampings and aluminum extrusions for the company, which also had its own in-house stamping operation, making 100 different parts.

Steve felt the in-house operation wasn’t nearly as efficient as it could be. So he had an idea. A big idea.

Only a few months later, Talan actually owned all the stamping equipment and tooling and had relocated it to the Talan manufacturing facility. Annual inventory turns went from 2 per year to 20, saving the customer 11% annually.

How was this possible?

“It’s actually pretty simple,” said Steve. They know fasteners. We know stamping. We analyzed the situation and realized we could do it better if we took over the whole thing and introduced best practices. We made an aggressive proposal. Their new president had a banking background and understood deployment of capital as well as anyone. He saw the opportunity and jumped at it.

“Now, we even work together on R&D. Prototype development time has dropped from months to a few days…and we have even been awarded a patent together.”

The contract between the two companies is long-term. It is Talan’s responsibility to offset inflation increases with annual efficiency improvements. There is a material cost adjustment clause, but Talan’s buying process of materials in this space is more sophisticated than the customers’ previous system, leading to further real savings. Also, product quality is better – with all parts made in the U.S.

“Talan is a trusted supplier, and a very important supplier,” says the fastener company president. “I’m a corporate investment banker by trade and I recognized the advantage of significantly lowering investment in inventory. Our agreement allowed Talan to do what they do so well, and allowed us to focus on fasteners.  Importantly, Steve made the whole process, which could have been complicated, very simple.”

Peplin says there are a lot of ways to structure this kind of agreement, from outright purchase to lease to lease/purchase.  “Lots of companies could benefit from this kind of thinking. The first step is a feasibility study which I head up personally. There is no cost, and if I can’t offer the customer significant savings, I won’t make a proposal. But it is surprising how often we can uncover an opportunity for real savings. Of course, the recommendation doesn’t always include us taking the whole process over….but if so, we are large enough – and aggressive enough – to work together with the customer make it happen.”