How to save on plastic profiles production?

1 September 2022

Overview of covered topics

Update – March 2024

Saving money on the production of plastic profiles is possible – it just takes some smarts, knowledge and experience. In this article, we show you 6 ways we help customers reduce the cost of producing plastic profiles. And each of these ways is effective – we’ve tested them more than a few dozen times.

Reducing the cost of plastic profiles does not at all mean reducing quality or losing the most essential properties. A well-thought-out strategy for reducing costs will allow you to save money while getting plastic profiles of the same quality. Sometimes such a procedure requires more, and sometimes less time – it will all depend on the design of your profile. Below we explain what our methods are and what to consider with each one.

We produce profiles in modern extrusion systems for individual orders in various colors

From the article you will learn:

  • How to save on the material from which plastic profiles are made?
  • What can be done to make profile production cost less?
  • How to save on the color of profiles?
  • How to save on a profile extrusion mold?

Use a cheaper material

Nothing reduces the cost of profiles as quickly and as dramatically as using a cheaper substitute for your production material. Just check if there is a cheaper substitute for the plastic you currently use for production. If so – the savings are in your pocket. The replacement material will have the same or almost identical technical parameters with only one difference – it will be cheaper. You can look for a cheaper substitute material on your own or ask your plastic profile manufacturer about it.

Material replacement

And what are some examples of successful material substitutions? It is important that they come from the same material group. For example: you can swap ABS material for SAN, which, although it has more rigidity, is cheaper to produce.

You can also swap a material that is hard for one that is more flexible, but very strong. Depending on the application, profiles made from a material such as TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) can be produced from PVC (polyvinyl chloride). PVC is a material that is soft, but it is reinforced with stabilizers, and as a result, the profile will be qualitatively similar to that of TPU.

You will also reduce production costs if you decide to swap PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material for rPET, which is an identical material, but recycled. Swapping materials by popularity can also be a good approach. Popular materials are more readily available, and as a result are also cheaper.

Plastic profiles

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Reduce material consumption

What else can be done when the cost of plastic material is high? You can reduce the consumption of the material used in the production of profiles. By slightly reducing the weight of the profiles, but maintaining their shape and strength, it is possible to achieve several-digit savings. The ultimate gains will depend on how large the production batch is. However, this must be done very carefully, i.e. slimming down profiles must not affect their properties. Sometimes it may be necessary to additionally rib the profiles or change the design for higher strength.

Don't wait!

Tailor the technology to your needs to reduce plastic production costs.

Cushion the form

You can also save on plastic profiles by depreciating the mold needed for their production. This form, depending on the shape and complexity of the profiles, may cost from PLN 10,000 to PLN 40,000. (2 300 EUR to 9 200 EUR) Thanks to depreciation, you will reduce initial production costs, which will allow you to save money for other investments. If your profile manufacturer does not offer such a solution, please contact Plastipol for help – we will provide you with the option of depreciating the form and, thanks to this, its costs will depend on the degree of its use.

Order more profiles

The more you order, the lower the price for a single profile. Economies of scale also work when producing plastic profiles, and you can use them to save money. If you order more running meters of plastic profiles at one time, it will be much cheaper to start production, per profile. So if plastic profiles are a product that is constantly needed in your business, making a stockpile can pay off. Currently, prices for materials and production services are rising, and forecasts offer no hope of reversing this trend.

We have profiles with different functionalities available to order

Don’t pay double for profile extrusion

It sometimes happens that manufacturers of plastic profiles extrude each element in the profile separately and only then assemble all the elements together. However, such double extrusion of plastic profiles is usually very expensive. Therefore, at Plastipol, in such a situation, we recommend that the profile extrusion be done in a different way – we extrude many materials at once, combining polymers into one profile. We do not extrude two or more parts separately. This makes extrusion cheaper and the companies we cooperate with save money.

Find out more about how we produce profiles.

Pay less for color

This process is called “co-extrusion” or “coextrusion,” and it can save the cost of applying color to plastic profiles. It is well known that vivid and dark colors of profiles can significantly increase the price of products. But if we apply the so-called. coextrusion – these costs will not be so high at all, and the result will be very similar. What is it based on? It is not always the case that after assembling all the parts, the color of the profile will be visible. Some of its parts will remain hidden after installation. Coextrusion allows you not to apply color to the entire profile, but only to those parts that will be visible. Overall – it’s a big savings for the company, and something that doesn’t matter at all to customers.

Summary – How to save on plastic profiles?

There are many ways to save on plastic profiles. The closer you look at the designs and uses of your profiles, the faster you will spot them. It is important to remember the fine line between saving money and cutting costs. Savings should not be at the expense of the quality of the profiles produced, because in the long run this solution will be more expensive. An efficient production process and the use of the same high-quality, only cheaper materials will help you save on plastic profiles in a clever and wise way.

Save on the production of plastic profiles

At Plastipol, we specialize in the production of high-class profiles for every industry. Write us what types of profiles are needed in your company, and we will prepare a personalized quote and advice.

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Adam Bernacki

Adam Bernacki

Technical director at Plastipol Poland. Popularizer of knowledge about plastics processing. Industry experience gained through education at Scandinavian polytechnics, work in global corporations in the plastics industry, and by managing technical issues in a Polish company. Specialist in plastics batch and mass production technologies. Author of articles and industry texts for clients in various industry sectors. Training Advisor.