On April 18, 2017 , Jade Group International, a leading global provider of high-quality tooling and manufacturer of plastic parts and components, announced that it will present a tutorial to help U.S. molders identify winning strategies for mold sourcing during the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) ANTEC 2017 technical conference May 8-10 at the Hilton Anaheim in Anaheim, Calif.  The event, entitled “Strategic Mold Sourcing: Helping North American Molders Win More Business,” is sponsored by the SPE Injection Molding Division. It is a collaborative presentation by Jade President Patrick Smith and senior account manager Michael Curran who have a combined 50 years of tooling experience.
   The presentation will address challenges and issues that domestic molders face in sourcing molds from outside the U.S., particularly China, and offer guidance and direction in navigating a sometimes complicated sourcing activity. Both Smith and Curran will share what they’ve learned over the years including several best practices. “We hope the session provides a blueprint for molders to apply to their sourcing strategy so they can optimize their molding jobs and be more successful winning business,” said Curran.
   In preparation for the tutorial, Jade is currently offering a quick 3-5 min survey to determine molders’ views on today’s most pressing issues and concerns in mold sourcing. The survey will serve as a baseline of information for the tutorial so the presentation can target immediate topics of concern among North American mold buyers. Survey participants are asked about quality, tariffs, convenience and security of payments, project management, the language barrier, labor costs, testing and inspection, and lead times. At the tutorial, Jade will share the results of the survey and provide analysis. A full report of the data and analysis will be released after the conference.
   In China, Jade produces high-quality molds and a wide range of plastic parts and components for the consumer goods, industrial, automotive, and packaging markets. The company’s mission is to help North American and European injection molding companies compete globally and to re-shore injection molding. Most of Jade’s efforts are focused on re-shoring manufacturing business to North America.