Dutchland Plastics Corp.

Nov 27, 2009 12:00 am

Southeastern Wisconsin is home to a large number of plastic molding manufacturers. Many of the molders based in metro Milwaukee routinely churn out thousands of small parts, containers and components on a daily basis, using injection or blow molding.

While Dutchland Plastics Corp. in Oostburg makes its living like most plastic molding companies – as a job shop to hundreds of different customers – the company’s ability to make large-sized, low-run products sets it apart.

Using rotational molding, a technique that requires workers to manually place plastic pellets inside molds, which are then hand-clamped and put through a four-stage baking and cooling process, Dutchland routinely produces parts as large as 17 feet long made of a single piece of plastic.

“We make about 3,500 different products,” said Daven Claerbout, sales director and co-owner of the company.

While Dutchland does make some products using blow molding machines, it is best known for making large, complicated pieces with its rotational molding system.

The company makes kayaks between 9.5 and 14.5 feet long, plastic slides used on playgrounds as long as 16 feet, and a wide variety of accessories for the lawn and garden and construction industries.

“In agriculture, we make tractor fenders for very large tractors that spray (farmers’) fields with tires that are more than six feet in diameter,” Claerbout said.

The Oostburg company’s range of products includes strollers used at the Mall of America that look like race cars, the grass collection system used on lawn mowers made by Briggs & Stratton and Ariens Co., side panels for shopping cart corrals in parking lots, components used in seats for arcade games, toilet seats and cones used for road construction.

Dutchland has integrated several assembly areas into its production lines, where workers mill parts, screw parts together and ensure that components are ready for final assembly. Many of the company’s customers want components that are ready to move into their assembly lines, Claerbout said.

“We want to be a one-stop-shop,” said Carl Claerbout, president and co-owner of the company.

By featuring assembly and finishing operations, Dutchland has positioned itself as a valued partner for many customers.

Some of the company’s customers are using Dutchland’s assembly and finishing operations to shift all of their manufacturing operations there. Those companies are able to focus all of their attention on sales and marketing, while allowing Dutchland to handle all manufacturing, Daven Claerbout said.

“We’ve never had a project that we’ve had to turn away,” Daven Claerbout said. “And we’ve had a lot of referrals by our customers who told their clients, ‘Bring it to Dutchland.'”

By March of 2010, Dutchland expects to complete its consolidation into a single, 160,000-square-foot facility. The company previously occupied two plants – its current 160,000-square-foot building and another 145,000-square-foot facility on the west side of Oostburg.

The company may use the older facility for warehousing, or it could shift some production there if its sales increase dramatically, Carl Claerbout said.

Like many manufacturers, Dutchland’s orders have slowed significantly this year. In early 2008, the company had about 320 workers – after two rounds of layoffs it now has 190.

Earlier this year, the company partnered with the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership to help it consolidate its operations, implement lean manufacturing principles and grow its sales.

“2009, coming out of 2008, has been tough for all of us,” said Jeff Van Stratten, chief operating officer at Dutchland. “Through some reallocating of resources, we’ve had to become a more balanced company. That’s starting to pay off now.”

The company believes its sales bottomed in the middle of 2009, and believes it will see a rebound next year.

“We are smaller from a revenue side, but we’ve gained market share,” Van Stratten said. “And we feel bullish that we’ll be able to gain more in the future.”

In early 2008, Dutchland opened a satellite facility in the Syracuse, N.Y. area, near a Briggs & Stratton plant. The company is now exploring other satellite locations.

“Freight is a big issue because our parts are hollow,” Carl Claerbout said. “A lot of customers want us to locate near them or put a machine into their plant. The want is there from customers we have and don’t have yet.”