Plastics Pipeline Blog

Guest Blogger – Shawn Scott

Team 1 Plastics is pleased to periodically feature Guest Bloggers to share their perspectives of the plastics industry on Plastics Pipeline. We thank today’s Guest Blogger, Shawn Scott of D & L Tooling, one of Team 1’s high-quality mold suppliers.

“Trust is a huge factor with all working relationships,” said Shawn Scott, Co-Owner of D & L Tooling in a recent interview. He added that sometimes a relationship goes a step farther and has “Trust with Confidence” – the ability to be completely up-front and honest with each other and know that each person (or company) has the other’s best interest in mind. That is how Scott described his company’s relationship with Team 1 Plastics, a plastic injection molding company for the transportation industry. “I believe we mutually trust one another — 100%.”

Founded in 1977 by Don Carpenter and Lynn Scott, D & L Tooling is a “world-class tool shop, specializing in plastic injection molds in the automotive, agricultural, electronics, and furniture industries.” Over its 18-year history with Team 1 Plastics, D & L has supplied Team 1 with nearly 150 plastic injection molds.

“This long-term working relationship has allowed us to have an excellent understanding of Team 1’s needs and expectations,” Scott said. “We realize that not only is it important for us to provide top quality tools and service to customers like Team 1, we also need to provide them with support that they can pass on to their customers.”

“We are always thinking about potential longevity challenges and production concerns for our customers and will communicate these concerns if we see anything that may become an issue.” Scott believes that it is D & L’s attention to detail and its continuous “looking out for our customers’ best interest that makes us unique.”

D & L Tooling is also constantly looking for ways to utilize new technologies. Scott, who joined the company in 1994, works primarily in its CNC (Computer Numerical Control) and CAD / CAM (Computer-Aided Design / Computer-Aided Manufacturing) departments. He has seen many changes in technology during his career and loves the challenges that these changes create. “Technology is always improving. Finding ways to automate, while still maintaining the same quality and craftsmanship, can sometimes be a challenge. But challenges motivate us.”

He shared an example of how D & L Tooling helped Team 1 solve one particular challenge it had with a mold for a lens part. “The mold itself was simple enough, but the lens’ specifications were an obstacle. Team 1’s customer insisted that the only way to build the mold cavities was by using a five- axis machining center.” Scott said that at the time, five- axis machining centers were not common – most mold suppliers did not have them. And the machine time on a five-axis machining center was incredibly expensive. D & L suggested an alternative way of machining, and after a sample test for proof, convinced Team 1 that the alternate way would produce as good or better results. “To the best of my knowledge,” Scott said, “the project was a success for Team 1 and its customer with no issues.”

Scott believes that the “Trust with Confidence” relationship between D & L Tooling and Team 1 Plastics has greatly benefited both companies and added that “It’s been a pleasure working with Team 1 Plastics for 18 years, and we look forward to working with them for another 18 years and beyond.”