What is Toll Blending and How Can it Help Your Business?
Toll blending refers to mixing and processing a chemical formulation for a fee or “toll.” Many companies in the automotive, petrochemical, oil and gas exploration, and aviation industries, among others, hire a third-party manufacturer to produce these specialty chemicals.
While you can certainly produce these specialty chemicals in-house, outsourcing your blending to a third-party manufacturer offers your business many benefits. When you outsource, you’ll save time and money, and you’ll benefit from the manufacturer’s extensive expertise. Let’s further dive into these benefits and determine if toll blending is right for your business.
Less Up-Front Capital Investment
Companies that require specialty chemicals may not have the necessary resources to make the products in-house. To blend the chemicals, your company must invest heavily in specialized equipment, facilities, labor, and energy. A third-party manufacturer already has these costly items in place, which saves you from making an expensive up-front investment.
More Consistency and Quality Control
A third-party manufacturer already has the experience and proven processes for handling chemical blending quickly and efficiently. Chemical blending requires a series of specific steps that can take days to complete. Any small error may ruin an entire batch, resulting in lost time and money. Small formula deviations can also cause downtime on job sites and reduce equipment longevity.
At Crystal Packaging, we have strict quality assurance procedures which we’ve honed since the company started in 1977. Upon receiving the chemicals or additives at our manufacturing facility, we often test them to ensure they meet certain specifications. Next, we’ll add the components in exact amounts using a scale or meter. After we’ve blended the formula, we send it through our in-house lab for testing. We use an x-ray diffractometer to check the lubricant’s additive ratio, making sure it meets customer specifications.
We also hold GMP and ECOCERT certifications, which ensure that products are consistently produced and controlled according to documented quality standards.
If you were to produce your chemicals in-house, you would need to acquire these various regulatory licenses, which can take a long time to procure. Using a third-party company takes that stressor off your plate. Are you interested in learning more about the blending process? See our step-by-step guide here.
Ability to Produce Various Types of Blended Products
Third-party companies can produce multiple types of chemicals, including petroleum, glycol, and various non-flammable substances. An H-3-approved location, like Crystal Packaging, will also be able to blend flammable liquids like windshield wash. Often, a third-party company like Crystal Packaging has time-tested recipes in place; should you need a new kind of product for your business, we can help you determine what’s right for that specific application.
Outsourced Raw Material Acquisition and Storage
The third-party manufacturer may be able to purchase and store your raw materials for you, which can simplify the process and reduce your inventory carrying costs. It can also save you money in the long run if the third party gets discounts on bulk chemical orders.
Depending on the customer throughput, Crystal Packaging can store raw or packaging materials before blending. With respect to bulk oil and glycols, we have over two million gallons of storage tank space for base compounds as well as housing finished products before shipping it to you.
Production Volume Flexibility and Quick Turnaround Time
A third-party company can handle small or large runs and can ramp production up or down based on your needs. Should you need to increase or decrease output, you wouldn’t be responsible for restructuring the logistics.
Working with a third-party manufacturer can often result in a quick turnaround time. With five truck bays and eight-car rail access at our Henderson, Colorado facility, we can finish your run and have your product ready to ship quickly.
Start Your Toll Blending Journey Today
Crystal Packaging is a leading provider of toll blending services for organizations in many industries, including the automotive, petrochemical, oil and gas exploration, and aviation sectors, among others. We partner with some of the most recognized brands in the world to blend and package their specialty chemicals. We specialize in motor oils, hydraulic oils, gear oils, automatic transmission fluids, semi-synthetic and full-synthetic lubricants, antifreeze, heat transfer fluids, and windshield wash.
We can blend oil, glycol, and water-based formulas in our facility according to your specifications. Additionally, depending on your application, Crystal can provide our own time-tested formulas. Our in-house testing lab can help you verify formulas and performance, as well as produce safety data sheets.
Partner with Crystal
We would love to hear more about your toll blending needs. Contact us here to connect with our team and start the conversation.