What is Toll Production and is it Right for You?
Toll production — often referred to as toll manufacturing or toll blending — involves outsourcing production of your chemicals to a third party company. Your business provides the raw materials and packaging to a third party manufacturer, who then completes the production process. It’s not to be confused with contract manufacturing, wherein the third party is in charge of sourcing all raw materials.
Toll production is a great solution for companies that might not have the capacity to take on more projects, but still want to expand their business. In this blog, we’ll help you determine if pursuing toll production is right for your organization.
When is it Time to Switch to Toll Production?
Chances are, you already know the benefits of toll production. You can save money, receive a higher quality product, and have better flexibility to take on more orders. But, if you already have a manufacturing facility, making the jump to toll production might be a scary concept. How do you know when it’s the right time to outsource your production? If any of the following situations apply to you, it may be best to make the switch.
You’ve Outgrown Your Current Facility
If you’ve been using the same facility for a while, chances are your operation might be too big for your production capabilities. Your company has a great sourcing department, but you have run out of room to receive and assemble all those products.
While growth is great, it can put unnecessary strain on you. Investing in updated equipment, a bigger labor force, and other factors can be a drain on your time and money. Instead of investing in these resources, you can outsource your production to a third party that has the capacity to take on your project.
You Need to Ramp Up Production, Fast
You hit a home run and now face the second worst problem in business. What do you do when you have too many orders and not enough capacity to fill them? Outsourcing your production is the quickest way to meet demand. You can focus on sourcing all the materials to your specification and don’t pay any manufacturer’s mark up or handling charge. With a manufacturing partner, you can also roll back production if you encounter slower seasons later on.
You Need to Reinvest in the Business
Working with a toll production facility is a great way to control and save on your overhead costs. Instead of building a new facility or expanding your current one, you can use that money to invest in marketing, sourcing, or other business building activities.
You Require Specialized Equipment
Sometimes, a blend may require specialty equipment not found in the average facility. As this equipment can be expensive, it might not make sense to buy it just for one chemical blend. Therefore, outsourcing to a third party manufacturer would save you time and money.
You’re Unsure of Certain Compliance Regulations
Complying with regulations — especially for chemicals — can be tricky. There are many compliance directives you must follow in order to avoid fines and keep employees safe. If you’re unsure of how you should approach these regulations, pursuing a relationship with a toll blender is probably the best decision. Experienced companies may be able to offer hands-on guidance, so that you can gain some insight into production regulations.
You Need a Proprietary Formulation
Instead of hiring your own team to come up with a formula for a new product, you can outsource that task to a third party toll blender. They will often have teams on staff who are experienced in creating formulas for a wide variety of products.
You Must Get Your Product to Market Quickly
As aforementioned, sourcing a workforce, equipment, and facility is a time consuming and expensive process. If you need to get your product to market quickly, it’s best to skip all those troublesome steps and work with a third party manufacturer instead.
Ready to Explore Toll Production? Talk to Crystal Packaging
Imagine outsourcing your production to a third party and taking all that stress and worry off your plate. With the extra time, you can get back to doing what you do best, managing your brand and sourcing exactly the right ingredients for your products. But where should you turn for a toll production company you can trust? Crystal Packaging is the partner for you.
Founded in 1977, Crystal Packaging is now the foremost specialty chemical and petroleum contract packager and private label manufacturer in the Rocky Mountain region. Our goal has always been to be our customers’ premier supply chain partner — a commitment we’ve upheld for more than four decades. Today, we are the chosen supply chain partner for companies in a variety of industries — including the automotive, aviation, and consumer goods sectors, among others.
Why do our partners continuously choose Crystal Packaging? Our commitment to quality can’t be beat. Our 70,000-square-foot facility features multiple blend tanks, more than two million gallons of storage, and an in-house lab. In the lab, your chemicals are tested to ensure they meet your exact specifications. Our facility also holds a variety of certifications — including GMP, ECOCERT, and Safer Choice Standard accreditations. These certifications hold us to high standards, ensuring our customers get the best products, every time.
Additionally, our location features truck and rail access, which streamlines our customers’ operations. Our location is close to a wide variety of distribution and production centers in the area, enabling them to further extend their distribution capabilities.
Let’s Get Started
To date, we’ve produced more than 400 million gallons of product for more than 300 satisfied partners, and we’re ready to do the same for you. Contact our team today.