Is Your Adhesive Tape Converter Limiting Your ROI?

Manufacturers rely on adhesive tape converters to provide accurate and high-performing adhesive components that add value to projects. Converters with decades of custom adhesive solutions experience — most often full-service adhesive tape converters — put a premium on ensuring that finished components/products also drive businesses’ bottom lines.

Adhesive Components Should:

1. Improve the performance of products by fully leveraging the technology of the adhesive.
2. Improve production rates by making assembly easier.
3. Protect finished surfaces from scratches and harm, reducing product returns and rework costs.

Adhesive Tape Converter Red Flags

Reduced labor costs. Increased productivity. Eliminated waste. You should expect these as a result of working with an adhesive tape converter.

Unfortunately, most converters are “order takers,” blindly accepting projects given to them.

They review a technical drawing, and they quote the product exactly as it is without hesitation. They don’t ask questions, and they don’t take the time to understand the adhesive components’ use case or their customer’s process. There is no way these “order takers” can provide solutions that actually solve problems.

Instead, adhesive tape converters should be focused on creating positive business outcomes. And, those outcomes are unachievable without asking the right questions ...

Questions You Should Be Hearing

The discovery phase is a staple within the engineering and design process of trusted adhesive tape converters. The questions you should be asked include:

• What are you trying to accomplish by using adhesives?
• Why is this critical to your project?
• Are you currently able to solve this issue, even if it’s a temporary solution?
• If you have a temporary solution, why isn’t this feasible long-term?
• If you don’t have a temporary solution, how have you tried to solve this challenge?
• What happens to your product/project/business if you can’t find a solution?
• By when do you need a solution? What are the consequences of not meeting this date?
• Can you explain your current assembly process? (if applicable)
• Do you use machine automation or hand-assembly?
• How do you envision adhesive components fitting into your process?
• Why are you specifying a specific adhesive? Have you considered others that may perform better or are more cost-effective?
• What are the critical dimensions and tolerances that need to be met in your solution?

These critical questions — and many more — help paint a picture for engineers, uncovering which converters simply want your business and which want to provide a truly beneficial solution. This phase provides the background needed to design a solution that fits into your process and creates outcomes that positively impact your return on investment.

Make sure your adhesive tape converter asks you many in-depth discovery phase questions.

Experienced Engineers and Rapid Prototypes

It’s rare to find two organizations that use the same exact manufacturing process, so each project really is unique. Experienced engineers study each process, as well as discovery phase findings, to design prototype solutions for a project. This allows for test fitting sample parts to determine the solution that not only performs at a high level, but is also efficient and saves on costs.

Strouse’s Sample Express is one proven prototype program that provides sample parts in 48 hours or less. With minimal cost and minimal commitment, it provides even tight-deadline projects with multiple solutions for a single challenge.

Learn what it’s like to work with an adhesive tape converter that focuses on creating positive business outcomes for your organization by reading our eBook, Working with Strouse. Need help immediately? Call Stouse today (800)-410-8273, or ask an engineer!