Success Story: Concept Clean Energy’s SolarTub™ Made Possible Thanks to UPM
Concept Clean Energy develops large-scale projects for the mining, agricultural, and water treatment industries. Concept Clean Energy is proud to be an innovator in solar technology, and their products help make the lives of many people around the world easier. Their primary areas of focus include solar shade structures, solar water pumping, floating solar, energy independence & visibility, and renewable Hydrogen.
Universal Plastic Mold recently helped Concept Clean Energy tap into the global FPV (floating photovoltaic) market by helping them design, produce, and distribute their patented SolarTub™ for rapid deployment in Mexico. What follows is an account of how UPM’s superior service and offerings made a complex project like this possible.
Local Manufacturing for Global Solutions
Concept Clean Energy’s Founder, Elliot Jaramillo, was looking for an injection molding company specifically in Southern California that could help him make his latest vision a reality. He wanted to keep the manufacturing local and knew that Concept Clean Energy was keen on not outsourcing to China. He got in touch with Jason Dowling, UPM’s President, to discuss potentially working together.
Dowling was willing to walk Concept Clean Energy through the facility and discuss ways they could get the product out the door. UPM’s engineers and designers worked in tandem with the Concept Clean Energy design team to come up with a solution.
Like the majority of UPM’s clients, Concept Clean Energy came to UPM with very specific project requirements for a product they called “The SolarTub™.” They needed a material that was pound for pound stronger than steel or aluminum but also needed it to be noncorrosive so that their design could be used in harsher environments without the fear of rust or degradation. They came up with a two-part product, composed of a primary face made up of a high-density polyethylene compound that attaches to custom nylon legs, all manufactured in-house by UPM.
UPM was able to keep the cost of production significantly lower than Concept Clean Energy expected, thanks to their ability to handle everything with the machinery they have in-house. Had Concept Clean Energy elected to go with another company they likely would have had to outsource some of the parts and labor from other places, increasing the total cost of production and limiting Concept Clean Energy’s profit margins. As few competitors have the on-site equipment to manufacture products at the decreased costs that UPM does, their in-house capabilities often shave off anywhere from 3-5 months in anticipated lead time, which saves their customers money on production costs and gets products to market sooner.
The UPM Advantage
When asked about the entire process, Jaramillo commented, “With UPM, we got exactly what we were looking for and more. After meeting with them initially, it was clear that their facility is a “top-shelf” type of facility. I’m only interested in working with quality partners and they fit the bill perfectly. Just an excellent group. Excellent communication. Excellent customer service. Working with UPM allowed us to be successful, whereas had we tried it on our own, we just wouldn’t have been able to do it. They handled and took all the complexities out of the process.”
UPM also handled the packaging and distribution for the SolarTub™, which Jaramillo stated, “makes working with UPM a more attractive option because I can have the product made in a highly professional environment and have the product shipped directly to the buyer via UPM’s team.”
UPM Inspires Innovation
“Working with UPM made creating the SolarTub™ possible,” Jaramillo further added, “and because of that we’re now developing other new products because our experience with UPM allowed us to innovate our products even further than we anticipated.”
The success that Concept Clean Energy had in getting their SolarTub™ on the market was largely due to the excellent service provided by the knowledgeable experts that make up the UPM team. The satisfaction they received from their first order has prompted Concept Clean Energy to become a regular client of UPM’s, and now they order tens of thousands of parts at a time on a regular basis from UPM.
Custom Plastic Injection Molding
If your organization is on the hunt for a plastic molding company to help design, innovate, produce, assemble, or distribute custom plastic parts and want help from a quality injection mold manufacturer, check out Universal Plastic Mold’s Services Page for more detailed information or contact us to get a quote. Let us help you turn your dream product into a reality!