Port firm helps manufacturers navigate tariffs

Port Washington manufacturer Molded Dimensions Group is helping companies weather the Trump administration’s tariff hikes.

The new administration announced last month a blanket 10% tariff on Chinese imports in addition to current duty charges, as well as a currently paused 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods.

On the heels of the announcement, Molded Dimensions, a rubber and urethane parts manufacturer, rolled out its Reshoring Success Program, which invites companies to send in their “pain points” — parts portfolios that could be affected by tariffs — for a free quote and recommendation on bringing production to the states, General Manager Braden Schrock said.

The program reflects a shift across the manufacturing industry toward producing and sourcing parts domestically during an uncertain political environment.

“In the 1990s, it was offshoring, moving production overseas. Now it’s reshoring, moving it back to America,” Schrock said.

Schrock said the recently announced tariffs are just some of those proposed by the Trump administration.

“Who knows how real (the tariff threats are)?” he said. “But, the only place we know there won’t be tariffs is here.”

The Reshoring Success Program is meant to make the tough part of reshoring easy, Schrock said. Many companies are staring at lists of imported parts that will be affected by tariffs but don’t know which parts can be sourced domestically or how much they cost.

“If you are a commodity manager in one of those companies, reshoring represents doing a lot of work and spending a lot of money,” he said. “They don’t know what to do, but they know they have parts being made overseas.”

Schrock said Molded Dimensions takes the lists submitted by companies and within five business days puts together a recommendation and cost estimate for reshoring each part.

In some situations, reshoring is a no-brainer, Schrock said, like when a part can be made in the states for the same cost as overseas.

But most of the time, the situation is more complex,  he said. For example, a part that costs a few cents more to manufacture domestically may be worth reshoring to be able to say it was made in the United States.

Molded Dimensions also considers the quality of production needed for a part — an essential part with a low tolerance for failure is a perfect candidate for reshoring — as well as the potential for time and cost savings from automated domestic production lines.

The number of parts needed, Schrock said, contributes to the recommendation.

“If you are making 10 million parts, you will probably want to keep production overseas regardless,” he said.

A big factor in determining the possibility of reshoring is the domestic availability of production materials, Schrock said.

The rubber molding for a doorstop could be easy to produce in the states, for example, but the metal core may need to be imported, Schrock said, which reduces the effectiveness of reshoring.

“You would have to say ‘Made in America,’ with an asterisk,” he said.

Domestic production often means better communication and closer relationships, Schrock said.

“It’s easier to build trust with a manufacturer in the next state over rather than  an other country,” he said.

Companies are reacting to the tariffs differently, Schrock said.

“Lots of companies are taking different measures, mainly based on the margin they have to play with,” Schrock said, noting some have simply kept their existing overseas manufacturer.

“But, the margins are not always going to support paying more for less,” he said.

Schrock said Molded Dimensions is uniquely positioned to help with reshoring as it works on both sides of tariffs. The company has established domestic supply chains but also has partnerships with overseas companies affected by import duties.

“Our customers care about making the best widget they can,” he said. “They don’t know the ins and outs of manufacturing a rubber part. We try to bring that expertise.”

The reshoring program may not always result in a new customer, but it gets Molded Dimensions’ foot in the door, Schrock said.

“Maybe they will come to us, maybe not,” he said.

Molded Dimensions manufactures parts for companies in many different sectors, including motorcycle producers and farming and industrial equipment manufacturers.

“It would be easier to say what industries we don’t do,” Schrock said.

He said the company primarily does small runs of specialized parts.

“We are not making one million of one part for one company but 10,000 of different parts for many different companies,” he said.

Molded Dimensions has production facilities in Port Washington and Marshfield, as well as in Fife, Wash.