Common Problems When Starting a New Packaging Factory

The most common financial mistake is allocating the entire budget to equipment and leaving insufficient cash for operations. A new packaging factory needs 3-6 months of operating expenses beyond equipment costs, covering raw material inventory ($15,000-30,000 for initial PP stock), operator salaries during the training and ramp-up period, electricity and utility deposits, packaging materials for finished goods, quality testing and certification fees, and marketing and customer development costs. Many new factories run out of cash between equipment installation and first revenue. PP resin suppliers typically require prepayment or 30-day terms for new accounts, while customers may not pay for 30-60 days after delivery. This 60-90 day cash gap between raw material purchase and customer payment requires working capital reserves. Budget a minimum of $30,000-60,000 working capital for a 2-machine operation, separate from equipment investment. This cash gap between raw material purchase and customer payment requires explicit working capital reserves separate from equipment investment to ensure uninterrupted production operations.

Purchasing a low-cost mold from an unqualified supplier is a false economy that generates ongoing problems: unbalanced cavity fill causing weight and quality variation, inadequate cooling creating long cycle times and warpage, poor steel quality leading to premature wear and surface degradation, unreliable hot runner system causing nozzle blockages and color streaks, and incorrect gate design causing gate vestige issues and flow marks. These problems compound—an unbalanced mold running at slow cycle times with high reject rates can cost more in lost production and wasted material than the price difference between a cheap mold and a quality mold. Invest in molds from experienced thin-wall mold builders who can demonstrate proven results. HWAMDA molds include Moldflow-optimized design, premium steel selection, proven hot runner systems, and 3 validation trials (T0, T1, T2) to ensure production-ready quality before shipment. Invest in molds from experienced thin-wall builders who demonstrate proven results with documented trial reports, quality measurements, and production data from similar applications.

Thin-wall injection molding operates in a different regime than standard molding—injection speeds are 3-5 times faster, cycle times are 3-5 times shorter, and the tolerance for process deviation is much tighter. Operators familiar only with standard injection molding often struggle with thin-wall production, making parameter adjustments that cause short shots, flash, or warpage. Critical operator skills for thin-wall production include: understanding accumulator charge and discharge timing, reading and adjusting injection speed profiles for different cavity fill patterns, monitoring cavity weight consistency across all cavities, recognizing cooling-related quality issues before they cause rejects, performing basic mold maintenance including gate cleaning and cooling circuit flushing, and managing material handling to prevent contamination. HWAMDA provides 5-7 days of on-site operator training during machine commissioning, covering all these skills with hands-on practice on the customer's actual machine and mold. HWAMDA provides 5-7 days of on-site operator training during commissioning, covering all critical skills with hands-on practice on the customer's actual machine and production mold.

HWAMDA's integrated approach specifically addresses each common startup problem. Working capital planning: HWAMDA provides detailed financial projections as part of the project planning phase, helping customers budget accurately for both equipment and operations. Machine specification: HWAMDA's sales engineers calculate the correct machine model for your products, eliminating specification guesswork. Mold quality: HWAMDA designs and manufactures molds with proven performance verified through 3 trials before shipment. Operator training: 5-7 days of on-site training during commissioning builds capable operators from the start. Market development: HWAMDA shares market intelligence from its global customer network, helping new manufacturers understand competitive dynamics and pricing in their target markets. Ongoing support: remote technical assistance via video call resolves production issues quickly during the critical first months. HWAMDA's experience supporting 100+ factory startups worldwide provides a knowledge base that individual new manufacturers cannot replicate alone. HWAMDA's experience supporting factory startups worldwide provides a collective knowledge base that individual new manufacturers cannot replicate alone, significantly reducing the learning curve.