When designing and building systems that extract, dispense or blend chemicals, OEMs face a critical business decision: whether to fully engage as a manufacturer or to outsource certain or all aspects to a qualified contract manufacturer.

However, even within contract manufacturing there can be a broad range of capabilities.  Some shops focus on build-to-print projects.  Others offer a diverse range of capabilities, supply chain management and engineering services.

According to Jason Medhurst of Aztech Controls, there are benefits to a full-service approach that includes engineering.

“OEMs don’t always know how much engineering and design support they actually need,” says Medhurst.  “They’ll ask us to build a system and say, ‘we’ve engineered it for you’ and we discover the design is in its infancy.”

“In other cases, we receive well-developed drawings and the engineering requirements are minor.  Then, we might help them with supply chain management,” Medhurst adds, explaining this can include sourcing, purchasing and holding in inventory all the component parts of the system.

David Radnich, retired engineer, recounts a project for a just-in-time chemical blending and delivery system.  The project was part of a cost-cutting initiative to eliminate the need to purchase a very expensive chemical blend for a large semiconductor chip manufacturer.

After working up an initial design concept with his team, Radnich contacted Aztech Controls.  Together, the two groups quickly completed the design and the contract manufacturer built the entire system at its facility in Arizona.

“They built an extremely cost-effective prototype unit and were able to integrate it into our system very quickly; I’m talking a few weeks, not months,” says Radnich.

The next step was a full scale version of the system.

“The chemical blending system was truly state-of-the-art, next generation,” says Radnich.  “It saved the company money from an equipment, installation and operational standpoint.”

For more information, contact Aztech Controls at (480) 782-6000, visit www.aztechcontrols.com, e-mail: info@aztechcontrols.com.