As a custom fabricator of point-of-purchase (POP) displays and store fixtures, Ultima Plastics successfully meets the challenge of combining creativity, high production and high-end, quality work -- on a frequently changing basis.

"That's what makes the custom POP industry challenging," said David Huggins, president of the Hayward, CA-based company. "Every POP display is a custom product, designed for a single customer." Although some of the components produced at Ultima are later assembled by customers into large displays, approximately 75 to 80 percent of Ultima's products are finished pieces, Huggins added.

"We'll also provide all the hardware for the products," added Glenn Carson, vice president.

In addition to the POP and retail store markets, Ultima also manufactures products for the medical and electronics industries. The range of products manufactured runs the gamut, from shelving for hosiery, mats and towels, to jewelry displays, signage, tiered risers, and parts for medical instruments and electronics. The company also has the capability to machine a wide range of solid wood and wood composite components, including display bases and cabinet doors.

Machining the components
All of the displays and fixtures manufactured by Ultima are custom made to order. "A lot of the fixtures are (professionally) designed by the customer. Other people will hand us a product to reproduce and we'll plot it out (for machine codes). And sometimes, the design they hand us is on the back of napkins," Carson said.

Ultima uses an AutoCAD Release 14 program to design the displays. A MasterCAM program is used in reproducing parts for machine codes.

"Everyday we're creating, prototyping. It's a necessary sales process," Huggins said.

Turnaround time for prototypes is three days; turnaround for most job orders is typically four weeks. The majority of products manufactured at Ultima are made from acrylic, purchased primarily from Cyro. Other materials used include polycarbonate, PETG, solid surface materials, wood-based materials and a variety of engineered thermoplastics.

"Acrylic is our primary material, because it's used for POP displays. The polycarbonate is used in electronics and medical (products) and PETG for signage & display, where there are concerns of breakage," Carson said.

A brief look at Ultima Hayward, CA-based Ultima Plastics was founded in November 1977 as a plastics manufacturer, serving primarily the acrylic store fixtures and point-of-purchase markets. Since then, it has diversified into the electronics and medical fields, as well as offering components, such as doors, for the cabinet industry and other markets. To serve these diverse markets, Ultima employs 25 full-time employees in its 30,000-square-foot plant. Ultima's capabilities include design, prototyping, precision machining and fabricating. Although the company specializes in fabricating acrylics, it also machines a wide range of other materials, including: polycarbonates, PETG, solid surface materials, a variety of engineered thermoplastics, solid wood, wood composites and metals.

Another substrate, medium density fiberboard (MDF) is machined and used as a base for acrylic stands. "We will also machine paint-grade MDF doors and regular hardwood drawer fronts," Carson said, adding that the company has the capability to economically produce these and other types of components for both small and large runs.

Components produced at Ultima are either drape formed, bended or machined flat. Prior to fabricating, the plastic and wood-based panels are cut-to-size on an older model Hendrick vertical panel saw which has an accuracy of ±0.005 inch.

To aid its production, Ultima recently invested in a CNC twin-table router. Purchased from Stiles Machinery, the Heian NC-432-P has four routing heads, four drill heads, and two 5-foot by 5-foot tables which can work independently or be locked together into one 10-foot table.

"We usually have approximately 50 orders going on at one time. By having the twin tables, we can be working on multiple projects. To change the setup from one customer's job to another's is usually less than 15 minutes," Carson said. "Before we had the CNC router, we used a table router to machine the parts, then sent them to a shaper," he added. Although effective, the former method was time consuming and more labor intensive, Carson said.

Onsrud Cutter carbide and high speed steel bits as well as Saber diamond bits are used in the machining process. "We do a lot with bullnosed edges. For those, we use diamond. They are more expensive, but last longer," Huggins said. He added that because of diamond's longevity, the company may switch to using diamond bits exclusively in the near future.

To achieve a smooth finish on edges after machining, Ultima flame polishes the acrylic and polycarbonate parts. "We prefer flaming the edges because it gives a slightly rounded edge. For POP displays, you don't want the exposed corners to be sharp," Carson added.

Diversification reduces cyclicity
The POP and retail industry are very cyclical in nature, with peak times beginning in July and ending around October. To alleviate the slow periods, Ultima has put an emphasis on further attracting business in other arenas.

"We are diversifying with other businesses, like medical, to flatten (the cyclicity) out for us," Huggins said.

One project for the medical industry involved manufacturing an instrument to hold slides. "This project was unusual in that it combined Corian, polycarbonate and acrylic," Carson said.

Other projects for the industrial arena include molding a 4-foot by 10-foot polyethylene sheet to make a 4-inch-thick mold for fiberglass grading around a chemical plant. According to Huggins, the part involved a series of machined, tapered grooves, similar to a "big waffle iron."

Ultima's flexible manufacturing is capable of supporting production quantities ranging from prototypes to high-volume production. "We excel at transitioning custom products from the design stage to a high volume, cost-efficient manufacturing process," Huggins said.

Plastics Machining & Fabricating
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