Process

We have two types of extrusion processes:

• Mono: Only one compound per profile
• Co-extrusion: Two compounds per profile

Inline Value-Add

Our team is great at devising innovative ways to accomplish secondary operations in-line with extrusion

• Embossing, including custom patterns
• Inserting components such as tape
• Cut to length
• Sleeving
• Boxing

Compounds

We specialize in several compounds, including:

• Acrylic
  • Including clear, frosted, diffuse and impact modified
• Polycarbonate
• ABS
• Butyrate
• PETG
• Regrind
  • We recycle about 95% of our waste back into our extrusions with in-house grinding operations. If you are interested in regrind material in frosted acrylic, please let us know.
• Color
  • We can add color or buy pre-colored material to hit your color targets.

Fabrication

We route, kit and assemble every day in our 40k ft warehouse

• We have a team dedicated to in-house fabrication
• Punching
• Routing
• Assembly

Blending

We custom blend compounds and colors for nearly every job we run

• We precisely measure compounds and color to create batches of material
• We thoroughly mix the batches in a mixing machine to ensure consistency throughout the batch
• We precisely measure compounds and color to create batches of material. The precision allows us to achieve the same profile performance for each order

Packaging

We package to your specifications

• Sleeving
• Boxing
• Palletizing
• Custom shipments and configurations on a per store basis

Shapes / Profiles

We run several hundred different profiles each year. In general, we can run:

• Width: Up to 24 inches
• Thickness: 0.020 inches to more than 0.250 inches
• Length: Typically range from 0.25 inches to 25 feet, though we’ve run longer pieces.
• Common Shapes / Profiles:
  • Tubes
  • Squares
  • C-Channels
  • LED Lenses – Fresnel, batwings, collimators, asymmetric flow (such as a thick lens and thin legs)
  • If you can draw it, we can probably run it

Distribution

We can arrange shipping, or coordinate with your carriers

• Warehousing
  • Safety stock
  • Staging
• Shipping
  • Truckload
  • LTL
  • FedEx / UPS

Tooling

We’ve made our own tooling for 50 years

• 50 years of experience (including mistakes) goes into every profile
• Typical lead time for tooling is 4-6 weeks
• Tooling pricing also includes first article samples

Customer Service

When you call, we pick up the phone

• You will have a dedicated salesperson, as well as customer service representative
• If you have a spike in demand, we can react within hours to change our production schedule to get you back in stock
• If you have a quality issue, we launch our corrective action process to identify and implement solutions to eliminate the issue going forward

Tuning

Reeves has the tools and expertise to keep your dies running at speed and on spec

• Die cleaning after every run
• Wire EDM
• Surface grinders
• Drill press, lathes, mills
• Die storage in designated areas

Quality

Reeves strives to drive a culture of continual improvement by pairing ISO9001: 2015 compliant processes with Lean Six Sigma methodologies

• Inspection and Statistical Process Control
  • Quality personnel and operators check critical dimensions on the 1st piece, every hour, and last piece during the manufacturing process
  • We retain samples for one year to reference in case of escape
  • We also perform functional tests and cosmetic inspection
• Nonconformances and Corrective Action
  • Nonconforming material moved to MRB area for root cause investigation and disposition
  • After determining root cause, we qualify the issue based on severity to determine whether we need to launch a Corrective Action Process. We close the corrective action report only after verifying the effectiveness of the solution.
• Lean Projects
  • We identify constraints and opportunities for improvement for potential lean projects
  • We review the list of potential projects and prioritize based on impact, time and feasibility
  • We utilize DMAIC and Kaizen tactics to drive positive change in our processes by eliminating waste and increasing repeatability

Capacity

We have capacity and the range in machine sizes to extrude small and large profiles

• 8 main extruders ranging from 2” to 3.5”
• 2 co-extruders

New Product Development Process

• Discovery
  • Discussion on the application and end use of the product, especially as it relates to mating parts
  • Preliminary discussion of capabilities required to achieve customer success criteria
• Design Review
  • Engineering review of profile design, including printing 3D models if necessary
    • Reeves will provide design guidance on extrudability
    • Note: As we move to ISO 9001: 2015, ownership of product design will remain with the customer
  • Material and color selection, including samples
  • Inline value-add and fabrication review
  • Labeling, packaging, and transportation requirements
• Proposal with pricing and lead times
  • Profile quotes by run size, color and compound
  • Tooling quotes, including first article samples
  • Inline value-add, including building custom equipment
  • Fabrication and kitting
  • Lead times
• First Article Inspection (FAI)
  • Purchase orders start the process
    • Tooling
    • Raw materials (if not stock materials)
  • Test and tune tooling
    • Establish run conditions
    • Samples sent to customer
  • Quality
    • Establish quality documents, including critical dimensions
    • Ensure receipt of mating parts for fit testing
  • Confirm shipping configurations
    • Test ship parts if necessary
  • Customer approval
• Production
  • Setup ERP and bill of materials (BOM)
  • Establish raw materials supply chain
  • Review customer forecast
  • Customer purchase order