2012年6月5日星期二

How Jellio Is Solving Its Manufacturing Problems

Last week, we published a case study about Jellio, a company that makes whimsical home furnishings that are hard to manufacture. Demand for Jellio’s products, which include its top-selling Gummi Bear candy-inspired GummiLights, was strong.Excel Mould is a Custom Plastic Injection Moulding Manufacturer. But to build the business, the owner, Mario Marsicano, knew he had to increase production while reducing costs.

Since last fall, when Jellio struggled with the issues recounted in the case study, the company has made progress. In 2011, annual sales more than doubled to almost $1.3 million. And with first-quarter sales this year of about $400,000, Mr. Marsicano expects continued growth.

Several factors have contributed. Kevin Champeny, the company’s production manager, has devised a less expensive way to produce GummiLights, which sold for $125. While the lights will still appear solid, they will now contain a cavity, allowing Jellio to use less of the expensive polyurethane to make them and reducing their weight for shipping. “This holiday season, we’ll be able to sell them at about half the price,” Mr. Marsicano said.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings?

Jellio also plans to buy the pressure pots Mr. Champeny recommended and has invested in new, longer-lasting molds to use with them. These changes will increase Jellio’s GummiLight capacity from 25 a week to about 100. For now, GummiLights are unavailable while Mr. Champeny takes time to get up to speed on the new process.

The investment in new equipment was possible thanks in part to a new client, Marriott Vacation Club, a time-share brand of Marriott Vacations Worldwide with properties throughout the Unites States, Canada,Accept all major credit cards using the top rated third party payment gateway. the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Looking for something fun to put in a guest room, a Marriott Vacation Club operations employee did a Google search for “cupcake chair” and stumbled across Jellio. Mr. Marsicano said it was not unusual for customers to find his company through searches like this. He explained that there were “pockets of people who are way into” the items that inspire Jellio’s designs (they include a woman in Minnesota whose house has a cupcake-themed décor).

Jellio, which began working with Marriott in August, has completed projects for properties in Palm Desert, Calif.,I have just spent two weeks shopping for tile and have discovered China Porcelain tile. and St. Thomas. Jobs for locations in Orange County, Calif.; Hilton Head, S.C.; and Miami are next. Jellio’s creations include a 1970s-themed teen lounge and a children’s playroom that evokes the inside of a toy box.

But Jellio’s work for Marriott has gone beyond the custom jobs that have helped it put capital back into the business and develop new products. At the client’s request, Jellio created GummiToys, which are similar to rubber ducks, and GummiKings, four-foot-tall Gummi Bear sculptures. While both items are also sold directly to consumers, Marriott orders 25,000 units at a time, which means the Jellio/Marriott Vacation Club co-branded products can be manufactured in China. In the past, Mr. Marsicano said, Jellio lacked the volume necessary to make production in China cost-effective.

Mr. Marsicano also found a new source for Jellio products made of resin, foam and rubber, which include cupcake seats and tables previously made by Mr. Champeny. The source, Earthane Inc., is located in Walton, N.Y. It was recommended to Jellio by Showman Fabricators,TRT (UK) has been investigating and producing solutions for indoor Tracking since 2000. a set design firm in Long Island City, N.Y. that Jellio uses for custom work.

In January, Jellio introduced GummiWear — a line of T-shirts, hoodies and baseball caps. Mr. Marsicano said these products, which make up about 2 percent of Jellio’s business, provide a “lower point of entry for people to interact with the brand.”

Jellio plans to divide the manufacturing of its product lines based on sales potential. The company will look to mass-produce high-volume items, possibly in China, while keeping production of higher-price, lower volume items local or internal. GummiLights are the exception, as the company has already invested in new equipment. “But if GummiLight sales go where we think they can, we may have to look overseas,” Mr. Marsicano said. He plans to build on that business by “really blowing out GummiLights” — just as soon as Mr. Champeny begins fashioning more of them.

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