The Thomas Blog

Talking Toys with K’NEX Product Designer Heather Croston

This holiday season, we hope that you’re considering gifting STEM toys to the children in your lives. Here at Thomas, we always admire toys that teach, but have you ever wondered how these wonderful toys were designed in the first place?

How Will Millennials Influence the Future of Purchasing?

Whether you like it or not, millennials are coming into the supply chain and are beginning to be the employees in charge of purchasing. Millennial purchasing habits still present a challenge, but UPS recently released the Industrial Buyer Survey giving insight to the habits of the "buyers of the future.” 

Where is Your Thanksgiving Meal Coming From: A Look at US Food Manufacturing

It’s that time of year again — family comes together, entertainment is in abundance, and food is shared. 

And speaking of food, the newest Food Manufacturing Industry Report lists the eight U.S. states that have the highest added value to the food manufacturing industry. So we took a look at the United States Department of Agriculture State Export Data for what exactly we can be thankful for. The results for each state are below. 

The 4 Newest Material Innovations You Should Know About

We like to talk about innovation, but in an industry of builders and makers, we’re limited by one thing: to make something tangible, we need materials. 

We don’t often highlight the foundation to building new products, never mind the sometimes revolutionary impact they may have on the world. So here are the latest innovations in materials that may shape how we build the future.

The Rodon Group on How to Manufacture A Perfect Plastic Part

“Perfect” is not a word that is thrown around very often. It implies upmost precision, unyielding quality, and repeatable functionality. So when an industry expert such as The Rodon Group imparts knowledge on how to manufacture the perfect plastic part, it’s time to sit up and listen. And according to Rodon, the Pennsylvania-based high-volume plastic injection molder, the way to do this is by following these four factors.

Meet the Manufacturer Pioneering Sustainability, Green in Industry

Gage employees at the Rainbow Run in downtown Ferndale, Michigan. The company sponsors the event, which helps foster diversity and acceptance in the community, every year.

Many manufacturers are just now jumping on the chance to reduce waste and adopt “green” tendencies, but Gage Products has been doing so for decades.

What to Do When Your Website Isn't Enough

Hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear about new CAD and BIM tools or data formats that design and sourcing professionals want to access from their preferred manufacturers.

Most manufacturers rely on a basic website and phone number to handle these inquiries, often with poor search and insufficient data to allow customers to easily discover products and download the right data for their workflow.  A positive digital customer experience is critical to attracting, retaining and converting customer visits into leads and ultimately sales. A top-notch experience is becoming critical wherever your products are discovered.

Boosting Manufacturing Efficiency with Kaizen Events

Experienced engineers may have heard the term “Kaizen” at some point. It’s a Japanese term meaning “continuous improvement.”

While the concept is relevant to businesses everywhere, it has caught on in the West primarily in manufacturing industries.

Where to Start with Factory Automation

 To remain competitive in an evolving industry, manufacturers are turning to automation. But where should companies begin?

Chad Blair, president of RT Engineering Corporation, compares automating a facility to writing a book. “Manufacturers need to understand what the ultimate story looks like so that as they’re writing an individual chapter, it makes sense in the context of the rest of the book. You can’t solve any one problem without a way to integrate it with the total solution.”