Trexel Inc. (Booth N5908) has revised the pricing structure for its MuCell technology to help it attract more customers in Europe while simplifying access to it globally.
Since launching MuCell, which adds microscopic bubbles in the molding process - allowing injection and other molders to reduce part weight and use less resin - Trexel has used a two-part payment structure. Companies paid one fee to add the equipment to their presses and a separate licensing fee allowing them to use the process.
Some European molders, though, balked at paying for both the equipment and a license, said David Bernstein, president and chief executive officer of the Woburn, Mass.-based company.
So Trexel has overhauled its payment system for Europe, Asia and North America to shift all of the costs onto the equipment.
``Europeans liked the technology but didn't like the two-part payment system,'' Bernstein said May 9 by telephone. ``This way, they don't need to deal with their intellectual property departments. It's all-inclusive.''
The switch also may make the technology more feasible for molders specializing in smaller parts in North America and other regions where MuCell has an established customer base, he said.
MuCell always has been easier to sell for large parts, since those molders can see a quick return on investment through reduced resin use. Molders of smaller parts, produced on presses with clamping forces of as little as 150 tons, are interested in the process for dimensional stability, he said. However, they have had a harder time justifying the cost of both the license and the equipment.
By folding all of the costs into the equipment, molders will be able to amortize the price into overall machinery expenses, Bernstein said. That will help them determine overall part prices and account for the capital purchase.
``We're just trying to make it easier, make it more like an equipment purchase,'' he said. ``We've gotten very good response to this so far. It's simplified our business.''
