Toll Processors with In-House Analytical Labs: A Smarter Choice

Countless companies understand (and appreciate) the importance of toll processing. In fact, without toll processors’ specialized equipment, skilled workforces, and dedicated facilities, there may be no other cost-efficient way to produce their product.

While many full-service toll processors offer services that save money on capital costs, maintenance, labor, and packaging, some curiously don’t have comprehensive in-house analytical testing capabilities.

Why is this important? Having an Analytical Lab in-house provides numerous advantages that complement why a company needs a toll processor: formulate a new product, get to market quicker, coordinate logistics, or just to maximize toll processing’s on-demand service model.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of working with a toll processor that offers integrated analytical testing within their facility or facilities.

Faster development

Obviously, the production process is vital to getting a product to market. Having in-house testing helps expedite the steps needed to scale up to commercialization.

When a toll processor includes an analytical lab onsite, the collaboration between lab technicians and processing teams allows for real-time feedback and decision-making. Together, they can closely assess the feasibility of the process and scrutinize any variations that may be needed. Any quality concerns derived from testing are immediately addressed, as are any opportunities to shift to new technologies or techniques.

Simply put, all product development streamlining initiatives are right there in front of you—with data to back them up.

smarter improvements

Going hand-in-hand with evolving a process, having testing in-house provides immediate feedback to make things better. Experienced toll processors with process development backgrounds can see process inefficiencies that others may not.

These kinds of hidden process enhancements could be anything from the inefficient use of energy to inconsistent material feed to overall process flow issues.

What makes it even more powerful is when testing can be done in an analytical lab within the same facility. Possible improvements can be quickly validated before implementing changes—opening new opportunities and instilling confidence that the solution works on a large scale.

Quick fixes

No project is perfect. When challenges arise (and they will), in-house testing capabilities can often allow engineers to work through potential solutions quickly and cost-effectively. Instead of scrapping a project, small-scale tweaks may save it.

When an analytical lab is steps away from the production floor, it means faster access to test results and fewer delays. Again, having experience with these types of challenges provides the necessary expertise to make it work. There’s nothing like having seen and successfully navigated a similar situation.

At CPS, we believe a well-run project is a connected one—and our analytical lab helps make that happen.

Smoother process

As a process evolves, is enhanced, and may require adjustment, it still needs to stay on course. In-house testing helps keep things moving toward a continuous goal.

Having a full range of project information, and keeping that information readily available through internal lab testing, strengthens communication and continuity.

Instead of using an outside source for testing, which can add to frustrations, the project flows smoothly—with no added headaches. Utilizing an on-site analytical lab helps avoid snags and streamlines the experience.

faster To Market

Commercial production involves different demands than developing a new product. A toll processor with in-house testing capabilities has the advantage of being able to scale up processes based on their own test results.

With the support of an internal analytical lab, not only is the timeline streamlined, the ability to tackle challenges or wasted resources is enhanced. Toll processors and their customers can feel confident in getting products to market faster and smoother.

As you can see, these benefits all work hand-in-hand, complementing each other at each step. They’re especially powerful when material behavior is critical to success, and a toll processor’s in-house analytical lab capabilities reveal nuances that can help:

• Develop a new product
• Solve a material challenge
• Scale up the process
• Create a new process
• Optimize a process to maximize efficiency

The right toll processing experts will help develop a customized testing program, if needed, tailored to your exact processing needs—all without sending samples out the door.

Want to learn more about toll processing or how our in-house analytical lab can support your next project? Click below to get in touch with the CPS team!