What is an Export Mold?

Export mold. That’s what we call an injection mold tool that we build in China and ship somewhere else. When we build a plastic injection molding tool for a customer, the customer owns the tool because they paid for it, but it usually stays in our manufacturing plant in China so we can run parts for the customer whenever they need them.

However, sometimes the customer wants us to send the mold over here to the United States so they can run the parts in their own facility or at some other injection molding facility. So, we call it an “export mold” because we’re exporting it out of China to somewhere else.

But is “export mold” really the best term we can come up with for this type of situation? If you think about it, it may not be the most descriptive name. Since the customer is taking physical possession of the tool, maybe we should call it a “customer mold.” But then again, since the customer always owns the tool no matter where it resides, you could say that all our tools are “customer molds.”

Or how about “custom mold?” We are making a custom mold for the customer, that no one else can use, and shipping it to them for their own use. Nope, that doesn’t work either. We don’t make and sell our own parts; we only make custom parts for our customers, so ALL our molds are custom molds.

“Displaced mold?” “Relocated mold?” Hmm. Guess we’re stuck with “export mold” for now, unless someone can come up with a more descriptive term. Do you have one? Maybe we should have a contest to see who can come up with a different name for them!