R&D Molders Inc. | Georgetown

R&D Molders Inc. | Georgetown

By Suzanne Haberman Friday, 12 February 2010

GEORGETOWN — In 1974 retired military colonel W. Cavett Brown founded a custom injection and blow molding business, R&D Molders, Inc., in Austin. His first big job was a contract to manufacture plastic canteens for the U.S. Army.

Thirty-six years later, R&D Molders has grown into a family business. Cavett’s son and grandson continue making the same water bottles, in addition to an expanded line of plastic products.

When Gregory C. Brown started working for his father in 1978, he thought he was just biding his time while he looked for his dream job. He is now the president of the company.

Cavett still swings by R&D Molders to mange the accounting, but Gregory oversees the daily operations. His son Greg Brown II signed on full time as the company’s director of business development in 2006.

“Every once and a while, you do have all three generations in here,” Greg said.

The Browns’ dedication over the past 36 years has helped the company grow. Since moving from Austin to Georgetown in 2007, R&D Molders has increased its operating space and doubled the number of employees to about 80 people. Staff man the five injection molding machines and 12 blow molding machines 24 hours a day.

Growth has not derailed R&D Molders from its original business model, which included product research and development. The letters in the business name reflect those services.

“Because we are a custom molder, every time we make something, it typically is something that has not been made before,” Gregory said. “So there is a lot of ‘R’ and ‘D’ work that goes into it.”

Making the one-quart plastic canteens also set a precedent for the methods the company uses in production today.

“The cap and the strap of the canteen are injection molded while the actual body, or canteen itself, is blow molded,” Greg said. “That’s where we started in both processes and continued until now.”

Most plastic molding companies focus on one method, so offering both gives R&D Molders a competitive edge.

To make the cap and strap for the canteen, a mechanism injects melted plastic into a hollow mold and then is cooled and released onto a conveyer belt for trimming and assembly. To make the bottle, a tube of pliable plastic gets clamped between two molds while jetted air inflates the plastic inside like a balloon, forcing it into the shape of a canteen. Staff then pack the products onto crates and ship them off to companies that commissioned the work, or directly to customers.

“As time went on, we branched into doing more and more custom molding, which means we’re making more and more parts for other clients.” Gregory said. “We’re on seven days a week now, and we can’t make parts fast enough.”