It’s a common conundrum for kitchen manufacturers: How do you balance manufacturing and assembly quality with affordability? Today’s aesthetic-savvy kitchen consumer craves more custom design options, from a variety of material finishes to unique colors and textures. And they want it on a budget.
There’s also the challenge of locating a full-service metal manufacturer who can manufacture and assemble kitchen appliances, without requiring multiple subcontractors. Adding to the challenge is finding a partner with the engineering know-how to look at an appliance design dilemma and find cost-effective solutions.
This is why so many OEMs have turned to Mills Products for turnkey kitchen assembly solutions since their founder, Herbert E. Mills, patented the oven window in the 1940s. From engineering innovation to components construction, the Mills full-service assembly team have earned the trust of their customers to improve end-product quality and find new ways to save manufacturing costs.
The Design Dilemma
A leading manufacturer and supplier of commercial and residential kitchen appliances came to the Mills turnkey assembly team with an unusual oven window design. The window’s size and unique specifications made it cost-prohibitive to manufacture.
Unfortunately, the oven door was already in production, so the pre-established dimensions could not change. Mills was tasked with developing an oven window design that could lower the manufacturing cost while still fitting within size and design constraints.
The Turnkey Solution
Mills engineers quickly recognized the volume and dimensions of the window did not add up correctly for the door specifications, so the team researched the decades of previous Mills designs that could potentially be applied to this unique oven assembly challenge.
Based on their 70-plus years of experience balancing window design complexities and aesthetics with cost-effective production options, the team discovered enhancements that made the numbers work within the original perimeters of their customer’s specifications.
They added custom brackets and reduced the window size just enough so it would still fit properly within the door’s frame. The new dimensions with the new brackets not only enhanced the overall design, it dramatically lowered the cost to produce the product.
The Results
For this particular kitchen OEM challenge, the Mills turnkey assembly team was able to quickly recognize the potential for extensive cost savings via small enhancements to the original oven door design. Their engineering expertise enabled them to work within the customer’s unique design parameters and budgetary constraints. The result was a manufacturing solution that worked just as well as the original design, but at a significantly lower cost.
This kitchen manufacturing challenge is just one of many the Mills turnkey assembly team solves for some of the biggest names in the appliance industry.
From standard oven sizes to high-end custom projects, Mills can modify existing designs or create new cost-effective solutions for oven window products such as:
- Tempered glass
- Tinted glass
- Coated windows
- Double coated windows
- Single coated glass
- Plus numerous glass options to maximize oven cooking efficiency
From structural components and decorative metal trim to window assembly and custom door handles, Mills can produce aesthetically-pleasing oven and refrigerator components that exceed customer expectations at lower than expected costs.
To learn how the Mills turnkey assembly team can help you achieve your kitchen appliance vision within your budgetary constraints, please contact us today.