Carlisle Foodservice Products is a leading provider of innovative, professional grade product solutions to the foodservice and healthcare markets. Carlisle and Polyfoam were longtime partners; for years several of Carlisle’s dinnerware items were injection molded and insulated through a proprietary method at the Polyfoam facility. This afforded Carlisle one of its edges in the marketplace – competitively priced items that had superior quality and insulation. When Carlisle decided to create some new designs and product offerings they partnered with Polyfoam to meet several challenges:
- Create specific dinnerware products that provide optimal insulation to keep food hot/cold for longer periods of time;
- Items must be durable and able to withstand the extreme heat and abrasive detergents of an industrial dishwasher as well as the everyday drops and wear and tear;
- All items must conform to the design aesthetics of the product line;
- Develop these products to be cost-effective for competitive pricing.
The Carlisle team sat down with the Polyfoam team to hash out engineering details that would result in the look, feel, and functionality required for each product. Since injection molds are a large investment this time is particularly critical, and this is where a true partnership has priceless benefits. Together, the teams had vast knowledge in product design, functionality and attributes, materials, tool design, molding, and insulation – an invaluable mix. Additionally, Polyfoam’s ability to rapid-prototype samples in a house further assisted in finalizing design details prior to tooling.
Through close collaboration, the Carlisle and Polyfoam workgroups have successfully launched several insulated dinnerware products. Today these are widely used throughout the foodservice industry and the product lines continue to grow.