At Applied Material Solutions (AMS), we are an industry-leading manufacturer of antifoams and defoamers, hydrophobic and colloidal silicas, and other specialty chemical products. Equipped with 45 years of experience and vertically integrated production capabilities, AMS has what it takes to provide toll manufacturing services to customers whose products align with our manufacturing capabilities.
Toll Manufacturing v. Contract Manufacturing
Toll manufacturing—or toll processing—is a form of production outsourcing in which one company (the source company) furnishes raw materials or semi-finished goods to another company (the toll manufacturer). The toll manufacturer provides the manufacturing services needed to turn the unfinished materials and goods into finished products for a fee (a toll). They may also hold responsibility for the packaging and shipping operations, depending on the terms of the project contract.
Both toll manufacturing and contract manufacturing involve one company outsourcing production operations to another company. In toll manufacturing, the first company provides the materials and goods to the second company. In contract manufacturing, however, the second company is generally responsible for both material sourcing and manufacturing services.
Applied Material Solutions is both a toll and contract manufacturer.
Advantages of Toll Manufacturing
There are many advantages to entering into a toll manufacturing arrangement, such as:
- Greater quality control. The source company is responsible for providing the raw materials and semi-finished goods to the toll manufacturer. As a result, they have complete control over what supplier they choose and, consequently, the price and quality of the materials and goods.
- Better flexibility and focus. A toll manufacturing relationship benefits both the source company and the toll manufacturer. Since the source company does not need to worry about production, they can focus on their core competencies or other business activities. Since the toll manufacturer does not need to worry about raw material selection, they can focus on production.
- Lower investment costs. A toll manufacturer already has the resources in place to handle production. Source companies can utilize the resources to produce their products, eliminating the need to invest time and money to build their own production operation.
- Higher scalability. Toll manufacturing agreements allow source companies to rapidly scale production and sales volume in various locations without creating additional facilities.
AMS provides toll manufacturing services to many defoamer suppliers nationwide, many of whom purchase our hydrophobic silica as part of the arrangement.
Toll Manufacturing Capabilities at AMS
Our facilities house all of the machines and tools we need to produce quality chemical products, including:
- Storage tanks with up to 21,000-gallon capacities
- Steam and hot oil reactors with 140–13,000-gallon capacities, nitro sparging and blanket capabilities, and vacuum capabilities
- Blend tanks with 140–13,000-gallon capacities
- Shearing and milling equipment, including homogenizers, high-shear cowles blades, shear pumps, sand mills, and colloid mills
- Laboratory support equipment, including instruments for product development and optimization, testing (stability, performance, viscosity, pH, solids, moisture, density), microscopy, IR spectroscopy, particle size analysis, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
This equipment enables us to develop and deliver chemical solutions for customers in a wide range of industries, whether they need simple blends or reactions. Some of the industries we serve include Agriculture, Cement, Food, HI&I, Paints & Coatings, and Pulp & Paper.
Our toll manufacturing capabilities include:
- Silicone emulsions and compounds
- Water and oil-based emulsions
- Oil-based dispersions
- Water-based blends
- Esterification reactions
- Hot and cold blends
- High-shear blends
- High-temperature processing
- Hydrophobic silica treatments
Contact the Experts at AMS Today
Learn more about our capabilities or discuss your product requirements with one of our team members.