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Are you looking for a bespoke contract manufacturing service? Outsourcing your contract manufacturing to ReAgent gives you freedom and security to expand your business whilst benefitting from industry-leading service, expertise, and guaranteed levels of quality.

Contract manufacturing is essentially when one business manufactures a product for another business who have provided a specified formula or design. It’s a common process in the chemical industry, as well as in the medical, food and automotive industries. While it sounds simple and is hugely beneficial, contract manufacturing comes with its own complexities and considerations.

For more detail, read our comprehensive guide to contract manufacturing.

Contract Manufacturing Explained

There are many elements to chemical contract manufacturing and lots of things to consider depending on what it is that you need. One important factor is to provide as much information as possible to the contract manufacturer at the beginning of the process. This saves time and cost in the long run and makes the whole process more efficient.

What Is Contract Manufacturing – outsource production to a chemical company

Contract Manufacturing If You Have A Formulation

If you are looking for a chemical manufacturer, you may already have an idea of what you require and a specification or formulation of what you want. You may also have very specific requirements such as fine tolerances on certain components, or you may need a Certificate of Analysis (CofA) for the finished product. Having a CofA is beneficial because it guarantees a certified standard and therefore you don’t need to test the product yourselves.

Additionally, you may require a certain type of packaging or for the product to be supplied in a specific format so it can be placed smoothly into your internal process. Perhaps you need a product to be pre-dosed in a set quantity that you can add to your process, or maybe you need it to be supplied in bulk.

Contract Manufacturing If You Don’t Have A Formulation

Alternatively, you may not really know what you require but you do know what you want the finished product to do. You may already be buying a similar product from another source but perhaps you’re having difficulties with lead times, price or quality. If that’s the case, the chemical manufacturer will look for the active ingredient so that they can manufacture a similar product to the one you’re currently using. They will normally make up a sample for you to check that it performs properly in the application for which it is intended.

Contract Manufacturing – From Manufacturing To Shipping

Contract manufacturers can normally not only manufacture your product, but also pack, label and ship it on your behalf. This end-to-end process helps to streamline your business, saving you time, resources and cost, making the whole process more efficient. At ReAgent, we manufacture many products for other businesses and supply them direct to their customers, using customer-supplied packaging and labels where required. We’re also happy to enter into confidentiality agreements to ensure that product integrity is maintained, and to give you the peace of mind that your formula and specifications won’t be released.

What Is Contract Manufacturing – technical analysts provide expertise

Benefits of Contract Manufacturing

There are many benefits to contract manufacturing, including:

  • Reducing your manufacturing costs because you don’t need to invest in equipment and resources – this is especially beneficial if you are testing a potential new product or your product has a short shelf-life
  • Saving you the time it would take to set up a new facility, train staff, test the product – meaning you can get your product to market more quickly and focus on your core business
  • Flexibility – you can test new products without the commitment of full-scale manufacture, and you can make changes as and when you need to
  • Expertise – a chemical contract manufacturer usually has an in-house team of chemists, technical analysts, and quality controllers, as well as a high-tech, specialist lab. They will be able to advise on things like blending, legislation, testing, and how to use raw materials
  • Confidentiality – your contract manufacturer will sign a non-disclosure agreement so your formula and specs aren’t ever released
  • Quality – choose a contract manufacturer with strong quality accreditations such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001

How To Choose A Contract Manufacturer To Suit You

What Is Contract Manufacturing – testing your chemical formulation

If you’re looking for a chemical contract manufacturer, you should consider various criteria before choosing the company you move forward with:

  1. Visit their site – get a feel for the company and an understanding of everything they provide
  2. Meet their team, including the chemists and technical analysts. Make sure you are comfortable with their levels of knowledge and expertise
  3. Read their customer reviews and testimonials
  4. Check their accreditations and quality certificates

At ReAgent, our area of expertise is bringing your concept to actual product manufacture. As a business, we have seen a huge growth in this specialism over recent years and we believe that’s down to our technical expertise, ability to manufacture to very tight tolerances and to provide technical and analytical backup.

If you would like to find out more about chemical contract manufacturing with ReAgent, call us on 0800 9555 798 or contact our friendly team.

About the author

Simon Tasker

Managing Director

Simon was made Managing Director of ReAgent in 2019 following eight successful years as General Manager and Operations Director. He has worked in the manufacturing industry for 20+ years and is a big believer in continued professional development. When he’s not at work, Simon is biking the trails of North Wales or in his caravan.

Disclaimer

All content published on the ReAgent.co.uk blog is for information only. The blog, its authors, and affiliates cannot be held responsible for any accident, injury or damage caused in part or directly from using the information provided. Additionally, we do not recommend using any chemical without reading the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), which can be obtained from the manufacturer. You should also follow any safety advice and precautions listed on the product label. If you have health and safety related questions, visit HSE.gov.uk.