From Prototype to Production

What does the design process look like at Placon, from idea inception to engineering, tooling, and first production runs?

Creating the packaging for your product can’t be a last-minute decision. It’s just as important as the product itself. Your packaging is a reflection of your business and the quality your product represents, and our Placon team understands that completely. When you embark on your custom packaging journey, we have team members ready every step of the way, from sales and conceptualizing all the way through first production runs and quality assurance.

In this blog, we’ll follow the full design process, from prototype to production, and hear from some of our Placon team members who will be with you for the duration of your custom project. If you’ve been through this process with us before, you’ll probably see some familiar names! Let’s take a look and start at the beginning, or watch the video to hear from our team.

Introduction to Placon and the Sales Team

Your first contact when creating a custom package will be with our sales team. They’ll help guide you through the process, help you and our team understand the scope and goals of the project, and align engineering with those ideas. They also bring a lot of creativity and experience to the process, and have helped push the boundaries on what packaging can do.

Drew Ahlborg, one of our custom sales representatives, talks us through his part of the process. He explains that there are typically three main reasons for new packaging requests; a supplier falls through, a company has an exciting new idea for a product, and regulatory changes. No matter which one is the cause for the new packaging request, our sales and engineering teams work together to help define the scope of the project, create new ideas, and work with our customer to understand their goals.

Drew says, “I think it’s important to note that at Placon, things are more open and collaborative. If you can dream of it or you can think of it, you can make it.”

Working with Our In-House Design Team

Once the scope of the project is outlined, customers will work with our in-house design team. Our engineers will create drafts, drawings, and ideations that will work for your product. Our engineers have helped us win many AmeriStar awards over the years, and they’ll work to create a unique, innovative design that solves your packaging challenges.

Tony Wangelin says, “My responsibilities for the new product design are taking all the customer’s inputs and turning it into a package that works for their needs. Once the customer has an idea on what it is they like… we take the products, put them into CAD, and we’ll design a model around them.”

When customers enter the design phase, we strive for a highly collaborative approach. Once designs are in CAD, customers will be able to view the product as it would sit on the shelf, making adjustments based on these renderings. Once drawings are signed off, the package moves to the sampling process.

“We’ll produce samples for the customers – so that they can review – out of our sample lab.” This way, our customers can feel the products, make adjustments, and feel confident moving into tooling and production runs.

Tooling and Adjustments

Next stop on our Prototype to Production tour is tooling and adjustments. Our tooling is made in-house, so we can fine-tune, make changes, and work with our engineers daily with no delay. Being vertically integrated is a key component to our speed to market and high quality designs. Mike Roble, design engineer, says, “Most of our tooling is actually built in-house, too. We maintain control of that throughout the process. Especially when it comes to quick turnaround times for modifications. If we do have to outsource, we use local companies, we have aluminum from local sources. We keep that pretty close to maintain control and quality.”

Keeping our processes vertically integrated and fabricated here in the US helps reduce turnaround time, shipping costs, and allows you to have greater flexibility and awareness of your project.

First Production Runs and Ongoing Quality

Once initial tooling design is completed, we’ll run developments and prototypes for testing to see if material gauge is correct, flange depth is accurate, and closures function properly. This testing is overseen by engineering, production, and quality. We can perform measurement tests to ensure products are consistent, accurate, and function according to specs. Quality is always available to our customers, and can help update regulatory documents, send batch records, and more.

The Placon Difference

We aim to be your long-term partner in packaging, and strive to create an interactive, collaborative, and meaningful design process together. We have Design Centers of Excellence to facilitate these meetings, or are happy to work with your team virtually. We’ll talk about sustainability, automation, EPR, and any other specific questions, problems, or solutions your organization needs.

To start your own custom design process, reach out to our sales team. You can also read more about or design centers, past awards, and certifications on our website.

ABOUT PLACON
Since 1966, Placon has been a leading designer and manufacturer of innovative and sustainable plastic packaging for medical, food, and consumer goods markets. Placon has manufacturing operations in Madison, WI; West Springfield, MA; Elkhart, IN; and Plymouth, MN, and is currently ranked in the Top 20 in Plastics News 2025 Thermoformers Rankings. Placon delivers packaging breakthroughs that inspire better engagement between people and products.