In the late summer of 2001, a customer sought our assistance with a new concept; a euro coin packet. The customer was in discussion with the European banking industry, pitching the product as a "starter kit" to facilitate the exchange of currency during the euro's introduction.

From the initial, handmade mockup, we developed the coin holder's design. Its shape and size were modified to accommodate coins of each euro denomination. After creating five different stereolithography versions, we concluded that an elastomeric pocket of unibody construction would fit nicely into most wallets.

The customer had devised a metal clip to secure the coin holder within a wallet. Several designs were developed in laser-cut, stamped steel. The approved version was sent by our Asian associates to a China-based manufacturer, with a request for quotation. The quoted (landed) price was $0.10 per clip. Our engineers redesigned the clip for manufacture in injection-molded acetal. A P20-steel clip mold was undertaken by our tooling department.

   
   

Stereolithography costs: $800.00
Unit cost of stamped-steel clip prototypes: $2.99
P20-steel clip mold cost: $25000.00
Unit (production) cost of the acetal clip: $0.03
Prototype coin holder mold cost: $7000.00
Unit cost of prototype coin holders: $2.70 (based on a run of 5000)
Design cost of three sell-sleeves: $3100.00
Proofing costs: $1000.00
Unit (production) cost of the cardboard sell-sleeve: $0.07
Design cost of the POP box: $600.00
Unit (production) cost of the POP box: $0.24
H13-steel coin holder mold cost: $51000.00
Unit (production) cost of the coin holder: $0.07
Unit (production) cost of pad printing the coin holder: $0.06

 
 
 

 

In just under two weeks, we manufactured an aluminum mold for coin holder prototypes. Different elastomeric materials were tested, and KRATON™ was deemed the most suitable. Twenty-four hundred samples were run, in black, red, blue, yellow, terracotta, and metallic pigments.

Each coin holder was to be packaged within a sell-sleeve. Our graphics team devised a thermoformed 3D sleeve, a die was made in-house, and printed pre-production proofs were commissioned. Ultimately, the cost of mass-producing the thermoformed sleeve led to the decision to source a cardboard version.

Production on the cardboard sleeve took place jointly in Montreal and in Europe, with an initial print run of one million units. Simultaneously, our team designed a point-of-purchase display box, with a first run of 50,000 units.

Given the exclusively European customer base for this product, the decision was made to build the coin holder mold abroad. Our European division manufactured an H13 mold (beryllium copper inserts, eight cavities, sub gates) with a capacity of 140,000 units per week.

Our European division is handling production and pad printing of the coin holders, and assembly, packaging, and distribution of the product throughout Europe. The first shipment from the factory took place on December 6, 2001, just in time for the launch of the new euro.