Gimmicks for drawing booth attendees abound at NPE, and M.R. Mold & Engineering’s booth giveaways have, quite literally, become a hot item over the past few years. If you are one of the first 24 people to stop by Booth # 4393 each morning, you can pick up your fresh homemade muffin baked in one of Finnie’s LSR cupcake/muffin pans.
Silicone bakeware has become very popular, and several years back Finnie decided to make a cupcake pan mold complete with fluted edges to showcase his expertise in building LSR molds. “We wanted a unique giveaway to draw people to our booth so we developed the silicone cupcake pans,” Finnie explains. “They were such a big hit the first year, that we even attempted to patent them.”
Silicone bakeware has become very popular, and several years back Finnie decided to make a cupcake pan mold complete with fluted edges to showcase his expertise in building LSR molds. “We wanted a unique giveaway to draw people to our booth so we developed the silicone cupcake pans,” Finnie explains. “They were such a big hit the first year, that we even attempted to patent them.”
M.R. Mold & Engineering (Brea, CA) has specialized in design and engineering of LSR molds for over 30 years. The company also has expertise in rubber molds, injection molds, and compression and transfer molds. In addition to M.R.’s mold design and manufacturing capabilities, the company has a 4000-sq-ft Technical Center for LSR mold tryouts in one of four molding machines owned by the company ranging from 55 to 110-tons. M.R. Mold also has a 12x12 compression molding machine and a Blue M oven for post curing of sample parts. M.R. Mold & Engineering provides total solutions including cold runner systems, end-of-arm tooling (EOAT), pneumatic stuffer boxes, vacuum seals and a Universal base. M.R. Mold employs about 25 people.
Needless to say, Finnie and his cupcake pans are a big hit with baking enthusiasts who flock to his booth for additions to their collection. “Trade show after trade show, people come to our booth just to get their annual supply of cupcake/muffin pans,” says Finnie. “Eventually we decided to produce them in two other sizes, one for very large muffins and cupcakes and one for mini-muffins and cupcakes.” The pans also come in a variety of colors as well.
The LSR cupcake/muffin pans are washable and hold up well over repeated bakings, making them very eco-friendly over their paper counterparts. Today, what used to be just a trade show gimmick has turned into a side business for Finnie. “We found a marketing firm and initially had several major kitchen stores selling them to the public,” he says. “We’re producing 150,000 annually, and today sell them in Williams-Sonoma stores because they believe in American made products.”
And if you stop by Maplan’s Booth #7571 you can get your free LSR shot glass, also being molded in a mold designed and built by M.R. Mold & Engineering.
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