Calhoun plastic

[Mattlures]

I got 5gal of their hand pour soft and I love it . it doesn't burn,it doesn't stink, it stays clear, and it is easy to use. it did settle a little but not as bad as lurecraft. if MF is a 10 then calhoun would be about a 9 with lurecraft around a 6 I have not tried any other brands.

[alsworms]

I was turned on to Calhoun by Scot from SR Plastics, and I am very thankful

I was talking to a friend of mine in a local tackle shop today and he said that he used to pour with Calhoun, but he had a problem with consistency. He said that he'd pour 200 soft worms; then the next 100 would be like bricks! I'm sure he just wasn't keeping the plastic mixed enough because I haven't had that problem. Every bait I've made so far has been very consistent, and I've used over 60 gallons of the stuff now.

Chris

[Mattlures]

I was turned on to Calhoun by you! thanks! I sent you a pm but I thought

your name was Al , you know, alsworms. sorry.

thanks Chris and Scot for sharing your information about Calhoun.

I have not had any consistancy problems at all.

Matt

[alsworms]

No problem Matt. Call me either Al or Chris. I'll answer to both

Happy to hear the plastic has worked out for you.

[SRPLASTICS]

Glad the plastic is working for you guys, we have 5 55-gallon drums in the shop and using it all up very rapidly. Just a little tip, Calhoun has formulated a new super stretch plastic, similar to the formula that Terminator and Strike King buy from the patent owner. I believe it is still in testing, we should be getting our sample for test runs any day, however, you can not heat it up in the microwave and at this time can only add powder pigment colors. I will let you guys know how it works out.

[SRPLASTICS]

I forgot to mention, it is about $4.00 per pound, ouch

[alsworms]

Whew.....that IS a dent in the pocketbook! Hopefully, it might come down in price once they have it on the market. I'd like to give it a try. Let us know how it works for you. Thanks for all the help Scot!!

Chris

[redg8r]

Thanks for the heads up Scott,

Question though, did they explain why it cant be heated in a microwave?

I've been trying to contact em, but with my dayjob I keep missing them & they havnt returned any of my calls

where are they located, physically?

Thanks again.

[SRPLASTICS]

They did explain it to me, however, it is confusing, something to do with molecules and blah blah blah. I spoke with them today and I should have the sample in the next couple of days, I will keep you informed. They are out in Calhoun, GA

[redg8r]

I See.....

One more for ya,

Realising your obviously an established manufacturer,

May I ask if the machinery you use to produce, is it standard equiptment for guys that fulfill your quantity, or is it personal proprietary machinery that you had made somewhere?

I'm usin vague terms cause I dont want to pressure ya to answer anything you dont feel comfortable discussing, But I was wondering what the industry standard is for intermediate or larger manufacturers.....

I dont think firms that produce larger (than our level) have 100 employees standin over 300 lil hotpots, but I could be wrong just curious as to the basic process & if you had custom machinery built, or if you went with a commercially built system.

If that too intrusive I understand, simply ignore the question, were big boys here

Thanks,

[SRPLASTICS]

The machinery we use is commercially built, www.sta-warm.com ,the pots we use are about $550.00 ea, we are currently running 15 pots or 5 3 pot stations, we are in a 1100 square foot light manufacturing building with custom exhaust vents installed over each station. We have 5-55 gallon drums, all being used at the same time. You can make larger pots, I know of a company here in CA that built 20" diameter pots using the sta-warm schematics, however, if I cant pour out 8 cups of plastic in about 1 hour I run the risk of discoloring my batch or wasting my time. The "KEY" is having enough cavities to fill, our molds vary from 2 to 5 cavities with usually a min. of 20 molds per bait style (example- I do about 350-375 3" reapers per hour). I invest heavily in molds, both personally made and professionally. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Pop]

Does the commercial equipment pour the same way that the lee pots pour and are just larger quantities, or do they work differently? I ditto the previous email in that if I or we are being too intrusive, just don't answer, I also understand. Also I think, well I can only speak for myself, think it would be interesting to hear how you got started in the business and how you grew to where you are now. I think it is exciting. I'm 60 years old and too old to work at that now, I just want to go fishing, but; the story would probably give the younger guys the incentive to keep trying and something to aim for. Thanks for all your help. Pop

[robalo01]

I have seen a shop that pours for Creme. They have some very large alluminum molds -- about 100 cavities. They heat the plastic about 2 quarts at a time and pour it, very hot, over the entire mold and then quickly squeegee (sp) over the surface. For two colors they pour the tail first and then do the body. They can do about 500 an hour.

[SRPLASTICS]

The pots are larger and have a different pouring apparatus then the Lee pots, there are also no hot spots like you get from the Lee pots, there is a thermal heating blanket that heats the entire pot to a specific temp, very little temp flucuation. I got started doing this because of all the dough I was spending on my tournament needs, the wife was not happy with that, I am sure many of you can concure. I tried talking to other companies and no one would give me the time of day, so alot of what I did was trial and error, eventually I started giving some baits to my friends, and one thing led to another, the next thing I know is all the local stores are inquiring about my products. I first had to come up with attractive packaging and pricing and that took some research. I learned early, DO NOT SELL YOURSELF SHORT, the consumer thinks that the less expensive the bait, the cheaper quality it is, and actually my baits are the higher priced baits in the local stores, but they also outsell 10 to 1 over my local hand pour competitors. One of the chain stores has all but eliminated other hand pour baits and carry ours exclusively. Re-invest in your business, take your profit and upgrade your equipment, mold inventory, colors and glitters, expand your ability to provide a variety of baits, some will sell fast others slow, but if you give retail stores the options of choosing from 30 to 50 different styles, that keeps their attention. Since we also offer injection type baits, we have become a one-stop-shop. Make sure if you start a business doing this that you check with your accountant to make sure everything you do is legal, payroll, FET, etc... always try to stay on the cutting edge and/or one step ahead of your competition because they are always looking at how they can out do you, some will some won't. Bottom line is, provide top quality product in attractive packaging and priced accordingly and you will make a little dough. Taking the step from a hobbiest pouring in the garage to full time manufacturing out of a plant is a big step, you have to grow a third nut and make the commitment. Advertise and market youself accordingly and don't overdue it on prostaff. Word of mouth will take you where you want to go. By the way, Chris at Al's worms gave me my first Lee pot about 2 years ago, he did not like them, I think he has changed his mind, he is also rapidy growing. Once you have created the monster, everyone wants a piece of you, keep focused, and as soon as it is no longer any fun, you need to move on. Feel free to ask any other questions.