For start-ups scaling
One tool this month. A hundred a week by summer. Same team throughout.
Start-ups don't want to change supplier every time volume steps up. Start with a hand-cast prototype, take it through low-run cast production, and move into compression or LSR when the numbers say so — all with the same engineer holding the memory.
Situations we see
Four patterns that come up often.
Pre-launch prototypes
One-off or small batch, hand-cast in weeks. Fast enough for a pitch deck deadline.
First customer orders
Cast tooling for the first hundreds of units. Enough to prove product-market fit without over-committing to steel.
Ramp to production
When orders justify it, we upgrade you to compression or LSR tooling. Same job number, same team.
A pivot mid-programme
The product changes. That's fine. We re-tool. You don't lose the paperwork trail.
How it works
The path from first call to a running relationship.
- 01
Prototype route
Hand-cast or vacuum-cast, chosen to your tolerance and volume.
- 02
Small production run
Cast tooling, tens to hundreds of parts. Real world use before capital commitment.
- 03
Production upgrade
When volume justifies steel, we build the production tool. Design changes from the field folded in.
- 04
Standing tooling
Tool stays with us, you reorder parts as needed. Or you take it, either works.
What we need from you
So the first conversation is useful.
Where you think you'll be in a year. Doesn't need to be right. Just a working assumption we can plan around.
Funding milestones, if applicable. So we know when capital tooling can be committed to.
A named product owner. One person on your side who can sign off design decisions quickly.
At a glance
The idea in a picture.
Which route suits your quantity
Swipe to see the whole diagram
FAQs
Common questions.
What if my volume never justifies production tooling?
Then we don't build it. Cast tooling can run for years on the right part.
What if we grow faster than expected?
Ring us early. Production tooling has a build lead time we need to plan for.
Do you invest alongside customers?
No. We're a moulding company, not an investor. But we do quote realistically, not aspirationally.
Related
Where to read next.
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Same engineer, prototype through to production.
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The group
Where this fits in the group
Four specialist teams share our workshop, our engineering bench and a single quality system. Pick a doorway, or ring us and we'll route you.
Get in touch
Not sure which division? Tell us what you're making.
Send us a sketch, a photograph, or a paragraph. We'll come back with the right division, the right route, and an honest sense of what it will take.
Real people, a real workshop
You deal with the people who make it.
No call centre and no middlemen. When you contact TCI Group, you speak to the team who design, build and check your mould.
- A real Warwickshire workshopUnit 15, Waterloo Park, Bidford-on-Avon, Alcester B50 4JG.
- Real people on the phoneCall the team on 01789 224228, Monday to Friday.
- The same team on every jobDesign, production and aftercare come from the people you see here.
- Five brands, one teamMoulds, culinary, construction and contract products, all run from Bidford-on-Avon. See the divisions.
Thomas LaneManaging Director
George PrestonDesign & Project Manager
Kelly BallingerHead of Partnerships
Jim AndertonProduction Manager
TheodoreEmployee Welfare