I’m in the market for plastic tubing suppliers. What should I be looking for?
The first thing should probably be finding plastic tubing suppliers who stock quality products from great manufacturers. There’s not really much point cutting costs on certain parts of the business, as the costs could spiral if the product needed to be continually replaced. So go for quality (and this will not necessarily always be the most expensive) and buy right the first time round.
Know your needs. What is the application for the plastic tubing? Is there anything you may need to ask the plastic tubing suppliers such as if you’re using particular chemicals, or working at particularly high temperatures? The plastic tubing suppliers should be able to guide you towards the best product given the need so there is no time wasted with unsuitable, or substandard products for the purpose.
Because the nature of plastic tubing is versatile, it may be the plastic tubing suppliers are able to source or provide your business with a tailored or customised product. Tubing can come in an array of colours, sizes, thicknesses and shapes so consider which factors would benefit you and your requirements. You may wish to have clear plastic tubing so you can monitor the liquids running through it and easily identify if there is a situation that needs rectifying or monitoring. You may need a certain length, or extra thickness, or perhaps a particular shape to best suit your machines or product.
This is the beauty of plastic tubing and why such a large portion of the world’s manufacturing pipes are actually PVC. Check with your plastic tubing suppliers and they will able to advise you on your options, and perhaps suggest other available plastic tubing that you hadn’t realized may be suitable for your industry or business.
Depending on the amount of required material it may also be a good idea to consider the location of the plastic tubing suppliers and their ability to service your needs in an ongoing capacity.
How much will it cost the plastic tubing suppliers to deliver the products to you, or are you in a position to collect it yourself?
You may wish to ask around others in your industry, or ask the plastic tubing suppliers other clients or uses they have supplied the product for. You could read available reviews, or look for testimonials. Plastic tubing suppliers may have product samples so that you can feel, see or check for yourself the quality of a product.
Some plastic tubing suppliers may have products that have been government approved to certain standards for specific purposes and this may be a good place to start, as you know that they have been approved, so therefore rigorously tested for at least that specific purpose or purposes.
It’s worth the research, it’s worth asking around as what a pain it would be to go through the hassle of ordering your tubing to specific lengths or sizes, getting them supplied and/or delivered, fitting the tubing and discovering that, for whatever reason, it’s actually not the product you really need.