Allied Plastics specializes in the design and manufacture of custom plastic parts for a variety of OEMs. On every project, Allied works within the confines of its client’s specific needs. For example, sometimes an OEM has a mere idea, in which case Allied Plastics starts at the ground level with design concepts. Other times, the OEM knows exactly what it needs, and Allied simply designs the tooling and manufactures the part. In this case, Ohio-based Venture Products was somewhere in the middle.
Venture Products manufactures the Ventrac brand of all-wheel-drive compact tractors. The Ventrac brand also includes a broad assortment of more than 30 attachments to help maximize a tractor’s versatility. Those attachments include several winter-season tools such as snowplows and snowblowers.
Ventrac approached Allied Plastics when it needed a plastic cab roof for one of its snow removal tractors. The roof needed to be durable while also allowing for specific functionality within the fully enclosed, climate-controlled operator’s cab.
The final product consisted of two parts. The upper shell served as the roof cap on the outside of the tractor. The lower shell, referred to as the headliner, served as the roof on the inside of the tractor cab. That headliner portion required some intricate trimming to create openings for amenities such as radio speakers and HVAC controls.
“That headliner portion is where a lot of back and forth took place between Allied Plastics and Ventrac,” says Jon Larson, OEM Sales Manager at Allied Plastics.