Make Time is a matchmaker for available facilities and prospective manufacturers
There are two issues that have long plagued the efficiency of manufacturing.
First, even the most prosperous product lines experience periods of downtime. Seasonal purchases and other considerations create variances in demand. Therefore, sometimes factories are working overtime and sometimes they sit idle.
The second issue is the lack of production facilities available for small firms, amateur artisans, or garage inventors who need access to machinery for prototype fabrication or small-scale production. These startup firms have tremendous potential. But too often, getting a product made is challenging.
Can you see the opportunity at the intersection of idle factories and inventors who need factory time?
Drura Parrish, creator of Make Time, saw it well before launching his website in 2014. While studying architectural design in Los Angeles, Parrish utilized various production facilities to complete his school projects. He realized that the machinery in these facilities was often sitting unused. Additionally, Parrish understood that the machinery need not be utilized only for the product that the proprietary company is known for. Their capabilities often encompass whatever project a designer has in mind.
“The machines are digital, and they don't care if you're just an aerospace company,” says Parrish. “They're agnostic. You can run anything on them."
Make Time is a matchmaker. Through it, production facilities and aspiring manufacturers across the country have a common forum through which to coordinate usage and prices.
Initially, Parrish provided this service through his own connections with both the manufacturing facilities and the small firms that needed access to their assembly lines. Now with a website, the idea has really taken off, bringing together a community of over 1,000 buyers and sellers. But Parrish sees still greater potential for the site, not to mention the future of American manufacturing.
"There's a huge, burgeoning world, we call them pro-sumers, of engineers, architects and designers, people who have the dream and ability to make things such as a table or drones," says Parrish. "They're industries in the waiting.”
Visit Make Time online.