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U.S.-Based Support
TK builds your mold in its own tool shops in China. You work with Brandon Henderson in the U.S., a Journeyman Tool and Die Maker who speaks toolroom, keeps U.S. business hours and stays with the project from the RFQ to the day the mold runs in your press. Here is what that support covers, how the time difference works in your favor, and what TK brings to your plant when the mold arrives.
What does U.S. based support mean at TK Mold USA?
It means one technical contact on your side of the ocean. Brandon reviews your part and RFQ, takes your questions in your time zone, works the details with TK’s project manager and engineers overnight, joins the trials with your team, and helps when the mold reaches your plant. TK adds weekly progress reports, online trials, and an on site start up team of a project manager, senior toolmaker and senior process engineer.
Meet Brandon Henderson
Technical Sales Support Manager for the Americas • Journeyman Tool and Die Maker • CPSP
Brandon has more than 15 years in custom injection molding and holds a Journeyman Tool and Die Maker certification, CPSP certification and a Six Sigma Green Belt. He works from the U.S. and covers TK’s customers across the Americas. You talk to a toolmaker who knows gate vestige limits, tie bar clearances and cavity balance, not a sales relay.
1. Same Day Answers Across 12 Time Zones
Shenzhen is 12 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time in summer and 13 hours in winter, so TK’s working day happens while you sleep. Without someone on your side of the clock, a question sent at 10 am waits a full day for an answer, and a follow up waits another. With Brandon in your time zone, you settle the question on a call during your day, he hands it to TK’s project manager before Shenzhen opens, and the answer, often with photos, is waiting when you start the next morning.
2. What Brandon Does on Your Project
Brandon is on your side of every handoff, from the first RFQ to the last spare part. He does not replace TK’s engineers; he makes sure what you need reaches them clearly and what they send back makes sense to your team.
- RFQ and quoteReviews your part, print, volume and press data, closes open items and works the quote with TK.
- DFM and MoldflowGoes through TK’s DFM and Moldflow results with you: gates, draft, wall, cooling and warpage, before steel is cut.
- Design reviewJoins the mold design review with your team and TK, in person or online.
- BuildFollows the weekly progress reports with you and gets answers from TK’s project manager overnight.
- Trials and samplesJoins the trials with your team and walks through the samples, measurements and any changes.
- Shipping and start upChecks the paperwork, coordinates delivery and works with TK’s start up team at your plant.
- After salesYour first call for questions, repairs and spare parts once the mold is running.
3. Remote Reviews and Online Trials
A tooling progress report every week from kickoff to delivery, with machining photos, plus the trial out report after each trial.
Watch the trial live, check samples and validate the mold before it ships, without travel. See mold trials.
TK runs remote support on RealWear AR headsets for design and DFM reviews, progress checks, trials and sample inspection, so you see what the toolmaker sees.
Each project has a named account manager and project manager at TK, working in English, German, Spanish or French, with design review meetings at your site when needed.
4. Shipping, Paperwork and Tariffs
Most import surprises come from terms nobody wrote down. Agree them on the quote, and make sure the paperwork travels with the mold.
- Packing: TK vacuum packs export molds for the trip, by air, boat or rail.
- Documents and certification ship with the mold, such as steel certificates, heat treatment reports, 2D and 3D mold drawings and the spare parts list.
- Incoterms on the quote: agree who handles freight, export, customs clearance, duty and insurance, so the landed cost is clear before the PO.
- Tariffs: duty on an imported mold depends on its HTS code and country of origin, and U.S. tariffs on goods from China have changed many times. Check the current rate with your customs broker and ask for the HTS code on the quote and invoice.
- Customs track record: TK holds an AEO advanced certificate from Shenzhen Customs, which helps exports move through customs.
Lead times, trials and tariffs in more detail: see the sourcing FAQ.
5. Start Up and After Sales Support
When you order turnkey, the mold, the parts and the process are production ready at handover, with start up and tear down support at your plant.
Export molds are built with standard components, such as DME, HASCO, Progressive or Meusburger, to your plant standard, and ship with a recommended spare parts list. See export molds for U.S. presses.
TK offers tool repair and spare parts service through its global after sales service, and TK Vietnam has its own tool repair shop. Brandon is your first call.
6. Ways to Source a Mold, Compared
| What you get | Direct from an overseas shop | Through a sales broker | TK Mold USA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who you talk to | The shop’s sales or project staff, in their time zone | A broker, who relays to the shop | Brandon, a Journeyman Tool and Die Maker in the U.S., plus TK’s named account and project managers |
| Who builds the mold | The shop, sometimes with outside subcontractors | Often not disclosed | TK’s own tool shops in Shenzhen and Suzhou, 2,000+ molds a year |
| Technical depth of your contact | Depends on the shop | Often commercial only | Toolroom background, plus TK DFM and Moldflow by certified analysts |
| Seeing the mold before it ships | Usually photos and samples | Depends on the shop | Weekly reports, online trials and AR remote support |
| Start up at your plant | Rarely | Rarely | TK start up team on site: project manager, senior toolmaker, senior process engineer |
| Who you can check | Varies | The broker, not the shop | TK Group, listed in Hong Kong since 2013 (2283.HK), ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 13485 |
Comparison of typical sourcing routes; individual shops and brokers differ.
7. Time Zone Handoff Planner
Pick your location and the time you would send a question or a change. The planner uses the real time difference for that date, daylight saving included, and shows when TK’s team in Shenzhen picks it up, when to expect the answer in your time, and the best windows for a live call with TK’s engineers.
TK hours default to a typical 8:30 am to 5:30 pm office day, Monday to Friday, Shenzhen time. Change them to match your project team.
Best windows for a live call with TK
Show the math
Time differences come from your browser’s time zone data for the date you pick. Answer times assume the question can be handled in one TK working day; design changes and steel work take longer.
Frequently Asked Questions: U.S.-Based Support
What role does Brandon Henderson play in the mold build?
How do I get answers when TK is 12 hours ahead?
Who handles freight, customs and tariffs?
Who helps when the mold arrives at our plant?
How are repairs, changes and spare parts handled after start up?
Can we watch the mold trials without traveling to China?
Talk to Brandon Henderson in the U.S.
Set up a technical review of your next mold project during U.S. business hours. Brandon goes through your CAD data, cavitation, press interface and delivery schedule, then works the details with TK’s engineers.