Plastics and injection molding equipment appraisals.
A plastics machinery appraisal from Lukes & Lukes is an independent, USPAP-compliant opinion of value for the molding floor: injection molding presses, extrusion lines, blow molding, thermoforming, and the auxiliaries that keep them running. We grade each press by clamp tonnage, control generation and drive type, then inspect the screw and barrel, the wear items a spec sheet never shows. Molds are usually customer-owned, so tooling is appraised separately. Built to withstand lender, SBA, IRS, audit and legal review.
What we appraise
The molding floor, press by press.
We appraise the full plastics fleet, from a single press to a multi-line plant. Presses and auxiliaries trade on separate used markets, so each gets its own supported value: a press produces nothing without the chillers, dryers and handling around it.
- Injection molding: presses across the tonnage range, hydraulic, servo-hydraulic and all-electric.
- Extrusion: single- and twin-screw extruders and downstream lines.
- Blow molding and thermoforming: extrusion and injection blow, and forming lines.
- Auxiliaries: chillers, dryers, granulators, conveying, blenders and feeders.
- Automation: take-out robots, sprue pickers and end-of-arm tooling.
What drives the value
Tonnage, controls, and screw-and-barrel wear.
Clamp tonnage sets the class and control generation sets the rest. A current control with servo or all-electric drive holds value; an older hydraulic on an unsupported control trades below it, because buyers price in energy cost and parts availability. We inspect screw and barrel wear directly, since replacement is one of the largest costs a press can hide.
Brand and the depth of the used market for that size class move the number as well. Auxiliaries carry their own values. Molds are often the most valuable items on the floor yet frequently belong to the customer, so we confirm ownership and appraise tooling separately where it is in scope.
Which value applies
The right premise for the situation.
The same plant carries different numbers depending on why you need the appraisal. We determine and defend the premise your situation requires.
Common questions
Answers, up front.
What do you record at each press?
Nameplate and controller data first, then what a nameplate cannot say: tie-bar and platen condition, whether the machine has been relocated, how the barrel has been maintained, and what is bolted to it. Every reading is taken at the machine rather than copied off an asset register.
How is customer-owned tooling handled?
It is identified and kept out of the value. Molds sitting in a molder's plant frequently belong to the customer, and a report that quietly values them overstates the collateral. Ownership is settled first, and tooling that is genuinely owned is scheduled on its own.
Can the presses keep running during the inspection?
Yes, and running is better. A worn screw, a failing heater band and a slow clamp show under load and not on a cold machine. Chillers, dryers, granulators, conveying and robots are walked on the same pass, so the visit does not cost the plant a shift.
What does a reviewer check in a plastics appraisal?
Tonnage, shot size, control generation and hours on each press, whether the molds are owned or held for a customer, and whether the comparables are completed sales. All four are documented in the report, which is USPAP-compliant and signed by a NEBB-certified Machinery & Equipment Appraiser (CMEA).
Related specialties
Also under general machinery & equipment.
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