This programme is for buyers who want their own wooden toy design instead of an item from our stock range. It runs in five documented stages, so you always know where a project stands, what has been agreed and what happens next.
The numbers below are the ones this plant works to every day: a 50-piece minimum on in-stock items, about 10 days for a custom sample, around 30 days for mass production after order confirmation, and two automatic lines in a 6,000 m2 plant run by a team of 80.
Stage 1 - Brief and 3D drawing
Send a sketch, a competitor sample, a product photo or simply the function you need. We return a 3D drawing with dimensions, construction, recommended material and an indicative unit price for your target quantity. Available materials are pine, beech, lotus wood, plywood and MDF, finished with water-based eco-friendly paint.
A brief that answers seven questions moves fastest: the age band you are selling into, the target retail price, the quantity for the first order, the destination market, the deadline, the material you prefer and the packing style. If all you have is a reference photo, that is still enough to start.
Drawing turnaround is normally 3 to 5 working days. The drawing is where the cost of the item is decided - thickness, number of components, whether a part is solid wood or plywood, and how many paint colours it needs. Changing any of those after sampling costs money; changing them on paper does not.
Stage 2 - Custom sample
After the drawing is approved we build the first sample. Custom sampling takes about 10 days. Sample fees are charged, and the fee is credited back once your order for that item reaches 1,000 pieces.
The sample is made exactly as production will be run - same species, same water-based paint, same edge rounding, same hardware - because a sample that is not representative is worthless at the testing stage. If something has to change, we list the changes in writing, confirm any cost difference and make the revised sample before anything is submitted for testing.
Stage 3 - Age grading and testing
The sample is matched to the age band you intend to sell into, then submitted for EN71 (EU) or ASTM F963 (US) testing. The test report is issued in your company name for the exact item you will import.
Age grading decides the test programme. A toy for children under three has to pass the small-parts cylinder, so joints, glued components and any screwed fixing are checked before the sample leaves the plant. For the EU the file normally covers EN 71-1 for mechanical and physical properties, EN 71-2 for flammability and EN 71-3 for migration of elements. For the US, ASTM F963 is combined with the CPSIA lead and phthalate limits and a Children's Product Certificate. Testing is usually completed within 5 to 7 working days once the sample is final.
Stage 4 - Mass production
Production runs in our own 6,000 m2 plant in Yunhe, Zhejiang, by a team of 80. A typical production cycle is around 30 days after order confirmation, with in-line checks during production and a final inspection before packing.
Quality is checked at three points rather than once at the end: incoming material, in-line during cutting, painting and assembly, and a final check against the approved pre-production sample before goods are packed. The 30 days cover material preparation, woodworking, painting and drying, assembly and inspection. Repeat orders run on the same automatic woodworking and painting lines, which is what keeps the second shipment matching the first.
Stage 5 - Packing and export documents
Export cartons, retail packaging, barcodes and shipping marks are produced to your specification. BSCI and FSC documentation is available together with the EN71 or ASTM F963 report for the finished item.
Standard packing is a five-layer export carton with an inner partition where the item needs one. Retail-ready packing, barcode or FNSKU labelling, gift boxes and display cartons are quoted with the order. The shipping file prepared for your forwarder holds the commercial invoice, packing list, test report and, where the destination market requires them, the FSC, BSCI and CE Declaration of Conformity documents.
How an OEM project runs, day by day
- Day 0 - brief received: reference, age band, target quantity, market and deadline.
- Day 3 to 5 - 3D drawing and indicative price issued.
- Day 6 - drawing approved, sample order and sample fee confirmed.
- Day 16 - custom sample finished and sent for your approval.
- Day 18 - sample approved and submitted for EN71 or ASTM F963 testing.
- Day 25 - test report issued in your company name.
- Day 28 - bulk order confirmed, 30 percent T/T deposit received, production scheduled.
- Day 58 - production finished, final inspection passed, goods packed and released to your forwarder.
Add two to three weeks if the project needs new tooling. Sampling and testing both sit ahead of production, so the run is not started before the sample is approved unless you instruct otherwise.
What usually changes at sample stage
Most revisions are small and practical: a softer chamfer on an edge a child grips, one extra paint colour, a thicker side panel so a hinge does not pull, or a glued joint changed to a glued and screwed joint on a heavier item. Each change is quoted before it is made, and the approved sample then becomes the reference for the whole production run and for the final inspection.
Related pages: OEM wooden toys, EN71 and ASTM F963 safety standards, our factory in Yunhe.
The same drawing-to-carton route is what the private label programme follows, with your artwork on the box.
The development route this programme follows is set out in OEM against ODM, and the buyer side in wooden toy manufacturing for brands.