PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT COMPANY — CONNECTICUT · EST. 1981
End-to-End Product Development
Design, Prototype, and Manufacturing
Synectic is a Connecticut based product development company offering full service product development since 1981. One team bringing your idea from concept through manufacturing.
WHO WE ARE
A Product Development Company that Owns the Whole Process
Synectic is a product development company located in Connecticut. We manage the entire process, from the initial strategy session to manufacturing, so our clients don’t have to deal with coordination issues between different firms. We have been doing this since 1981.
The biggest product development failures don’t happen in design. They occur during the handoff between design and manufacturing, when the team that built the prototype passes the baton to someone who has never seen it. Thanks to our integration with the Mack Group, that hand-off is seamless. The engineers who designed your product oversee its transition to production.
Every engagement begins with a fixed-fee proposal, which means you know exactly what to expect and how much it will cost—no hourly billing and no unexpected scope changes.
Fixed-Fee Model
Every proposal is a fixed price mutually agreed upon before work begins. Not an estimate. Not a time-and-materials rate. A number you can take to your board.
ISO 13485 Quality System
Our quality management system is built for FDA-regulated medical devices and applied to every project regardless of vertical. You get medical-grade process rigor on every engagement.
Integrated Manufacturing
Through the Mack Group, we take projects from development directly into injection molding, electronics assembly, and full contract manufacturing — no new partners, no knowledge transfer failures.
Full Engineering Team In-House
100% US based mechanical, industrial, electrical, and quality engineers — all under one roof, working in parallel on your project from day one.
OUR PROCESS
One Process. One Team Through All of It.
Every engagement follows the same process: understanding your product and market, followed by design, prototyping, NPI, and manufacturing. The same Synectic team remains with your project throughout the entire process.
Product Design
THE MACK GROUP ADVANTAGE
Manufacturing Input From Day One
Most product development firms hand off to a contract manufacturer once the design is finished, which is exactly when new problems tend to surface. Because Synectic and Mack Molding are part of the same company, that review happens while your product is still being designed, not after the tooling is cut.
DESIGN & ENGINEERING
Synectic
Product Design • Prototype Development • DFM/DFA • New Product Introduction
RAPID PROTOTYPING
Mack Prototype
3D Printing • CNC Machining • Urethane Casting • Small Part Molding & Assembly
ELECTRONICS
Mack Technologies
PCB Assembly • System Integration & Configuration • Electronics Manufacturing
PRODUCTION
Mack Molding
Plastic Injection Molding • Sheet Metal • Painting & Finishing • Contract Manufacturing
Through our integration with the Mack Group, every stage of development is supported by Mack Prototype, Mack Molding, and Mack Technologies. Their manufacturing expertise is built into the design process from the beginning, reducing redesigns, streamlining the transition to production, and helping bring products to market up to 20% faster.
Learn more about the Mack Group advantage →
IS SYNECTIC RIGHT FOR YOU?
Who We Do Our Best Work With
We’re not the right partner for every project. Here’s an honest look at where we do our best work, and where we’re probably not the right call.
GOOD FIT
- Companies or funded startups with a real product to develop
- Multi-discipline products needing complex engineering
- Projects that need a partner to own the process end-to-end
- Teams with a defined budget and timeline for development
- Clients who need a clear path from development all the way into production
- Regulated products where documentation and quality systems matter
NOT A GOOD FIT
- Ideas still being validated, with no defined product concept yet
- Single off-the-shelf part modifications
- Pure software projects with no hardware component
- Investment-in-exchange-for-services arrangements
- Products targeting commodity price points
- Unfunded Startups
PORTFOLIO
A Sample of What We've Built
Across multiple verticals, from concept through production. Every product below started as an engineering engagement at Synectic.
Pediatric Surgical Stapler
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
What Our Clients Say
Synectic Engineering is my go to outsourcing option for everything from research, phase 0 initial concept development through complete product development services.
Synectic has been instrumental in helping us design and develop our Soft Swirl ice cream dispensing system. From the start, we felt valued and heard. Their ISO-certified development process helped us focus on the requirements that mattered for our business. Every team member from sales to engineering, and even accounting, was responsive, quick with solutions, and easy to work with. I highly recommend them and look forward to working together again
I have worked on and off with SYNECTIC for over twenty-five years, with the same group of engineers! Consistency, quality of engineering, and retention of past DHF’s is 2nd to none.
Synectic has been a critical part of our medical device development from the start. Their experience and expertise have been an integral part of not only our products, but our strategy as well.
FAQ
Product Development - Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of projects do you work on?
We work on multi-discipline products that need mechanical, electrical, and software integration. Engagements range from focused design reviews to full concept-through-production programs. If your project involves a single off-the-shelf part or is purely software, we’re probably not the right fit.
How much does product development cost?
It depends on scope and starting point. Focused design reviews or DFM engagements typically start around $25K. Full concept-to-production programs range from $150K to $500K or more depending on product complexity, the number of disciplines involved, and prototype iterations required. Every proposal is fixed-fee — you’ll know the exact number before we start. If budget is a concern, tell us upfront and we’ll be direct about what’s feasible.
How long does product development take?
Focused engagements like a DFM review or concept development phase can be completed in 4–8 weeks. Full concept-to-production programs typically run 12–24 months depending on product complexity, regulatory requirements, and the number of prototype iterations needed. We outline a realistic timeline in every fixed-fee proposal before work begins.
Can you manufacture our product once development is complete?
Yes — and this is one of the things that sets us apart. Through our integration with the Mack Group, we move directly from development into production without changing partners. Injection molding, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, electronics assembly, and full supply chain management are all available. Small lots run through our Woodbridge, CT facility; larger production volumes go through Mack Molding and Mack Technologies facilities across the US.
We already have a prototype. Can you pick up mid-project?
Yes, and it’s one of the most common ways we engage. Most clients come to us with early prototypes that aren’t performing as expected, or with a design that needs DFM review before tooling is committed. We assess where things stand, identify the gaps, and build a proposal around what the project actually needs — not a full restart.
Does Synectic invest in products or companies in exchange for services?
No. We are a for-hire engineering firm. You retain 100% ownership of your IP and your company throughout the engagement. We do not take equity, royalties, or any ownership stake in exchange for development services.
How do we get started?
Click “Request a Quote” or fill out the contact form. We review every submission personally — no automated responses. If it looks like a potential fit, we’ll send a mutual NDA and follow up with a project information form. You’ll typically hear from us within one business day.
Why is product development important?
Product development is how companies create new revenue, expand into new markets, and maintain competitive relevance. Without a disciplined development process, products take longer to reach market, cost more to build than planned, and fail to meet user needs — all of which erodes the return on the original investment. More specifically, the way a product is developed determines whether it can be manufactured at a cost that makes business sense, whether it meets regulatory requirements in the markets where it will be sold, and whether it performs reliably enough to build the reputation that drives repeat business and referrals. Getting product development right the first time is significantly less expensive than redesigning a product that failed in the field.
Why outsource product development?
Most companies outsource product development because building a full-discipline internal engineering team — mechanical, industrial, electrical, firmware, quality, and regulatory — is expensive, slow to scale, and difficult to sustain between product cycles. An outsourced development partner gives you access to a complete team on day one without the hiring overhead, and the flexibility to scale engagement up or down as the project requires. The second reason is expertise. A firm that has developed hundreds of products across multiple industries brings pattern recognition that an internal team building its first or second product simply doesn’t have — they’ve seen what fails, what takes longer than expected, and where costs overrun, and they design to avoid those problems. The third reason is speed. An experienced team with established processes and supplier relationships moves faster than a team assembling those capabilities from scratch.
What deliverables do you produce at each stage?
Every phase of every Synectic engagement ends with tangible deliverables — not just hours billed. Product strategy produces a Product Development Specification, patent landscape review, competitive analysis, and customer requirements documentation. Product design produces concept sketches, CAD models in SolidWorks, materials and finish specifications, and photorealistic renderings. Prototype development produces tested, documented physical prototypes with test reports against the PDS. New product introduction produces a DFM review, costed bill of materials, tooling designs, supplier qualification documentation, and pre-production builds. Contract manufacturing produces production units with full quality documentation. At every phase you receive files and documents you own outright — not artifacts that stay with us.
What are the most common product development mistakes?
The most expensive mistake is skipping the product specification. Without a documented set of requirements that everyone agrees to before design begins, scope expands informally and the definition of “done” shifts constantly — driving up cost and time. The second is treating design and engineering as sequential rather than parallel. When industrial design hands off to mechanical engineering which hands off to electrical engineering, each team inherits assumptions from the previous one that may not hold up, resulting in redesigns. The third is under-investing in prototyping. Compressing the prototype phase to save time and budget almost always costs more in total — problems discovered at first production run are an order of magnitude more expensive to fix than problems discovered in a prototype. The fourth is choosing a development partner that can’t follow through to manufacturing. When the team that designed the product isn’t involved in the manufacturing transition, critical design intent gets lost and first articles rarely match expectations.
Tell us about your product development project
We review every submission personally. If it looks like a fit, you’ll hear from us within one business day.