Vibration Expertise:
We have been offering vibration management expertise since 1983, and we are able to handle circa 95% of enquiries in-house. When required, we work with a partner to handle particularly complex vibration & shock requirements.
We were recently asked to design and deliver a solution for transporting particle accelerators across Europe without any loss of alignment. Other companies had tried to achieve this, but failed; we were the first to achieve it.
Manufacturing Expertise:
As the vast majority of vibration management solutions involve rubber and we felt it was important to maintain quality control of the processes involved, we have always manufactured many of the products we sell.
As a result of this expertise, we are often asked to manufacture rubber and rubber-bonded products which have little to do with vibration and shock management.
Rubber Expertise:
There are a wide variety of rubber types on the market, each type has their benefits and their weaknesses. We can help you find the best solution for over 98% of applications, and we have a rubber chemistry partner for rare occasions when deeper expertise is required.
Wide range of rubbers held in stock:
We regularly work with 30-plus different rubbers on a monthly basis and we keep these rubbers in stock, so may well have the right option for your application on the shelf. The advantages of this are that we buy in bulk at great rates, and there is no minimum order quantity on this aspect of the work, both of which make a difference.
Rubber Bonding Expertise:
This is one of the most overlooked areas when manufacturing rubber-bonded products. We guarantee that our bonds are stronger than the rubber bonded to it, and that the rubber will break before the bond gives way (this includes our military grades of rubber).
There are a number of areas that you have to get right to ensure robust bonding occurs:
Substrate Preparation:
We use a three or four-stage process for preparing substrates, depending on what the substrate is. We also use a two-part bonding agent whereas many competitors have moved to a single-layer agent. We worked with our bonding agent supplier to test multiple different options but found that our current solution gave the most reliable results. Chemistry used in the top coat does vary depending on the rubber.
We have advised some of the largest rubber moulding companies on the planet on how to improve bonding performance, and they found that following our advice was the only option which gave the required result.
Masking:
Masking areas of products with complex 3D structures where strict boundaries between bonded and non-bonded areas exist, and delivering that result at volume can be difficult. We use a range of techniques, technologies and train people to a very high skill level in order to achieve this.
We recently spoke to a number of organisations about what we do and how we do it, with the intention of out-sourcing some excess demand. However, not one organisation could achieve the required results so we grew our capacity instead.
Rubber Chemistry:
Rubber chemistry, especially when moulding large rubber bonded products (common in Rail, Mining and Shipping) is critical to bonding. Rubber is a natural insulator, so ensuring that the centre of a large moulding is cured without over-curing (ageing) the outside of the product requires a number of techniques including careful selection of the curing system used.
This is especially relevant when compression moulding large products. Whilst other moulding technologies are available, compression moulding is the lowest cost unless very high volumes are anticipated.
Modular tooling systems:
Many of the products we manufacture fit into a modular tooling system we have designed. Our modular tooling system regularly allows us to save up to 80% of the upfront costs, savings which we pass onto our customers.
Some of the most advanced machinery on the market
Have a look at our blog to see some of our recent additions to the factory. We have purchased some of the most advanced rubber moulding machines on the market, and we have further refined them in house.
These machines enable us to deliver higher quality products, drive consistency, to reduce heavy lifting, and to improve productivity. As an indicator, one product we make can be moulded at three times the rate of our old machine.
Not only are these machines brand new and high-tech, they are also unusually compact, which enables us to stay in our current factory for longer and keep overheads down.
Significant and ongoing R&D investment
We are currently reinvesting circa 70% of profits back into the company and intend to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. We aim to grow by a minimum of 20% per year for the next 5 years with the primary long term aim of helping our local community and those in need.
