Facility Expansion Allows Toolroom Growth, Thermoplastics Focus

Sil-Pro Medical Manufacturing Solutions (Delano, MN)—a moldmaker, molder, extruder and provider of Contract Design & Assembly—has recently expanded its facility to allow the company to not only focus on cleanroom injection molding and assembly operations for the medical device market, but also to allow for additional mold design and build capabilities.

Originally founded as a silicone injection molding house focused on the medical market, Sil-Pro has since expanded into silicone extrusion, moldmaking, and most recently, injection molding of engineering-grade thermoplastics, according to Dave Pool, Sil-Pro’s VP of Engineering. Additionally, the company has also started offering contract manufacturing, design and assembly.

Pool points out that the company’s desire to maintain its tight controls on quality while providing “best-in-class” leadtimes fueled the company’s decision to purchase a 55,000 square-foot facility across the street from its existing 35,000 square-foot plant. “We continue to mold, assemble and test all products in an ISO Class 7 cleanroom environment, so the expansion within our current facility required us to relocate our captive toolroom to another building,” Pool explains.

The tool shop, which previously occupied 7,500 square feet, was at full capacity in terms of floor space. The new facility, which contains 25,000 square feet of newly renovated space, provides the room now necessary for additional machine tools. Pool notes the expanded tooling facility and equipment will allow the company to implement standardization of mold base platforms and in-house stocking of mold inserts—cutting processing time while reducing the overall mold building expense.

Considerations were taken during the remodel of the additional facility to control the toolroom’s temperature and humidity to accommodate the high tolerances required for its customers’ products, Pool adds. Additional capital was also procured to meet increased demand for high quality, competitive tooling. The company purchased a Hermle five-axis CNC machining center coupled with a System 3R WorkMaster automation system.

“The most important aspect of this expansion was the additional personnel to drive this very important division of our company,” Pool says. “Three additional staff members were added to our Tooling Group, bringing our total staff to 15. “The new facility allowed us to start with a clean slate, concentrating on workflow and automation. The added space is a refreshing change for the Tooling Group, which was very constrained in our main facility.”

To market these additions, Sil-Pro has launched a PR blitz—including press releases, targeted e-mail blasts, trade journal ads, an Open House and customer tours. The expansion details are also featured on its website.

Pool adds that this expansion leaves plenty of room for growth. “We are only occupying 35 percent our new building with our Tooling Group—allowing us to be flexible with the additional space. It will most likely be converted to additional cleanroom space for manufacturing and assembly. With cost and leadtimes continuing to be critical factors facing the industry, this move was essential for survival and long-term growth.”

For More Information
Sil-Pro Manufacturing Solutions / (763) 972-9206
tshurson@sil-pro.com / sil-pro.com