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.svg?width=850&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale "Entrepreneurial Venture Targets Microtechnology")
Originally Published MPMN April 2008
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Entrepreneurial Venture Targets Microtechnology
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MicroPep, a recently formed entrepreneurial-driven company, offers completely integrated micromanufacturing and design services. |
Combining the capabilities of several service providers, microPep (East Providence, RI; www.micropep.com) claims to be the first completely integrated micromanufacturing firm in the United States. Supported by facilities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois, Ohio, Mexico, and China, the company touts itself as a one-stop source for a range of microsized component design and manufacturing services.
Officially launched in January at MD&M West, the company, a subsidiary of Precision Engineered Products Inc., is an entrepreneurial endeavor encompassing five firms with overlapping histories and mutually supporting core competencies. The formation of microPep represents the first time that all of the companies’ capabilities will be united under a single brand name.
“This is a new venture with very solid long-standing companies,” says microPep president John Harker. “If you’re not evolving and changing and trying new things, you can kiss [business] goodbye.”
Armed with the resources to take a project from prototype to production in-house, microPep provides micromanufacturing services that include molding, stamping, and assembly. Specialty plating and single-point diamond turning operations are also offered. The niche service provider’s focus on micron-sized tolerances and very small parts lends itself to such medical applications as implants, minimally invasive surgical instruments, and stent markers. Microfluidic and electronic applications can also benefit from the company’s targeted capabilities.
Working with microscale parts requires a different mindset from the manufacture of standard components in terms of materials and metrologies, according to Donna Bibber, microPep technical partner. “MicroPep was put together so that it could service a very different industry [segment] than conventional-size parts,” she says. “This makes sense for the medical industry.”
Copyright ©2008 Medical Product Manufacturing News
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