OUTSOURCING NEWS

Located just outside the medical engineering hub of Minneapolis, in Amery, WI, is SMC Ltd.'s new molding and manufacturing facility. The plant is also close to the company's headquarters in Somerset, WI. The new plant is 80,000 sq ft and is connected to a 20,000-sq-ft warehouse. The facility is designed to operate using lean manufacturing techniques, and it features strategically placed automated equipment and a cleanroom.

The facility has enabled SMC to expand its services to include liquid silicone injection molding. Because of its biocompatibility, stability, and autoclavability, silicone is a choice material for molding medical device components. The company believes offering liquid injection molding will simplify its customers' supply chains. Owner and president Chetan Patel explains that the company decided to offer the service after hearing from customers that they want to reduce lead times. He says that liquid injection-molded single cavities can be developed and built in five weeks. “The design options have increased,” he says. “And new product options can be created that have otherwise not been practical or cost-effective.”

SMC provides precision molding and assembly services, as well as complete turnkey product manufacturing. It has a Class 10,000 cleanroom.

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