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AirBoss unveiling high heat-resistant EPDM

NEWMARKET, Ontario—Three years ago, chemists and some officials within AirBoss of America Corp.’s Rubber Solutions division set out on a quest to develop a new, cost effective formulation to replace more expensive materials that reduce heat in automotive muffler hanger applications.

Their search ended with the recent development of HeatBoss EPDM, a next-generation, high heat-resistant compound that’s prepared by novel formulation design using EPDM monomer with a selected third diene monomer and peroxide cure system, according to George Papazotos, vice president of sales and product development for Rubber Solutions, and Steven Yu, vice president of compound technology for the division.

“We were looking for a formulation that rivals silicone, but is more cost effective,” said Papazotos, who helped kick off the project to develop the new rubber compound. He also will present a paper on the new formulation at the Rubber in Automotive Conference, organized by Rubber & Plastics News, to be held virtually June 1-3.

The paper was prepared by Yu, Ali Vahidifar, a research and development chemist, and Eknaz Esmizadeh, a research and development engineer and rubber chemist.

Papazotos noted in an interview that the compound is an excellent alternative for use in muffler hanger applications, adding that the product will be ready for the market by the time he makes his presentation in June.

Vahidifar, Esmizadeh and Yu said in their paper that the HeatBoss formulation demonstrates superior heat resistance to that of normal EPDM compounds, cured by either sulfur or peroxide.

“Our HeatBoss EPDM, after being aged at 350°F for 672 hours, shows only 53 percent loss in elongation at break, 18 percent in tensile strength, along with seven points increase in hardness,” they stated.

“This means that this performance is comparable to that of a typical silicone rubber used in automotive muffler hanger applications, which shows a loss of 54 percent in elongation, 20 percent in tensile and seven points increase in hardness.”

However, they said the HeatBoss formulation had better initial dynamic and mechanical properties than silicone.

Their study shows that HeatBoss EPDM can match the performance of silicone after aging. “FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and microscopes were used to investigate the physical and chemical change, if any, of the aged HeatBoss EPDM surface,” according to Yu.

Results showed there was no noticeable crack or craze formation, and a minor change in the chemical structure of the surface was spotted after aging, he said, which demonstrated that HeatBoss EPDM has excellent resistance to ozone and oxygen attack at elevated temperatures.

“Such excellent heat-aging performance has qualified our HeatBoss EPDM for type E applications per J200 or ASTM D2000,” the authors noted. In addition, they said HeatBoss can be formulated to possess similar processability as silicone, but at a 50 to 60 percent lower cost, which makes it an ideal alternative as a replacement for silicone in muffler hanger and potentially other applications that require Grade E elastomers.

AirBoss Rubber Solutions developed the compound, according to Yu, because modern cars keep getting smaller, the space for engine compartments is shrinking for both functional and aesthetic reasons, and reducing the space results in hotter engine components. “That restricts the rubber materials that can be used and there’s a fast growing demand within the rubber industry for durable elastomer compounds to deal with the heat.”

Among elastomers, both silicone and fluoroelastomers proved to be effective resisting heat, Yu said. However, he added, their main drawbacks are the high price of the materials and the high cost of processing them.

“That makes compounding, molding and the final preparation very expensive,” he said.

In their paper, the authors said EPDM, as the lowest density elastomer, is one of fastest growing synthetic rubber elastomers available. It can be found in a wide range of applications within the automobile sector, principally because of its exceptional qualities, including decent thermal stability that can be attributed to its saturated main chain structure.

In terms of sales volume, they said EPDM is the top elastomer of choice among non-tire elastomers.

“Although the mostly saturated backbone provides good resistance to oxidation, ozonation and weathering, the capability of operating for an extended service life without losing functionality at high temperatures is still the most critical unmet need for EPDM systems,” they said.

The authors noted that the progressive change of elastomeric material (such as deterioration under heat aging) can be due to the occurrence of three typical types of reactions: heat-induced crosslinks, chain scission and chemical structure alteration.

When EPDM is vulcanized, two types of chemical bonds are formed: S-S and S-C, Yu said. “However, if the rubber is vulcanized by peroxide, the main chemical bond is C-C, which has a higher bond energy than S-S and S-C,” he said. “This means the C-C bond is stronger than the S-S and S-C bonds and can tolerate higher heat.

“Our high-heat EPDM is vulcanized by peroxide. Therefore it has better heat resistance than normal EPDM rubber cured by sulfur.”

It is well documented that peroxide curing leads to improved performance, service life and high temperature resistance of EPDM as compared to sulfur curing, according to the paper.

The bottom line, Papazotos said, is customers save money with HeatBoss EPDM, a very effective compound, for their muffler hanger applications, and possibly for other uses on vehicles.

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Reed Rubber Products receives top score in RPN’s inaugural survey

ST. LOUIS—Communication is vital to a winning culture, and Reed Rubber Products Inc. has thrived for 96 years thanks largely to its ability to embrace new ideas, many of which come from its employees.

Its workers must agree, because they gave the St. Louis-based rubber product manufacturer the top score in Rubber & Plastics News’ inaugural Best Places to Work survey, conducted by Best Companies Group.

Reed is one of eight rubber industry companies that scored high enough to be labeled a rubber industry Best Place to Work.

“I spent my entire life in large corporate work settings and now I’ve come to work in a business of around 36 employees,” said Bob Barciszewski, the firm’s operations manager, who joined Reed in January. “I know everybody, everybody knows me. They really do see where each person’s individual input impacts the direction of the company. They’re very cognizant of the fact that they’re here to do a job, and it’s clearly seen if they’re doing it well or they’re not. They’re striving to do it very well, very few people need encouragement to do their job.”

The custom rubber shop makes a variety of extruded rubber products—Barciszewski said no two weeks are the same—using primarily thermoplastic vulcanizates to serve the HVAC, transportation/automotive aftermarket and window glazing industries, among others. The firm operates five extrusion lines on two 10-hour shifts with 36 employees at its 48,000-sq.-ft. facility in St. Louis.

Reed Rubber President Clark Reed, the third-generation owner of the firm, said another key to the firm’s strong culture is making sure the work force understands where the parts they are making ultimately wind up by showing the impact their work has on their customer’s success.

“Sure, money is important, but it’s true that they want to be doing something that they get,” he said. “Operating a machine in isolation is not something anyone just gets. We employ a few techniques to help them realize that they’re not just making a rubber gasket, they’re helping to build a car or a picnic cooler. What I always like to try to emphasize is that our mission is to help our customers succeed because I think that’s a lot more compelling than you guys are working to make us succeed.”

Teams work

Reed said the main ways the company shares information is through its monthly meetings, weekly and daily huddles, and its four focused teams. The goal behind its teams was to get everyone involved in different macro aspects of the business focused on safety, housekeeping, continuous improvement and scrap reduction. The teams meet monthly while team leaders continue to make sure decisions made are executed in between.

Once each team completes the three stages of developing new ideas—brainstorming, normalizing and performing—the company shuffles the deck. Barciszewski said this happened for the first time a few months ago, keeping the leaders the same while re-aligning the other members to get fresh ideas on each topic.

“It really gets each of the employees involved in something,” Barciszewski said.

The scrap team is the oldest of the four, but Reed said it previously only consisted of the company’s process engineers and other professional staff, not the line operators themselves. The team met more regularly—usually twice a month—reviewing scrap reports and, according to Reed, during the course of six months managed to reduce the firm’s scrap by 50 percent.

However, while the result was successful, Reed said they quickly discovered that the process was broken. The team would develop a solution and then disseminate the information through new work instructions, which ultimately left the people doing the work—the operators—out of the process.

“The operators who were needed to make these things happen would basically be told what to do without really having been directly consulted,” Reed said. “We recognized that it was important that, in order to get buy in, they needed to be part of finding the solution. Often they had more direct knowledge about these processes than we did.”

The new structure, and the addition of the three other teams, has led to some strong results during the first cycle, according to Barciszewski.

“As in any other type thing where you have lots of people involved, we’re probably at about 90 percent buy in,” Barciszewski said. “The vast majority realize they can really make a difference here and become that much more involved.”

Career support

Like many companies in the rubber industry, Reed Rubber is looking to attract and develop young talent. The team had an opening for a tooling engineer when they promoted their previous one to production manager. Instead of looking outside the company, they decided to try to develop from within.

Kyle Haase, one of the firm’s youngest employees, was given a shot at the tooling engineer’s job. Reed said he had a background in graphic art that might translate well to the new position. After a few months, the company and Haase realized it wasn’t a good fit. Barciszewski said when they reached that point, there was an explanation of what skills he didn’t have and where he needed to improve.

He added that Haase asked if he could still do some of the things he learned in his new role even though he was going back to the line, and the management team encouraged him to do so. Barciszewski said Haase enjoyed working with hand tools and running the mill, to name a few. The company paid for him to travel to Chicago for a three-day 3D AutoCAD course.

“Even though he’s not a tooling process engineer, he’s a higher skilled operator now and one of the few who have the ability and training and skills to do some machine shop work,” Barciszewski said.

Reed said while Haase didn’t work out as a tooling engineer, his pay went up as a result of the additional skills he learned and is now a more versatile employee. The door is open for Haase to fill in some of the skills he needs, namely the advanced math required of a tooling engineer. Barciszewski said if Haase decides he wants to fill in those gaps, the firm would invest in him.

“We want to keep trying because nobody wants a dead-end job,” Reed said.

Absorb information

Barciszewski said there is one constant when he, or other managers, are out on the floor engaging with employees.

“Listen before you speak, that goes further than anything,” Barciszewski said.

“When we’re out on the floor, we’re not giving directions—though we do have to at times—but we go out and ask the questions.”

One time, Barciszewski said he went up to an area and noticed it was cluttered, asking what could be done to fix it. An employee jumped at the task and designed a workstation that would be easier to keep organized. Barciszewski said the company developed it for him and it was so successful that it modeled it throughout the other extrusion lines.

Operators are encouraged to write down comments and monitor scrap, then communicate those to the right department using a color-coded system.

“It’s an attempt to collaborate and make sure everybody participates,” Reed said. “You know you have a task you have to get done and we’re not going to proceed until we get your input.”

The firm also places a major emphasis on safety, starting each meeting with a safety-related topic and encouraging employees to stop and inspect their workstations before they begin their shift.

“You’re only going to see it if you look for it,” Barciszewski said. “We want to make sure that before they go to get their materials that they look around their work area for anything that could be a hazard. It’s a repetitious thing every day. We’re driving in that mentality that you need to be looking for these things. I want our employees going home in just as good or better shape than when they came here.”

Reed also goes the extra mile to limit obstacles for employees. He said the last two years health insurance costs have increased by about 7 percent each year, but the company did not pass it on to the work force.

He also had an epiphany back in the early part of the decade when gas prices reached high levels. An employee, who lived in Illinois, came to collect his paycheck and casually mentioned that it cost him $30 to fill up his gas tank. Reed then developed a fuel assistance program where the company would calculate the commute for each employee in miles, then normalized gas prices on a weekly basis and credited employees back to help with their commutes.

“I’d love for the company to make money, but I really want for any person who spends time working here to be better off at the end of their time than when they first started. It’s tough enough for people to pay the bills,” Reed said.

“If you give someone a pleasant work environment, they will enjoy coming to work more.”

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Toyoda Gosei to Restructure Its European Operations Shares in German Production Subsidiary to be Transferred to Business Fund

Kiyosu, Japan, November 22, 2019: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. will transfer its entire ownership stake in Toyoda Gosei Meteor (TGM), its production subsidiary in Germany, to SCUR-Alpha 1123 GmbH (in the following, “AEQPH,” as the company plans to change its name to AEQPH GmbH), an affiliate of a German business fund.

Toyoda Gosei has been reforming its earnings structure in each global region as an integral part of its efforts to achieve sustainable growth. However, its European business has continued to struggle. After considering remediation measures, it has decided to sell all of its shares in TGM. At the completion of this transaction, TGM and its subsidiary Meteor Sealing Systems will no longer be consolidated subsidiaries of Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. The procedures for this transfer of ownership shares and management rights will be completed by the end of December 2019.

The estimated loss to be incurred from the transfer is JPY21 billion, which Toyoda Gosei will report as a loss on liquidation of business in its financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020. Please see the “Notice Concerning the Revision of Financial Forecasts” released by the company today for a forecast of consolidated earnings for the current fiscal year.

“Strategy for growing markets and fields” is one of the key pillars in Toyoda Gosei’s 2025 Business Plan, the company’s medium and long-term business plan, and management resources are prioritized for allocation to growing markets and product fields. The company will continue to respond swiftly and flexibly to the accelerating changes in the business environment with the aim of achieving sustainable growth into the future.

Outline of companies to be transferred

1. Company name Toyoda Gosei Meteor GmbH Meteor Sealing Systems, LLC
2. Location Bockenem, Germany Dover, Ohio, USA
3. Founded April 2014 April 2014 (Acquisition of resources)
4. Capital EUR25,000 USD8 million
5. Shareholders Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. 100% Toyoda Gosei Meteor GmbH 100%
6. Representative President Katsumi Saito President Katsumi Saito
7. No. of employees 1,359 (as of March 31, 2019) 315 (as of March 31, 2019)
8. Products Weatherstrips Weatherstrips
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Toyoda Gosei Invests in Automotive Parts Manufacturer in Central China

KIYOSU, Japan–Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., through its regional headquarters in China1 (Toyoda Gosei China), is purchasing a majority stake in Hubei Rock Rubber and Seal Technology Co., Ltd. (“Hubei Rock”) to strengthen its automotive parts business in China, the world’s largest automobile market2.

Hubei Rock, located in central China, is an independent supplier that provides weatherstrips mainly to Dongfeng Motor Corporation, one of China’s “Big Three” automakers, and its joint venture companies with Japanese and other foreign manufacturers, including Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. and Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile Co., Ltd.

Toyoda Gosei China plans to purchase 60% shares from Hubei Rock’s parent company, Hubei Zhengao Automotive Accessories Co., Ltd., for approximately 800 million yen3 in December 2018.

Toyoda Gosei’s decision to invest in Hubei Rock was made with the aim of rapidly expanding its business in the region by merging the Toyoda Gosei Group’s technology and knowledge in product design and production, cultivated as a global supplier of rubber and plastic parts, with Hubei Rock’s track record and sales channels built up over many years of business with automakers in central China.

With this partnership, Toyoda Gosei’s production network in China will expand to 4 locations: TG Star Light in northern China, Foshan TGR and Fu-Yue in southern China, and now Hubei Rock in Central China. Toyoda Gosei considers China to be a crucial market, and will continue to strengthen its development and production networks there.

  1   Toyoda Gosei (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. The name of this company will be changed to Toyoda Gosei (China) Investment Co., Ltd. as changes from a management company to an investment company in December 2018.
  2   Toyoda Gosei China will invest in Hubei Rock following approval by the Chinese authorities.
  3   Calculated at 1 Chinese yuan = 16 Japanese yen
 

Outline of Hubei Rock
Name   Current:
Hubei Rock Rubber Seal Technology Co., Ltd.
 

After merger:
Hubei Toyoda Gosei Zhengao Rubber and Seal Technology Co., Ltd.
Location   No. 9 Dongfeng Ave., Maojian, Shiyan, Hubei, China
Established   April 1995
Capital   4,600 million yuan
Shareholders  

Current:
Hubei ZhengAo Automotive Accessories Co., Ltd.

  

100%
 

After merger:
Toyoda Gosei (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
Hubei Zhengao Automotive Accessories Co., Ltd.

  

60%
40%
Products  

Weatherstrips:
Opening weatherstrips, door weatherstrips, glass runs, etc.
Area  

Land 78,000 m2
Buildings 43,200 m2
Employees   281 people (as of March 31, 2018)
Sales   81.9 million yuan (FY2017)
 

About Toyoda Gosei
Established in 1949 and headquartered in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Toyoda Gosei is a leading specialty manufacturer of rubber and plastic automotive parts. Today, the Toyoda Gosei Group provides a variety of high-quality products internationally, with a network of approximately 100 plants and offices in 18 countries and regions. Through its flexible, integrated global supply system and leading-edge technologies, Toyoda Gosei aims to grow as a global company that acts flexibly and swiftly in today’s dramatically changing business environment, delivering the highest levels of satisfaction to customers worldwide through safety, comfort, well-being and the environment.

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Eriks appoints new president and CEO

PITTSBURGH—Eriks North America has named Shawn Courtney as its new president and CEO, effective Nov. 1.

He currently serves as regional product director of Eriks North America and is also president of the firm’s Seals and Plastics unit. He’s worked for the company since 1992 and has held various roles of increasing responsibility, including sales manager, general manager and president of companies within Eriks Seals and Plastics in North America.

“I’m honored to continue my career at Eriks North America, and I look forward to leveraging my 30-plus years in the industrial service industry to lead the company forward,” Courtney said in a statement. “It’s an exciting time at Eriks North America, as we continue to strategically position ourselves as a multi-product specialist company serving a wide breadth of industries through innovative product technologies and our extensive service capabilities.”

Eriks is an international industrial distributor that operates in many rubber industry sectors, including seals and gaskets, hose, and belting, among others. The firm operates more than 140 locations throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

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Introduction to IATF 16949

Introduction to IATF 16949

IATF 16949:2016 (replaces ISO/TS 16949:2009) is a standard that establishes the requirements for a Quality Management System (QMS), specifically for the automotive sector. The ISO/TS 16949 was originally created in 1999 to harmonize different assessment and certification schemes worldwide in the supply chain for the automotive sector.

The primary focus of the IATF 16949 standard is the development of a Quality Management System that provides for continual improvement, emphasizing defect prevention and the reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain. The standard, combined with applicable Customer-Specific Requirements (CSR’s), define the QMS requirements for automotive production, service and/or accessory parts.

IATF 16949:2016 is an independent QMS standard that is fully aligned with the structure and requirements of ISO 9001:2015. Therefore, the IATF 16949 cannot be implemented alone as a stand-alone document, but must be implemented as a supplement and in conjunction with ISO 9001:2015.

After October 01, 2017, audits cannot be conducted to ISO/TS 16949 and organizations must transition to the new IATF 16949 in line with their current audit cycle, according to the allowable timing requirements. Failure to conduct the audit within the allowable timing requirements requires the organization to start over with an initial certification audit. The transition audit shall be the duration of a recertification audit plus additional time for a documentation review. All supporting functions on site or at a remote location shall be included in the transition process.

A Quality Management System based on IATF 16949:

  • Is a method of defining how an organization can meet the requirements of its customers and other stakeholders
  • Promotes the idea of continual improvement
  • Requires organizations to define objectives and continually improve their processes in order to reach them
  • Emphasizes defect prevention
  • Includes specific requirements and core tools from the automotive industry
    • Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP)
    • Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
    • Statistical Process Control (SPC)
    • Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA)
    • Production Part Approval Process (PPAP)
  • Promotes reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain
  • Requires documented and implemented corporate responsibility polices
 

What is IATF 16949

The IATF 16949 standard provides guidance and tools for companies and organizations who want to ensure that their products consistently meet customer requirements and that quality and customer satisfaction are consistently improved. Requirements for certification to IATF 16949 are defined in the 2016 Revision 5 of the rules for achieving and maintaining IATF recognition.

The IATF 16949 standard is a supplemental standard and is used in conjunction with the ISO standards:

  • IATF 16949 – establishes the Automotive supplemental requirements of a quality management system
  • ISO 9001 – defines the base requirements of a quality management system
  • ISO 9000 – covers the basic concepts and language
  • ISO 9004 – focuses on how to make a quality management system more efficient and effective
  • ISO 19011 – provides guidance on internal (1st party) and external (2nd party) audits of quality management systems
  • ISO 31000 – outlines risk management principles and guidelines

IATF 16949 defines the criteria for an automotive-based QMS with the goal to become 3rd party registered. It can be used by any supplier, large or small, and should be applied throughout the automotive supply chain. In fact, there over 65,000 suppliers worldwide which are currently certified to ISO/TS 16949. All requirements of IATF 16949 are applicable unless suppliers do not provide product design related functions. Requirements are generic and are intended to be applicable to any supplier providing design and development, production and, when relevant, assembly, installation and services of automotive related products, including products with embedded software. The IATF 16949 standard is applicable to sites of the organization where manufacturing of customer-specified production parts, service parts, and/or accessory parts occur.

The standard is based on seven Quality Management Principles, including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement.

These Quality Management Principles are defined as follows:

  1. Customer focus
  2. Leadership
  3. Engagement of people
  4. Process approach
  5. Improvement
  6. Evidence-based decision making
  7. Relationship management

Why Implement IATF 16949

Implementing IATF 16949 ensures that customers receive consistent, good quality products and services, which in turn may bring many business benefits. IATF 16949 specifies requirements for a Quality Management System when an organization wants to:

  • Demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products that meet customer and applicable statutory, regulatory and product safety requirements
  • Enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system
  • Implement processes for improvement of the system
  • Define overall context, who is affected and what they expect
  • Clearly state objectives and identify new business opportunities
  • Put customers first, making sure their needs are consistently met and enhance their satisfaction
  • Have repeat customers, increase customer loyalty, add new clients and increase business
  • Expand into new markets, as some sectors and clients require IATF 16949 before doing business
  • Identify and address the risks associated with your organization
  • Work in a more efficient way to increase productivity and efficiency, bringing internal costs down
  • Become more socially responsible through the documentation and implementation of corporate responsibility polices
 

When to Implement IATF 16949

Compliance to the IATF 16949 standard can be done at any time but is typically used when:

  • Customers specify this requirement as part of the contract
  • Organizations want to improve their products and customer satisfaction
 

How to Implement IATF 16949

Organizations’ deciding to develop and implement any new or improved QMS is a strategic decision. All efforts should be focused on the identification and minimization of risk while meeting and exceeding customer and organizational goal and objective requirements.

Organizations should make a commitment to:

  • Recognize direct and indirect customers as those who receive value from the organization
  • Understand customers current and future needs and expectations
  • Link the organization’s objectives to customer needs and expectations
  • Communicate customer needs and expectations throughout the organization
  • Plan, design, develop, produce, deliver and support products to meet customer needs and expectations
  • Measure and monitor customer satisfaction and take appropriate actions
  • Determine and take actions on interested parties needs and expectations that can affect customer satisfaction
  • Actively manage relationships with customers to achieve sustained success
  • Become more socially responsible
  • Provide necessary resources to ensure product safety requirements are met

IATF 16949 Compliance can be achieved through Seven Phase Approach:

  1. Executive and Management Overview / Planning
  2. Gap Assessment and Planning
  3. Documentation
  4. Implementation and Training
  5. Internal Assessment and Management Review
  6. 3rd Party Registration Assessment
  7. Sustain and Continual Improvement
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Global expansions set firm foundation for Boge Rubber

DAMME, Germany—Boge Rubber & Plastics Group had a busy 2017, expanding in all regions of the world.

The automotive supplier of rubber and plastic parts opened its first production facility in Mexico, its second site in China and a second production hall in Slovakia.

All of the moves are in response to increased business from major automotive original equipment manufacturers, which the company has had more freedom to chase since being sold to China’s Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology (TMT) by ZF Friedrichshafen A.G. in 2014.

“As a global supplier, we have to follow our customers,” Boge CEO Torsten Bremer said. “Our customers invest into new sites in emerging markets for two reasons: to make the cost balance better and to exploit these growth markets. These two reasons are the same for us. It’s not just following what we did before, we’re expanding our footprint as well as we expand our portfolio with a new degree of freedom from when we were spun off from ZF. Our new shareholder gives us a lot of freedom to look for new applications of our competencies. We’re not limited to automotive. Even though we’re doing more than 95 percent automotive today, we can look into other businesses and expand our lightweight composite material portfolio.”

That material portfolio focuses on two main areas: parts for rubber-to-metal bonding applications and plastics. Its rubber-to-metal business accounts for about 83 percent of its sales primarily focused on powertrain and chassis applications, the latter accounting for two-thirds of Boge’s overall sales.

While plastics only accounts for 17 percent, Bremer said that number has grown from 5 percent in the last five years.

“We are ready to change ourselves with the changes around us,” Bremer said. “As a mid-size supplier, we are not the ones to move the market. But we have to be fast followers of changes and we give our contributions to our main customers. We’re in very intensive talks on how we can help them to respond to the actual challenges.”

Follow the leader

In Mexico, Bremer said many of Boge’s Germany-based OEM customers had requested the supplier set up shop in the country. Once the firm secured a commitment from Mercedes, giving Boge an order if it set up shop, the firm pulled the trigger on a new manufacturing plant.

Now that Boge is there, the firm is receiving many more orders. The plant is about evenly split between rubber-to-metal parts and plastic components, but Bremer said in the past couple of months orders for plastic parts have picked up.

Based in San Luis Potosi, the plant spans 54,000 square feet with enough additional land to double in size if needed. Bremer said the operation is currently in the prototyping phase with the machines installed and employs about 15, but Bremer said once production starts in mid-2018 employment is expected to reach between 150 and 200.

He added that the plant also is capable of serving customers beyond Mexico in the NAFTA region.

“Right now all the orders we’ve received are for OEMs and Tier 1s in Mexico,” Bremer said. “We’ve been in NAFTA with our U.S. plant, but with the new installment of our OEM customers in Mexico, those customers need local content. This was the reason to go there, but it is our expectation to also offer out of that plant for the U.S. and other markets in the mid-term.”

Boge also services North America from its site in Hebron, Ky., and South America from its site in Sorocaba, Brazil.

Fast growth

Boge quickly outgrew its four buildings, spanning 301,000 total square feet, in Qingpu, China, which opened in 2008. It recently acquired a second building—based in Zhuzhou—of about 161,500 square feet from its parent company, which had used the site for its truck and bus business. The firm employs about 850 at Qingpu and 200 at Zhuzhou.

Bremer said the firm already is building a third plant, in Wuxi, that will also span about 161,500 square feet. Once completed it will be Boge’s 12th global location, also operating a site in Dingley, Australia, for the Asia-Pacific region.

Once the Wuxi plant is complete, Bremer said the firm will diversify the locations with Qingpu focusing on plastic parts and complex rubber/metal products like bushings and switchable engine mounts.

Zhuzhou will focus mainly on the firm’s truck and bus business for rubber/metal parts. Wuxi will handle mass-produced rubber/metal parts because it will operate a compounding facility, which also will supply rubber to the other Chinese sites.

Bremer said the firm has grown at a 20 percent rate in recent years, but added that the overall market is slowing down and Boge is in a transition phase as some of its first-generation products are reaching the end of their lifecycles.

Pushing limits

Boge has operated in Trnava, Slovakia, since 2000, one of five European facilities. Three others are located in Germany—Bonn, Simmern and Damme, its headquarters—and the other in Fontenay, France. The initial site, spanning 215,000 square feet, focused on standardized products, but the firm has since added plastics and hydraulic bushings among others to its portfolio.

The new production hall—a second building on the same site—spans 54,000 square feet with enough land for another expansion, something Bremer said the firm already is considering. The project created about 60 jobs and is projected to reach 120-150 total when at full capacity. Right now, Trnava employs 850 total.

“We have pushed more project launches into Slovakia and reached our capacity limits two years ago,” Bremer said. “With the strong expansion of our lightweight portfolio, we decided to build a second plant focused only on plastics. It will also reach its limit two years from now. We have many booked orders that we’re already thinking about the next expansion.

“Then we’d be reaching the limits. Not only space-wise, but in the western part of Slovakia it’s getting tougher and tougher to find experienced and well-educated employees. Unemployment rates are extremely low and a lot of automotive producers and their suppliers are still installing capacity.”

The new building only will produce plastics products, allowing the original building to focus on its rubber/metal products, which generates about $130 million in sales from that building.

“We want to diversify the plants and concentrate individual units on special portfolio parts depending on complexity and costs,” Bremer said.

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Iran, France Sign MoU to Produce Car Rubber Parts in Iran

Iran and France signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday to produce automotive rubber parts in Iran in an agreement that is set to turn domestic producers into parts suppliers for French carmakers.

The agreement was signed by Mehdi Nekoumanesh, head of Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute (IPPI), and the president of Union des Syndicats des PME du Caoutchouc et de la Plasturgie (UCAPLAST), Denis Vaillant, Shana News reported.

UCAPLAST is an independent employers’ organization which represents all small and medium-size French enterprises in the rubber and plastics industry.

The MoU calls for sharing expertise of UCAPLAST member companies with  Iranian manufacturers.

Affiliated to the Ministry of Science, IPPI oversees activities of 20 knowledge-based companies which produce rubber parts for automobiles.

The businesses are expected to sign an auto parts and supplies contract with the French automaker Citroen. The French company already has a joint production deal with Iran’s second-largest automaker SAIPA.

According to the deal, Citroen is required to export 30% of vehicles or auto parts manufactured under the JV through its international sales network.

The IPPI-UCAPLAST arrangement will enable local auto parts suppliers to make  products that meet Citroen standards.

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of 11th International Exhibition of Plastics, Rubber, Machinery, and Equipment (Iran Plast 2017) held Sept. 24-27 in Tehran.

 Easy Exports

For selling vehicles and components in the EU and countries under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regulation 10, companies must have the E-mark certificates for their products.

However, according to the Head of the Bureau Veritas automotive department in Iran, Mehdi Parvini plastic automotive parts used in vehicles’ interior are exempted and do not need the certificates.

Obtaining E-mark certificates is an arduous and time-consuming exercise and seen as a hurdle to automotive exports from Iran. Therefore, it would be easier for Citroen and other French auto companies operating in Iran — namely Renault and Peugeot — to export plastic automotive parts produced in Iran through their international networks instead of exporting vehicles or engine parts.

Outdated technology used by Iran’s supply chain are seen as a hurdle in the way of expanding the local automotive industries and implementing local carmakers joint venture contracts with foreign firms.

Law stipulates that in all new agreements signed with foreign companies at least 40% of the vehicle parts should be manufactured in Iran. However, foreign carmakers are reluctant to comply for more reasons than one.

The IPPI-UCAPLAST deal should contribute to the implementation of the new JVs with foreign firms because plastic parts have an obvious share in the production of vehicles.

Source: https://financialtribune.com/articles/auto/73210/iran-france-sign-mou-to-produce-car-rubber-parts-in-iran

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Cooper Standard opens new facility in Canada

SHERBROOKE, Quebec—Cooper Standard Automotive Inc. celebrated the grand opening of a new, 138,000-sq.-ft. site in Sherbrooke dedicated toward its Industrial Specialty Group.

The $10 million project consolidated three existing ISG facilities, bringing 250 employees under one roof. The site will produce extruded EPDM rubber sealing products for the non-automotive industrial, commercial and specialty vehicle markets. The site also will house a new enterprise resource planning system and provide employee skill enhancement programs.

North America President Bill Pumphrey said during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 21 that the $3.47 billion automotive supplier sees significant opportunities in the non-automotive sectors.

Sherbrooke Innopole worked closely with Cooper Standard during the completion of the project, which took two years.

ISH is a dedicated group within Cooper Standard that serves the power sports, marine, agriculture, construction, commercial vehicle and recreation vehicle markets.

Based in Novi, Mich., Cooper Standard is a leading automotive supplier with four core product focuses—rubber and plastic sealing, fuel and brake lines, fluid transfer hoses, and anti-vibration systems with 30,000 employees in 20 countries.

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Hutchinson launches seventh components plant in Poland

PARIS—French-owned automotive parts maker Hutchinson is set to launch full production at its seventh plant in Poland by the end of this year.

The group’s latest facility, constructed at Zawada, near Debica in south western Poland, will produce Hutchinson’s car body seal systems for customers including the PSA Group and Volvo Cars.

This 226,000-sq.-ft. production and warehouse unit, constructed in just six months, is at the heart of the firm’s newest expansion project worth about $44 million.

Inauguration of the facility on July 19 was symbolic as it was not immediately operating, though component-assembly was expected to begin within days, Piotr Gaska head of Hutchinson’s European body sealing system division said at the ceremony.

Gaska stressed that the unit was intended to ease production pressure on the company’s existing Polish sealing systems and transmission belts plant at Lodz.

The Zawada plant will be equipped with three extrusion lines by the year-end and is set to employ an initial workforce of 240 by then. The employee total eventually will increase to 700, according to the company, part of the Total energy group.

Hutchinson Poland’s original plant was a 151,000-sq.-ft. unit making fluid transmission fuel lines, established in the south central town of Zywiec in 1997. A second plant to produce water pipes for vehicle cooling liquids and ventilation and heating systems opened there in 2000.

The first Lodz facility was launched with an area of almost 193,750 sqaure feet in 2003, while Hutchinson went on to add a second unit of 215,000 square feet there in 2007 making precision and aerial seals and antivibration systems.

A fifth production unit appeared at Bielsko-Bialain 2005 serving the automotive air conditioning and power steering systems segment. Hutchinson built its sixth unit in the country at Zywiec last year to turn out rubber compound used by the other plants.

During the recent launch, Hutchinson group CEO Jacques Maigne pointed out that Poland is the group’s “number one” location in terms of production and employment. “In 2018, we plan to exceed the level of employment to over 10,000 employees in Poland,” he said.

Last year, the group, which has an international workforce of 45,000 in 25 countries around the world, reported annual sales of more than $4.7 billion.