Simtec Silicone marks 15-year anniversary with double-digit growth

Simtec Silicone Parts (Miramar, FL) is marking its 15-year anniversary this month, and it has a lot to celebrate. Since relocating to Florida from Wisconsin in 2013, the company has achieved double-digit sales growth and invested more than $8 million in new technologies. “We have added several high-precision LSR two-shot molding machines, expanded post-curing capabilities, and enhanced value-added quality assurance services,” said Enrique Camacho, President. The company has branded itself as a provider of “Extraordinary Solutions” for the molding of liquid silicone rubber (LSR) and LSR two-shot parts and components to customers in the automotive, medical device, electronics, infant and personal care, and home entertainment sectors.

LSR two-shot molding technology integrates materials and functions, notes Simtec, resulting in cost savings for customers. The company claims to be one of the few in the United States that provides true LSR two-shot injection molding; the parts are ready to go with no secondary operations required.

“LSR two-shot molding benefits both designers and end users by enabling the integration of functions and the combination of a rigid thermoplastic material with a soft material—a thermoplastic housing with LSR seals, for example—into one component while eliminating assembly in typical approaches,” Camacho explained to PlasticsToday. This results in cost savings, he added, by “eliminating quality issues associated with multiple tooling infrastructure, assembly lines and validation of multiple tools.” Moreover, cycle time is optimized and the customer benefits from a single supplier interface.

The company manufactures and ships molded parts to Fortune 100 customers in the United States, Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and Hungary, as well as China, Malaysia and Indonesia from its plant in South Florida. It moved there in 2013 from Madison, WI, to consolidate operations and improve logistics for customers. “Because of our continuous expansion, we occupied several buildings [in Madison],” explained Camacho.  “We deemed it necessary to consolidate operations under one roof, so we built a state-of-the-art facility in South Florida, a great hub close to the Miami and Fort Lauderdale ports and international airports, as part of Simtec’s commitment to a great level of service. This allows us to bring our customers more competitive costs by enhancing our services and taking logistics and location into consideration,” said Camacho.

“For many of our customers, we are a single-source partner,” said Camacho, adding that more than “90% of the parts and components we make today did not exist previously in the world.”

The medical device side of the business “is a growing part of our portfolio of Extraordinary Solutions,” said Camacho. “The creativity and ingenuity of our partners challenges us continuously to envision unique ways of manufacturing high-precision, high-volume parts and components, and bring innovative never-before-seen solutions to our customers.”

Certified to ISO 13485, Simtec typically molds components for drug-delivery systems, skin-contact devices, flow control valves, diaphragms, infusion pumps, vibration dampers and surgical tool handles, in which LSR is bonded to metal or plastics.