GUELPH, ONTARIO (Sept. 19, 9:45 a.m. ET) — Poly-Nova Technologies LP has added machinery and established a development lab at its Guelph head office and manufacturing facility.
The company installed an undisclosed number of high-efficiency Engel injection molding machines, both horizontal and vertical, at the site, according to Geoff Valeriote, Poly-Nova sales and marketing manager. The machinery ranges from 100 to 300 tons of clamping force, and will be used for molding both homogenous rubber components and insert over-molded parts.
The just-concluded construction and installation took five months, he said. Poly-Nova didn’t release the cost of the project, nor any effect it might have on employment.
Valeriote said the addition will help meet demands in silicone, fluorosilicone, fluorocarbon and high-consistency silicone.
The Engel machine controller provides improved process control, resulting in higher quality and lower cost per part.
Poly-Nova said the machines have been equipped with a dual material feed system that eliminates downtime for material changes.
The company’s expansion of its prototype and development lab, including lab scale molding machinery, also serves as a research and development space, allowing engineers to perform material formulation.
He said the entire laboratory has been redone and new presses are scheduled to be installed at the site this month.
The company’s previous lab space wasn’t of the scale of the new one.
“It wasn’t basic, but there has been a lot of focus put in and a lot of investment capital resources put in,” Valeriote said.
Valeriote said to further its efficiency efforts, Poly-Nova has switched to energy-efficient lighting and added a bus system for all electrical and process services.
“Everything is brand new,” he said. “Anywhere we could go with a more eco-friendly, more sustainable approach, we did.”
Poly-Nova, which has been operating for 17 years, also is updating its quality management system to ISO/TS 16949 from ISO 9001:2008, which should be completed in the fourth quarter.
