New injection molder Extreme Molding LLC is hoping to cash in on its co-owners' more than 50 years of experience.
Managing partner Joanne Moon worked at C.R. Bard Inc. in Murray Hill, N.J., and at Uro-Med, a health-care company in Massachusetts that went public in 1994 and later sold its technology. Her partner, Lynn Momrow, worked at Mobil Chemical Co. and later at GE Silicones.
The duo put together the new company in April and started operations in September in a leased, 3,700-square-foot space in Watervliet, N.Y. They have an option on another 9,000 square feet of space.
``Our goal is not to be superlarge, but I think we will be all smiles if we become a business of $10 million in sales,'' Moon said in a telephone interview.
Extreme Molding has six employees and plans to expand to 45 within five years. The company has six molding machines, with clamping forces of 45-85 tons.
Moon said the company will concentrate on biotech, pharmaceutical and medical-device applications, but also will include some consumer products. She and her partner will help customers with material selection, prototyping and molding.
Extreme Molding concentrates on high-performance materials such as fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, silicone and thermoplastic elastomers.
The company is located on an active U.S. Army base - a bonus, according to Moon, because it has access to a state-of-the-art lab. The current economic slowdown is not a deterrent, she added.
``I think it is a great time to start a business. We're able to get terrific deals on equipment and certainly there's a great labor force out there willing to work,'' Moon said.
Moon said the fact that the owners are female and are operating in a state enterprise zone helped them gain access to more funding, state loan programs and the Small Business Administration, but their experience is what matters most to customers.
``We've built a network of people who trust us,'' Moon said.