Silicone elastomers maker Shincor Silicones Inc. has opened a 30,000-square-foot technical center in Akron, across the street from Shincor's production facility.
The firm invested $500,000 in equipment and tooling for the site, which opened in October.
Testing equipment at the center currently is using a four-cavity tool for baby bottle nipples and a single-cavity tool for overmolding silicone onto thermoplastic inserts. The equipment and other machinery will be used to develop and test products for liquid injection molding systems.
Shincor's silicone elastomers compete with thermoplastic elastomers and synthetic rubber. The firm's biggest markets are medical and automotive, said marketing manager Eric Bishop, who declined to provide annual sales or production numbers for his firm.
Shincor, which employs 100, is a subsidiary of Akron-based Shin-Etsu Silicones of America Inc. Both firms are owned by Shin-Etsu Corp. of Tokyo, the world's largest PVC maker.