Integral Technologies Inc. has moved its North American manufacturing of electrically conductive hybrid ElectriPlast pellets about 50 miles in Indiana to Evansville from Jasper.
Integral began relocation of the production line in November, and extruder-compounder Nova Polymers Inc. in Evansville started ElectriPlast operations in January.
The manufacturing arrangement with Nova replaces a 2006 contract with Jasper Rubber Products Inc.
Doug Bathauer, chief executive officer of Integral Technologies, said planning for the relocation to the Nova site began in early 2014, reflected anticipated higher production demand to support Delphi Automotive plc, BASF SE and other ElectriPlast partners and could result in reducing manufacturing costs by about 50 percent.
Roger Chapman, Nova Polymers CEO, is enthusiastic about the new production for ElectriPlast.
“The potential for the product is mind boggling,” he said by telephone. “The volume could be astronomical.”
Doug Mathias, president of Jasper Rubber Products, said that his firm has enjoyed a close working relationship with ElectriPlast but that the relocation was a logical step. Mathias envisions continuing the relationship with Jasper manufacturing engineering and process experiences assisting in ElectriPlast scaling operations.
Nova also owns a 5-acre lot next to its existing facility that could accommodate a ElectriPlast plant, if demand grows.
Nova Polymers started in 1984, employs 48, occupies two plants of 40,000 and 20,000 square feet and is certified under ISO 9001:2008. Nova operates eight extruders and five blenders for production and, in its testing laboratory, has two injection molding machines and another extruder.
Bellingham, Wash.-based Integral and subsidiary ElectriPlast Corp. of Canton, Mich., aim to develop and commercialize non-corrosive electrically conductive resin-based materials for applications including shielding wire, power electronics, connectors and cables. Integral has opened executive and administrative office facilities at the Nova location.
