Life sciences molding specialist PolyLinks Inc. has changed its name to Enplas Life Tech Inc.
The change was made to reflect its access to a bigger technology tool kit provided by parent company Enplas Corp. of Kawaguchi, Japan.
Enplas bought PolyLinks in June 2017. The subsidiary is now the only U.S. Enplas operation that offers one-stop shopping for injection molding in medical, biotechnology and other life science markets, according to Enplas Life Tech spokeswoman Eriko Ota. The Asheville, N.C., operation offers services spanning design, tooling, and clean-room injection molding, assembly and quality inspection, both for prototype development as well as high-volume production.
Enplas Life Tech is stronger in several new technologies provided by affiliates in the Enplas family, the company said. Technologies include ultra-high precision microfluidics such as "lab on a chip," methods to include valves and pumps on small components, manufacturing and assembly techniques that are free from bacterial contamination, and nano-scale clean-room molding, assembly and inspection.
Ota declined comment on what new equipment will be added in Asheville. In an email correspondence she also would not indicate whether it will add to its 50 employees there.
Matt Slothower took on the role of president for Enplas Life Tech after the PolyLinks acquisition. Much of the management team remains in place, although new managers also have been brought in to bolter sales and marketing functions, according to Ota.
Enplas bills itself as one of the largest independent producers of precision engineered plastic components. Enplas America Inc. is its holding company for all U.S. subsidiaries, including Enplas Microtech Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based manufacturer of microfluidics, and an injection molding operation in Marietta, Ga., that makes precision gears for automotive, office automation and other markets. Other markets for Enplas's 26 global subsidiaries in 15 countries include semiconductor peripheral components and optical parts such as LED components.
The firm boasts about its ability to offer ultra precise techniques for mold making, molding and inspection. For one molding program It claims to have reached nano-level accuracy on a part with micro molded optical lenses. The Japanese company's name is a contraction of engineering plastics.
The Asheville business has provided a range of life science consumables for sample preparation and analysis for more than 20 years. The operation has experience molding polypropylene, cyclic olefins, polycarbonate, thermoplastic elastomers and other engineering polymers.
Through its owner and affiliates, Enplas Life Tech can leverage a global supply chain and ensure continuity of supply, the firm stated in a news release.
"The new name and brand will allow the [Asheville operation] to expand its already strong international presence by attracting additional new customers specifically interested in life science technologies," Enplas said in a news release.
Enplas is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. For the six months ended Sept. 30, 2017, it recorded sales of 17 billion yen ($153 million) and operating profit of about $23.8 million.