Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
September 30, 2019 11:05 AM

SMI continues growing with LSR

Mike McNulty
Rubber & Plastics News Correspondent
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Specialty Manufacturing Inc.
    From left: Kristi Wiechmann, Kathy Thompson and Amanda Schiebner represent two (of three) generations of family currently working at Specialty Manufacturing Inc. as the company experiences growth and celebrates its 40th anniversary.

    Saginaw, Mich. — Specialty Manufacturing Inc. has expanded its capabilities and work force again, thanks primarily to its continued growth in the silicone market.

    With the popularity of silicone use in a variety of products surging — particularly in the medical, LED lighting and automotive industries — SMI Vice President Kristi Wiechmann said the company recently added a 450-ton Sodick TR450EH3 liquid silicone rubber injection molding machine and six new production employees.

    SMI's latest additions continue a growth trend for the firm, which has added eight production workers and three silicone injection molding machines during the last year, she said. The newest machinery "expands SMI's capabilities to create parts with shots as low as 100 grams, or about the size of a mini desk calculator, all the way to two pounds, the size of a slim laptop."

    Wiechmann, one of two daughters of the founders who hold high ranking positions within the firm, said "this expansion allows us to increase production capacity, better serve longtime customers who are experiencing growth and offer extended capabilities to existing and new customers."

    She said the machinery was added for general business growth and because many of the parts the firm makes start out as prototypes. When the product cycle continues, SMI needs additional capacity to meet the growth.

    It's the second expansion the company has made in the last three years. In 2016, SMI built an 11,000-square-foot addition to its 14,000-square-foot plant. State-of-the-art assembly and washing areas along with additional molding sections were added.

    Saginaw-based SMI has a reputation for providing outstanding quality and for its ability to create custom silicone components on a micro level, said Wiechmann, who also serves as general manager. The firm even custom engineers machinery to meet customers' exact specifications and production timelines.

    Because of its success, the company has tentative plans in the works for another expansion to its plant or the addition of a second location within the next three years, she said, adding that SMI's capabilities have expanded into larger parts and it is experiencing growth in that sector of the business.

    Specialty Manufacturing Inc.
    SMI specializes in custom silicone components, many of which are completed and inspected under a microscope to ensure exact specications and quality expectations are met.
    Steady growth

    Formed in 1979 by Jim and Kathy Thompson, who had met while working together at Dow Corning Corp., the firm has experienced significant organic growth and regularly expanded during the last several years.

    Its growth has taken the company a long way from SMI's humble beginnings as a very small startup launched in the basement of the Thompson home. The Thompsons created the business after they noticed a large number of inquiries were made to Dow Corning requesting small-run silicone parts that could not be filled by Dow Corning. The couple viewed it as an opportunity.

    Kathy Thompson served as president and Jim Thompson was vice president and ran the firm's engineering department.

    Their daughters — Kristi Wiechmann and Amanda Schiebner — became exposed to the family-owned and -operated company starting at a young age. They grew with the firm, which continued to experience success producing and delivering small parts on a daily basis.

    Jim Thompson died in the late 1990s and Kathy Thompson continued to run the business while Wiechmann, who took over as vice president, and Schiebner, who was still in college, took on larger roles.

    Kathy Thompson's focus always has centered on quality. She has seen her responsibilities change over the years with the implementation of ISO standards, ever-increasing federal regulations and helping with the startup of a product, from a quality aspect, when it arrives at a company.

    She and her daughters are co-owners of the business.

    As vice president and general manager, Wiechmann moved into her jobs at an early age. But she was well prepared for her responsibilities. She started out working on the production floor in injection molding and assembly. During her college years, she took over SMI's payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable.

    Soon after, she moved to sales and customer service and eventually took on more responsibility in plant scheduling and project management, which led to her role as general manager.

    Schiebner is vice president of quality. She began working at SMI in accounts payable and receivable while attending college. After graduating, she handled the firm's payroll and accounting duties.

    When the company's quality system requirements needed a greater focus, Schiebner took over the management of SMI's quality system, handling all regulatory and ISO regulations, while Thompson focuses more on production quality.

    Remaining focused

    Specialty Manufacturing Inc.
    The demand for silicone materials led SMI to grow its workforce and operations, including the addition of new machinery to keep up with customer orders.

    SMI started out as a contract manufacturer, concentrating on small parts that other companies could not or would not make. It remains that way today, although it has two product lines — silicone sheeting and tubing.

    "But our specialty is intricate and challenging hard-to-make parts that a lot of competitors 'no quote," Wiechmann said. "And sometimes we'll make a smaller part and this leads to [orders for]larger parts." The firm also bonds silicone to a number of substrates, including plastic, metal and even silicone parts.

    "Kathy has always had a philosophy: 'Don't say no, figure it out. We can do it.' This has forced our employees to be creative and find ways to bring products to life that we really didn't know we could produce," according to Wiechmann.

    She said the company recently had a prospect come in on the recommendation of a supplier. The customer could not get the part they had created successfully overmolded.

    "This is where SMI excels," she said. "We brought the tooling in and had parts to them within one week. Being a smaller business allows us the flexibility to arrange orders as needed without missing deadlines so that our customers feel catered to."

    Wiechmann said that the prime contributing factors to SMI's success over the years are quality and the willingness to work alongside the firm's customers.

    "We have an extremely detailed quality system that customers are always complimenting," she said. "We grow along with our customers as their product cycles continue to grow. We start by offering them run sizes of five to 20 parts and ramp up to high volume as their parts evolve.

    "Many times we see fourth- and fifth-generation versions of our customers' products. This allows us to know the history of the parts from day one and help our customers improve [them] as their products evolve."

    Many times there are changeovers of staffs or ownership at customers' facilities that have customers asking about the history of a part, she said. "We are able to give them that detail when working on current projects and our customers find this a high-value addition."

    Looking back at SMI's success as the firm celebrates its 40th anniversary, Wiechmann said it can be attributed "to our customers and dedicated employees who believe in our philosophy of delivering the best quality product on the market."

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Sonoco packaging unit expanding in Michigan
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Biden sets US goal to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials
    2
    Polymer Points Live March 2023: Commodity resin prices rising, but engineering resins see drops
    3
    Ad panels say ABA overstated PET bottle recycling efforts
    4
    Boston buys sole ownership of General Polymers
    5
    Film maker Inteplast sees green in green
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified