Elkhorn Wisconsin Plant Next ATP FacilityTo Expand  Medical Device Production Capabilities. ATP’s Engineered Rubber and Plastic Group announces that its Elkhorn, WI, facility is developing advanced technology to further penetrate the medical device manufacturing market. ATP Elkhorn specializes in rubber molding, including a full range of silicone and organic polymers. Capabilities also include rubber over-molding of plastic and metal components.

ATP Elkhorn has long served the medical device market through its engineering expertise, including design capabilities, R&D and rapid prototyping; in addition to its controlled molding environments. The company maintains ISO standards for “clean room” production; operating an FDA compliant Class 10,000 clean room for long- and short-term implantable devices together with medical “white” rooms. ATP Elkhorn also employs two six sigma Black Belts, one Master Black Belt, and is currently training ten employees for “Green Belt” certification.

One recent innovation has been the implementation of an automated visual inspection (AVI) system. This system is used for high volume parts requiring 100% inspection. AVI looks for, and isolates, such nonconformities as flash, inclusions and under-fills. Typical applications include critical seal components such as trocar seals and duckbill valves. ATP Elkhorn plans to employ AVI as it expands into new high volume markets such as syringe plunger tips, injection sites and luer tip caps.

Another technology innovation utilized by ATP Elkhorn is gateless molding. This technology, through an innovative valve design, eliminates flash, gates and runners.  Gateless molding is a zero-waste process developed in the thermoplastic industry, but difficult to implement in rubber injection molding due to the complexities of the thermosetting process. This technology permits the company to run equipment fully automated, without human intervention, creating a process that is repeatable and consistent. 

Bernie Stritzke, Vice President and General Manager, is focused on applying new and innovative technology to become Best in Class. “For us, automation is key. ATP Elkhorn incorporates zero-waste, automated molding and AVI to remain competitive and to be an asset for our customers,” explains Stritzke.

“It is our company goal to stay ahead of the technology curve. We are a supplier to the medical device market today, and we will be a supplier to the medical device market tomorrow,” continues Stritzke. “We have put into practice numerous innovations that allow us to compete on a world stage.”

Another cost saving advantage that ATP Elkhorn offers customers is its joint venture with Chinese rubber and plastic molders. “We have several molding machines custom built by one of our Chinese partners,” explains Stritzke. “In certain circumstances we can have tooling manufactured in China, bring it here, and install it right into the machine. Result: less cost and shorter time-to-market. ATP takes great pride in meeting its customer commitment to provide a quality product, competitively priced, on-time – every time,” concludes Stritzke.

ATP Expands Manufacturing Expertise for Medical Device Production. ATP’s Engineered Rubber and Plastics Group announces that its West Berlin, NJ, facility is now poised for an increased role in the medical device manufacturing market. ATP’s specialty in medical device manufacturing is overmolded/insert molded components for surgical apparatus. Typical overmolding consists of a polycarbonate substrate with a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) overmolding.

The 60,000 sq. ft. facility operates a Class 100,000 Clean Room with two conventional molding machines. The company’s longer range goal is to expand the current clean manufacturing room to encompass ten molding machines ranging in size from 50 tons to 300 tons. In addition to the clean room, the West Berlin plant dedicates a white room facility containing three 200-ton, two-shot auto-rotating molding machines to medical-related products, with plans to add two more machines by 2008.

A feature of all ATP manufacturing facilities is its tool design/building capability. West Berlin has the capacity to build the majority of its tooling requirements in-house. The company maintains relationships with qualified outside tool makers who can be called upon when needed. The company also offers full product design and assembly capability.

All ATP facilities are ISO 9001:2000 certified and boasts a robust Six Sigma Enterprise. In addition, facilities focusing on medical device manufacturing, such as West Berlin, are committed to achieving ISO 13485 and FDA requisition where required.

Robert Piccoli, Vice President and General Manager of ATP West Berlin explains the company’s growth philosophy as customer centric. “We feel that ATP is a synergistic partner with medical device manufacturers/suppliers,” states Piccoli. “With our product design, tool engineering and molding/assembly expertise we offer the confidence that a new project can be initiated, launched, and maintained. You might say we offer a turn-key operation. And should we need to augment or expand our capabilities we have the resources and corporate commitment to do it,” concludes Piccoli.

ATP Engineered Rubber & Plastics Group provides global turnkey manufacturing solutions with a core competency of producing world-class engineered rubber and plastic components and assemblies. The company concentrates on “total solutions” in the following markets: medical devices and equipment, pharmaceutical packaging, industrial hand-held electronics, and consumer products.

ATP ERPG is the proud recipient of a 2006 Tyco Operational Excellence Award for our work in Injection Molding, Rubber Molding, Custom Plastic Molding, and Other Contract Manufacturing solutions. This award is given for quality, engineering support, on-time delivery and six-sigma culture. As in the past, ATP ERPG received the highest mark report card in its category.

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