Flexan, a leading custom molded rubber manufacturer, has expanded its China manufacturing capabilities by adding new technology and moving into its second building in the Suzhou Industrial Park, located 45 miles outside of Shanghai. The 50,000-square-foot building provides room for growth in production of custom rubber molding for its international client base. Flexan continues to operate its original 35,000-square-foot production facility nearby, which opened in 2004.
Flexan’s China manufacturing facility provides three areas of specialized rubber molding: micro-molding for hearing aid and acoustic technology; cleanroom silicone molding for medical devices by its FMI Medical Silicone Molding division; and rubber molding for industrial applications such as miniature pneumatics, CNG/LNG/LPG alternative fuels, and automotive and heavy trucks
Flexan also provides value-added operations such as sub-assembly, packaging and kitting.
The China facility serves primarily North American and European clients with operations and markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
“The opportunities for businesses of all kinds to grow in China and the Asia-Pacific region are enormous, despite the recent slowing in China’s growth rate,” observes Bruce Cohen, president of Flexan Corp. “Flexan has added capacity in order to support our manufacturing clients that serve Asian countries where the middle class is expanding rapidly and pushing up consumer demand, such as Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as China.”
Flexan established the China manufacturing operation to provide the same high level of new product development, materials handling, and production as its U.S. facility in Chicago, which allows customers to choose either or both locations for rubber molding. Both facilities are ISO 9000:2008 certified, with English-speaking management and technical staff in China, as well as engineering and project management support in the U.S. The FMI silicone molding facilities in the U.S. and China are each ISO 13485 registered for medical devices with high-level cleanroom operations.
Flexan operates in China as a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (WFOE) with sole U.S. ownership. The Suzhou Industrial Park is a joint venture between Singapore and the Chinese government, which opened in 1994.
