GW Silicone Expansion Complete

GW Silicone has completed construction on its new facility at the GW Plastics technical campus in Royalton, Vt. The $3.5 million expansion, which began in the fall of 2011, includes 15,000 square feet of space that is scalable to 25,000 square feet. The new location is a liquid silicone rubber (LSR) molding and assembly facility, and is capable of supporting up to 18 new injection machines. It also has an ISO Class 8 cleanroom and expanded office, engineering and conference space.

“Our customer are increasingly looking to silicone as an alternative to thermoplastic because of its unique biocompatibility and performance attributes,” said Terri Marion, GW Silicones’ business development manager. “It is odorless, tasteless, stainless, bacteria-resistant, easy to clean and sterilize, and works extremely well in complex injection molding applications with extremely fine detail and very tight tolerances. The expansion of GW silicones reflects our commitment to meeting our customers’ growing demand for cutting-edge silicone applications in the medical device/healthcare and automotive markets.”

LSR was one of the fastest-growing medical market between 2001 and 2011, according to the company. GW estimates the current market value at approximately $250 million. Applications for the material include long-term implants such as pacemakers and heart valves, and short-term contact and disposable applications such as seals and gaskets, catheter tips and balloons.

“The expansion of GW Silicones reflects our commitment to the business and growing manufacturing jobs in Vermont,” said the company’s general manager Mark Hammond. “It is encouraging to see our customers recognize the value that GW Silicones is bringing to the market.”

GW Silicones is a division of GW Plastics, and is headquartered in Bethel, Vt. The division provides precision liquid injection molding services and manufactures LSR components and assemblies for the healthcare, automotive, consumer, and industrial markets.