Micro Celebrates 70 Years in Business

Birthdays are always cause for celebration, particularly when the anniversary being marked is 70 years in business. Somerset, N.J.-based Micro, a full-service contract manufacturer of precision medical devices, injection/insert molding and fabricated tube assemblies, turns 70 this year.

The company, originally called Micro Stamping Corporation, was founded in 1945 in Maplewood, N.J., by a four-person group that included Frank Semcer Sr. Operating in a 28,000-square-foot facility, the company primarily focused on manufacturing high-precision metal stampings. 

Frank J. Semcer, company chairman and the founder’s son, joined Micro in 1969 and bought the company eight years later.

“This anniversary honors 70 years of manufacturing excellence and successful operation,” said Frank J. Semcer.  “We are continually investing in new equipment and technologies to serve our customers.”

In 1988, Micro moved to a modern 68,000-square-foot building in Somerset.  Approximately seven years ago, the company expanded operations into an adjacent building and doubled its total manufacturing capacity in Somerset.

Micro opened a medical division in 1986 and soon began developing ligation clips for a New Jersey surgical device manufacturer. In 1992, the company initiated its first development program for a major medical company and eventually received its first order for instruments that required an environmentally controlled room for clean-room assembly.  To meet customer and surgical requirements, Micro built its first clean room. 

Today, according to a press release, Micro produces more than million of these endoscopic instruments annually in a completely renovated, Class 8 clean room.  The company holds a patent on the tube-forming technology used for the instrument shafts.  Micro also set up a tubing division in Somerset to produce fabricated tubing assemblies with such features as flarings, flanges, piercings, slots and welded seams. 

In 1994, Micro formed a structured prototype and product development group to respond to the burgeoning demand from clientele. The company also set up operations in Singapore and then Korea to supply metal injection molding, ceramic injection molding, support tooling and raw tubing material.

In 2005, Micro opened a 20,000-square-foot facility in Largo, Fla., for insert/injection molding, automated assembly, and stamping technologies. 

One of the company’s newest technologies, the Micro Electrolytic Dissolution (MED) process electrochemically removes metal from the work piece, resulting in an accurately machined, intricate part.

“For medical parts manufacturers,” said Semcer, “the MED process is a perfect low-cost, high-quality solution for surgical and orthopedic components.”

Within the past year, Micro has added a new medical manufacturing department to perform precision machining with computer numerically controlled (CNC) capabilities. The new department features Swiss-turning CNC lathes, high-speed CNC milling, and four- and five-axis CNC machines.

Micro employs approximately 350 people, and company officials say the privately held firm has about $100 million in annual sales.