5 Questions from the Booth: Da/Pro Rubber Inc.
By MPO Staff | 11.12.18
Communicate early for optimal design and manufacture of rubber and plastic parts for medical devices.
The editorial team members of Medical Product Outsourcing and Orthopedic Design & Technology reached out to representatives at several companies exhibiting at Medica/Compamed this year in case you are unable to see them at the event or are not headed to Germany this year. Hopefully, the following questions we served up to Gretchen Brauninger, CEO at Da/Pro Rubber Inc. will offer you some additional insight to determine if the company is a potential services partner for you.
MPO: What technology or service are you emphasizing at Medica this year?
Gretchen Brauninger: We manufacture small precision rubber and plastic parts for many industries. We provide services from compound development, fabrication of the molds, and manufacturing the product to the specifications of our OEM customers.
MPO: What’s the most common challenge customers inquire about and how do you address it?
Brauninger: Most of our customers require strict process control and traceability of the work we provide. Da/Pro maintains a very tight process control to maintain the repeatability and reliability of our parts.
MPO: If you could give one piece of advice to companies seeking a manufacturing partner before they make a decision, what would it be?
Brauninger: One recommendation I have is to engage with us or whichever supplier you intend to use early on in the design process. When we work with our customers in these early stages, we have been able to be very helpful in avoiding pitfalls related to material selection and manufacturing. This often reduces the overall cost of the project. Please use our expertise to make their jobs easier.
MPO: What are the forces driving medical device manufacturers to seek your technology/services over doing it in-house?
Brauninger: I believe our almost 60 years of experience is a huge asset to our customers. We have years of chemistry expertise to help select or develop a compound to work in our customer’s specific application. Our in-house tooling fabrication of rubber and plastic tools allows us to create first-class tooling that will fit into the molding process we developed over 60 years ago. We have a knowledge base that most likely exceeds most customers’ in-house capabilities.
MPO: In what ways is your company able to aid in getting a product (project) to market faster?
Brauninger: I believe that our knowledge streamlines some of the design work and allows our customer to go from idea to market faster. I believe getting us involved in the early phase of development helps greatly in going to market faster also.
Da/Pro Rubber Inc. is located at Medica/Compamed in Hall 8A, Booth/Stand H14.
MPO: What technology or service are you emphasizing at Medica this year?
Gretchen Brauninger: We manufacture small precision rubber and plastic parts for many industries. We provide services from compound development, fabrication of the molds, and manufacturing the product to the specifications of our OEM customers.
MPO: What’s the most common challenge customers inquire about and how do you address it?
Brauninger: Most of our customers require strict process control and traceability of the work we provide. Da/Pro maintains a very tight process control to maintain the repeatability and reliability of our parts.
MPO: If you could give one piece of advice to companies seeking a manufacturing partner before they make a decision, what would it be?
Brauninger: One recommendation I have is to engage with us or whichever supplier you intend to use early on in the design process. When we work with our customers in these early stages, we have been able to be very helpful in avoiding pitfalls related to material selection and manufacturing. This often reduces the overall cost of the project. Please use our expertise to make their jobs easier.
MPO: What are the forces driving medical device manufacturers to seek your technology/services over doing it in-house?
Brauninger: I believe our almost 60 years of experience is a huge asset to our customers. We have years of chemistry expertise to help select or develop a compound to work in our customer’s specific application. Our in-house tooling fabrication of rubber and plastic tools allows us to create first-class tooling that will fit into the molding process we developed over 60 years ago. We have a knowledge base that most likely exceeds most customers’ in-house capabilities.
MPO: In what ways is your company able to aid in getting a product (project) to market faster?
Brauninger: I believe that our knowledge streamlines some of the design work and allows our customer to go from idea to market faster. I believe getting us involved in the early phase of development helps greatly in going to market faster also.
Da/Pro Rubber Inc. is located at Medica/Compamed in Hall 8A, Booth/Stand H14.
