Jonal Labs tour is a success for New England Rubber & Plastics Group

MERIDEN, Conn.—Following its recent fall technical meeting, members of the New England Rubber & Plastics Group toured the facilities of Jonal Laboratories Inc. in Meriden.

More than 50 people attended the meeting, including several University of Massachusetts (Lowell) faculty members and graduate students, according to Irene Yurovska, a consultant and member of the rubber group.

She said Jonal President Marc Nemeth greeted the attendees, providing an introduction on the company history, current status and vision for the future. Then several groups toured the laboratory; mixing and extruding areas; part preparation; molding; finishing; quality control; and packaging. The company personnel demonstrated a lot of interesting tools and parts, several suggestions for process improvements came from the attendees and were met with appreciation by the Jonal officials on hand.

Jonal is a family owned business with a 50-year history. Starting as a small job shop, it evolved to become a custom manufacturer with design assistance capabilities, supplying a wide range of elastomeric products to such markets as aerospace, military and industrial.

The firm's products range from standard O-rings to custom designed complex molded shapes, fabric reinforced seals, thin walled diaphragms, aerodynamic and platform seals, rubber-to-metal bonding, silicone extrusions, and EMI/RFI shielding products.

Yurovska said the meeting concluded with a dinner at a local restaurant, allowing time for networking and socialization of the attendees and hosts.

"I think all would agree that with the recent consolidation of the New England professional rubber groups, the opportunities for professional education, networking and sponsorship increased, and the NERPG Board capitalizes on this development," she said.