Jonal builds base in aerospace, aviation sectors

MERIDEN, Conn.—A commitment to both relationship building and patience has Jonal Laboratories Inc. on the path to growth, even with a slight pandemic-induced detour.

The molded rubber manufacturer long has been a major player in the industry, supporting the needs of engine OEMs in the aerospace and aviation sectors. As a family-owned business founded 55 years ago, the company is known for manufacturing a wide range of critical flame-resistant seals, including O-rings for the International Space Station.

But Jonal Labs President Marc Nemeth understands that the best growth can be achieved by incremental new product development. In 2012, he saw just that type of opportunity to pursue.

That is when Nemeth began leasing an 11,000-sq.-ft. facility about a half-mile from its headquarters in Meriden. The goal was to attract molded rubber component opportunities from the airframe sub-sector of the aerospace industry, including manufacturers of airplanes and helicopters such as Lockheed, Boeing and Sikorsky. Jonal invested in a long press—four meters in length—to provide airframe legacy support, and turned the space into an annexed manufacturing area.

The total value of investment in this facility and new business was around $1 million, Nemeth said.

The company invested in other machinery as well, confident that the inherent similarities to the engine molded rubber needs it specialized in for decades would allow training and resource sharing to happen seamlessly as demand arose. After five years of tireless work to market and develop these relationships, slowly building trust, the investments began to pay off.

"It took time, and maybe a little more time than we thought going in, to show the industry we were capable of this new type of high-end work," Nemeth said. "We invested in various types of equipment."

One such investment was licensing and staff training on a CATIA platform for 3D CAD design software. "This is where we saw growth opportunities that were a good fit with our (core business)," Nemeth added.

The work for the airframe sector requires a specific attention to detail because rubber seals often are a major source of issues within the industry, Nemeth said. Faulty O-rings famously were given as the main cause for the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, for example. Delivery and general quality challenges also are common.

"It became an issue of trust, and once we proved ourselves, we had that (second facility) running," he said.

While the pandemic did slow businesses for the commercial aviation industry in 2020, Nemeth already is seeing an uptick in business and believes additional growth lies ahead. Jonal's work on both engine and airframe molding is evenly split among commercial and governmental clients, including Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace and BAE.

Furthermore, the company has been able to avoid layoffs since March 2020, helped in part by more than $2 million in funding from the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program, and ongoing work from loyal clients. Like many manufacturers, it also has considered the role that forgivable loans may have in supporting ongoing investment while business builds back up this year, Nemeth said.

Leading up to 2020, employee growth and revenues doubled over a five-year period, with Jonal now employing more than 110 full-time employees.

"We feel that our expanded (organizational) chart is because of our ability to compete at the highest level with chemistry, manufacturing, and design engineering," Nemeth said. "We compete in those areas with as much experience as anyone. But what really sets us apart is our customer service."

Nemeth said he also believes that Jonal's philosophy has helped create growth opportunities. Its executive team has advocated a philosophy of marketing and relationships rather than sales, he said, with the goal of solving problems, rather than simply manufacturing products.

"I feel like calling us a molded rubber manufacturer doesn't give the full picture of what we're about," Nemeth said.

The future looks bright, especially in the second half of 2021, Nemeth said. He is committed to getting back on the path that saw consistent double-digit growth before 2020. Right now, there are times that his roughly 40,000-sq.-ft. headquarters may not be operating at full capacity.

However, Jonal is pursuing opportunities to support other industries and invests regularly in its people, so that when new business is identified, the company has the level of flexibility needed to quickly address it.

"We hire people when we find them, not when we need them," Nemeth said. "It was OK for us to have excess staff over the last year—we know we will use them sooner or later."