Bellofram equipment addition cuts lead times

NEWELL, W.Va.—With lead times for raw materials like sponge and solid rubber in the weeks-to-months range, Bellofram Silicones Inc. intends to cut them—finely, using a brand new skiver—to between one and two weeks.

The purchase, from Aachen, Germany-based Fecken-Kirfel GmbH and Co., brings another service—like the valued custom mixing that the company does—under on roof, streamlining the entire process for converters, Bellofram's main customers.

A cost of the skiver was not disclosed.

"Global supply chain issues have dominated the news in the era of COVID-19, along with resulting delays in delivery of product," the company stated in a Feb. 8 release. "Bellofram Silicones ... had kept lead times to an already manageable five to six weeks.

"The acquisition of the skiver further changes the game."

The company said it will pair this service—a skiving machine cuts material off in precise slices, usually metal, but also leather, laminates or, in this case, sponge or dense rubber—with the custom mixing services for a one-stop shopping experience.

Matt Wingertsahn, general manager of the Bellofram Elastomers Division, said sheets can be shaved anywhere between .063-inch to 2.00-inch thicknesses.

Four ASTM-D-1056 hardness versions are available (for standard sheets). Product with fire-retardant additives is available, as are sheets with fluorosilicone sponge properties that meet AMS 3323 requirements.

"With these and other available options, Bellofram Silicones' sheets cover a wide range of demanding physical, temperature and chemical environments," said Wingertsahn.
 

The company began working on a new business approach last year by targeting small orders. Bellofram Silicones can take this one-off approach thanks to the flexibility the company already has when it comes to approaching the market.

The business, which has seen tightness in the availability of raw materials to make silicone before, typically stocks about six months of its own inventory to ensure production is not interrupted or slowed.

This inventory, along with a range of existing machinery, allows the company to approach smaller orders without having to worry about minimums, Wingertsahn told Rubber News earlier this year.

At a time where supply chain disruptions are causing delays throughout the economy, these in-house capabilities are worth their weight in, well, inflated transportation costs.

The vast majority of Bellofram Silicones' sales are to converters, but the West Virginia firm does provide some finished products.

In the same vein of being a single-source supplier, Bellofram Silicones also offers closed-cell silicone sponge stripping with pressure-sensitive adhesives, as well as vulcanization capabilities.

Bellofram Silicones is part of the Marsh Bellofram Group of Companies that also manufactures a wide range of process control instrumentation and equipment.