Thinking plastic all day can be quite exhausting

But thankfully for Quicksilver Exhaust Systems, that’s the company ethos taken to heart by Ashley Warner, Sales Executive at Sinclair & Rush UK & Europe.

Having browsed the S&R website, Chris Payne of Quicksilver reached for the phone and was put through to Ashley. Chris was after EPDM caps to protect protruding outlets on exhaust systems whilst in transit. But these aren’t just any old exhaust systems.

Quicksilver make special systems for very special cars. The caps were not only to protect the exhausts in transit to highly valued customers across the world, but they were to look the part too.

These are sports exhausts for machines such as the Maserati 4200 GT; Lamborghini Gallardo; Aston Martin DB7; Ferrari 308 GTSi; McLaren SLR. The exhaust systems are designed and built not just to function, but to look exceptional and sound awesome (view the clip below).

Ashley spent some time on the phone discussing the specific requirements and sent the requested EPDM cap samples for Quicksilver to try. But, to deliver the higher spec being discussed, Ashley recommended and sent PVC Vinyl caps to sample as a better looking and in fact more cost effective solution – something more befitting the application.

These (above) are just some of the Vinyl Dip Moulding caps available from the Sinclair & Rush. 

Chris Payne liked the colour choices as well as the finish that the Vinyl caps offered. Impressed with the interest shown, service given and of course the end result, Chris said “…the caps have greatly improved the presentation of our high end product.”

One of the benefits of dip moulding is that the length of the cap can be changed without having to adjust the tooling, so the variety can be adjusted to suit different exhaust specifications. There is sufficient ‘stretch’ in the material to make sure that the fit is good and the caps remain robust and stylish throughout.

…and, one of the benefits of a Quicksilver Exhaust System … IS THE NOISE:

[link to video clip of  Wilton House ‘Rev Off’]

Having a full understanding of the application intended for Sinclair & Rush caps, plugs and sheathes (even the quieter ones), is an important part of the relationship we try to build with clients. To know the end use, is to have confidence in the solutions we recommend.

 

Looking through our extensive range of off-the-shelf product, you may think A and D will do the job when in fact B might be less extensive; C might be deliverable in your corporate colours; and a customised E could be tailored to perfection.

For the A to Z of plastic moulded solutions to mask and protect components and WIP call Sinclair & Rush -

0044 (0) 1622 693200

 

Think Plastic ~ we to, exhaustively.

http://www.sinclair-rush.co.uk/

For more information on StockCap products and services, visit: http://www.stockcap.co.uk/

For more information on VisiPak products and services, visit: http://www.visipak.co.uk/

For more information on GripWorks products and services, visit: http://www.gripworks.co.uk/

It started with a SC340 – and grew to be a KC 390

If it ends up on one of these…

Sinclair & Rush think plastic on behalf of the broadest imaginable range of industries:

HVAC, engineering, automotive, healthcare, telecoms, cable & wire, construction, marine, household appliances, hand tools, sport & leisure, aerospace – civil and military, and more.

Whatever your need for product protection, we’ve the plastics masking, plugging, sheathing, handling, gripping, shipping solution for you.

…If it ends up on one of those - it probably started with one of these:

Whilst waiting at lights on the Euston Road in London last week, my driving concentration lapsed and work mode took over – as it invariably does. I was surrounded by cars, truck and vans, approaching Euston station, with tube trains rolling beneath, a triple 7 bearing slowly down on Heathrow overhead and the University College Hospital across the way … just imagine the volume of electrical, mechanical and hydraulic components that made up the surrounding infrastructure.

But, and more importantly, just imagine the plastic dip moulded plugs, caps, masks and sheaths that are, were and will be part of the life process of each and every one of them…

…you see, we really do think plastic.

The SC 340 is a short cap used for all manner of protective application to prevent invasive liquids or materials contaminating tubes and tubular components. The KC-390 is a medium-size, twin-engine jet-powered military transport aircraft under development in Brazil.

This is one of literally thousands of off-the-peg solutions available from Sinclair & Rush (the cap not the plane!).

Sinclair & Rush pride ourselves on anything-but-off-the-peg-custom-design also.

Our strength has always been the ability to produce customised product protection solutions for customers. Our experienced engineers create a product designed specifically for customer needs, using cutting edge software and machinery to protect valuable components for OEM end use. Our skills are even called upon as part of prototype design and modelling to ensure that masking and plugging supports engineering efficiency throughout component life.

It may just be a plastic wiring sheath to some people, but to Sinclair & Rush it’s the wiring sheath for a part of a component that becomes part of yet another unit that may, in turn, contribute to the hydraulics of the tooling element of a manufacturing process – whatever it is, we are always proud to have done our bit.

Think Plastic ~ we’re proud to.

For more information on StockCap products and services, visit: http://www.stockcap.co.uk/

For more information on VisiPak products and services, visit: http://www.visipak.co.uk/

For more information on GripWorks products and services, visit: http://www.gripworks.co.uk/

 For a rounded view of Sinclair & Rush products and services

watch our video below

or please visit http://www.sinclair-rush.co.uk/

 

Grips – a global handle for Sinclair & Rush

As well as the existing practical and creative range of GripWorks hand grip designs from Sinclair & Rush – off the shelf, custom and branded – we are pleased to announce a massive new addition to the family.

Following the acquisition of Hunt-Wilde by our American parent company, we now extend our grip manufacturing solutions to include all of the pioneering tooling and design innovations developed by HW since 1946.

That’s when they started manufacturing injection moulded parts, primarily for cycle handlebar grips. As US bicycle manufacturing moved offshore, Hunt-Wilde grew the capacity for further diversification into other markets – lawn & garden; sports & leisure; industrial tooling; medical and general engineering.

To keep up with opportunity and development, HW created the facilities and technology to service ‘mass customisation’. Now, this tooling, methodology and product range sit alongside the technologies and skills of Sinclair & Rush’s own 60 years of experience.

The injection moulded grips from Hunt-Wilde form the perfect complement to our extensive line of dip moulded and foam hand grips.

Let’s introduce you too our new range, well, part of the range of injection moulded grips:

Please meet, from left to right, the Straight Grip; followed by the Classic Finger Grip; then the Rib-Finned Grip; next we have the Honeycomb Grip; and finally the Flanged Tapered Grip.

Then, when you add colours to the basic black, standard colours being red, blue, white, green. Yellow and gray, you can choose from an extensive range that includes these – but this is just a selection:

…and:

Each grip has a practical as well as aesthetic and ergonomic quality to add value to any OEM application. And those applications are about as varied as the range.

Such is the breadth of tooling and manufacturing process available to us, all accompanied by an extensive depth of experience and skill, that believe us when we say that if it is not here, we’ll create it just for you. Sinclair & Rush pride ourselves on providing custom moulding solutions to satisfy any manufacturing / product need.

We hope then that you’ll agree when we boast that, with the acquisition of the Hunt-Wilde grip line, GripWorks can provide virtually any grip solution available in the market.

For more information on the new range of hand grips available

exclusively from Sinclair& Rush,

please visit: http://www.gripworks.co.uk/index.htm ,

e-mail sales@sinclair-rush.co.uk

or call us on  01622 693200.

 

Teamwork – on and off the pitch.

After a somewhat ignominious start…

“S&R’s first game and the team was up for it, until we got on the pitch and see Hot Vibes (a team half our age)” wrote Paul Corry in his first match report – “Cut a long story short they murdered us 10-0, but fair play to the lads they knew it wasn’t going to be easy and the spirit was good.”

…Team SR (aka Sinclair & Rush Football Club) showed true S&R strength of character to prove they would be as hard-working and focused on the pitch - whatever the adversity - as they are in their various key function at work - however tight the spec. and deadline.

The Team – left to right, back then front:

Chris Ford, William Crittall, James Ring, Paul Corry,

Jim Terry, Bruce Springett, Adam Ashwell.

Mick Thomas, Mark Osborn, Grant Philpott.

This was the first outing for S&R FC, a band of merry men bound together through the determined enthusiasm of their footballing leader, Paul Corry.

By day, Paul shares the essential functions of the team responsible for preparing the highly valued liquid plastisol mixes unique to Sinclair & Rush.

Paul Cory, off the pitch, with a ‘
small batch’  plastisol mixer.

We have extensive material compounding facilities enabling the largest selection of materials and at the lowest possible costs, particularly on our own plastisol. Because we are our own compounder, clients save the material mark-up costs they might otherwise have to pay elsewhere.

Materials can be selected from a huge range of standard mixes, colours, textures etc. And if there is nothing suitable, for a new process perhaps, we work with our specialist R&D department to create something bespoke to the finishing spec.

Over the years we have developed over 500 formulae for varying customer needs.

Left - plastic sleeves dipping in our own plastisol mix.

 

Planning  :  skills  :  materials  :  training  :  experience  :  dedication  :  pride  :

That’s Sinclair & Rush, both off and on the field:

Our determined Sales Manager, Jim Terry,

considering tactics.

Paul Corry rallied fresh blood, encouraging new players to bolster up the team. Substitutions during play were now possible which, together with a disciplined training regime during the week supported ever increasing fitness and skill, right up to the final whistle.

“We fell behind to a good strike from their forward, but we were back on level terms when Mark scored minutes later” wrote Paul in the regular and now eagerly awaited and earnestly read match report: “Well done fellas, the football and fitness is coming together.”

Now, even our American parent company in Arnold, Missouri enjoy following Team SR’s weekly exploits. They may have thought the English summer was one of balmy evenings, pristine whites, the clink of ice in Pimms and the thud of leather on willow - but not for the forthright front line troops of Sinclair & Rush Europe.

Left - the team play 'spot the ball' - can you help!

Paul pioneeringly engineered the moulds; the Board dipped deep to fund the strip; and the team camaraderie provides the unerring determination and enthusiasm – whatever the opposition.

“Again a team so young they couldn’t even get served in a pub!!!”

“The fitness and stamina is showing now, heads are high and the team are starting to play some good football”

The last game of the pre-season matches showed a brilliant turnaround for Sinclair & Rush FC. True grit and grim determination persevered under Paul’s leadership and we are all looking forward to the new season ahead.

Our thanks and support go out to Paul and the team for their hard work and occasionally painful sacrifices – both on and off the pitch.

Well done guys.

Sinclair & Rush – they think it’s all over – well as far as plastic’s concerned – it is now.



THINK PLASTIC ~ we do

                                                     … when we are not playing football.

FOR MORE DETAILS AND

A FREE SAMPLE PACK

PLEASE VISIT:

http://www.sinclair-rush.co.uk/

10K; 110% - customer service with a smile

They came from New York, Tokyo, Nairobi, Glasgow, Cancun and Maidstone in Kent to form a happy (if damp) throng of 25,000 runners in Green Park, London. Focussed on the 700 charities their efforts raise money for and full of eager anticipation, they waited for the start of the 12^th Annual British 10K, 2012.

Except for the top international runners who have a privileged get away, it takes a while to cross the start line through Wellington Arch to embark on the ten gruelling kilometre race through London’s central streets and past many of her iconic landmarks.

“Technology makes us all equal though”, explained eager entrant Sharon Amos, “the special D-Tag on our shoes clocks our time out at the Start and in as we cross the Finish”.

Just a minute – Sharon Amos – not Sharon Amos, senior Customer Services Representative at Sinclair & Rush, whose dulcet Rainbow Nation lilt is part of the vital team helping to process and finalise client orders and queries from the UK / Europe office in Maidstone … the very same.

But why?

By day, Sharon and her team deal with all aspects of ‘post order’ support to make sure clients get just what they need, when they need it and of course where – which can be anywhere in the world.

By night, Sharon discovered that running helps more than personal fitness, mental agility and family fun – but it’s a great way of raising money for good causes.

The Customer Services Team at Sinclair & Rush help clients in UK, Europe and beyond. In fact, two thirds of their calls are to customer offices in Europe, hence the broad linguistic skills of this team of three, including French, Hungarian, German, Afrikaans, Italian and English.

Between them they process over 300 orders a month, taking a proactive role to support customers. “I like to think we represent the customer rather than Sinclair & Rush” said Sharon of the vital and appreciated job that she sums up as “relationship management”.

At the end of a satisfying day it’s on with the Nikes, headphones in place and a run to the rock beat of Boston, ELO and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

With a tune in the head and spring in the step it is the beneficiaries of two great charities that Sharon and her family like to support – Help for Heroes is one and Combat Stress the other.

Sharon very nearly didn’t make the British 10K this year though, because of injury. A running related injury of course, cracking a heal bone on a training run. The work / run balance was work only for quite some time.

The same tenacity and determination to achieve that she shows at work won out in the end and she made it to the start line.

Then, it was past icons such as St James Palace, The Ritz, and Nelson’s Column; along the Embankment, past The London Eye, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey; past the end of Downing Street and finally over the Finish Line. 

Speaking to Sharon (left) before the race she would have been happy simply to complete the course and if so, an hour and thirty would have done her as a ‘respectable’ post injury time.

But, well done Sharon, your finish time of 01:09:39 shows a very healthy determination indeed.

THINK PLASTIC – we do

                                                     … when we are not out running.

FOR MORE DETAILS AND

A FREE SAMPLE PACK

PLEASE VISIT:

http://www.sinclair-rush.co.uk/

Put a smile on the FD’s face – bespoke masking from Sinclair & Rush.

A walk around the Sinclair & Rush factory on a busy industrial estate just off the M20 on the outskirts of Maidstone was all it took to fully appreciate the spread and flexibility of S&R’s dedicated plastic moulding resource.

The main site is a designer, floor to ceiling maze of tools or moulds of every conceivable size and shape. Some were manufactured for one off custom jobs and others create bread and butter caps, plugs and sleeves in volumes, called off to clients’ tight production specifications.

Left: A living museum of dip moulding tooling providing standard and bespoke masking solutions across the UK and Europe

The relative slowness of the moulds’ journey through the ovens after dipping belies the urgency of the stripping and priming process when each rack is unloaded, cleaned and readied for the next of its apparently endless cycles. QC looks on and sequentially tests the eye boggling array of plastic shapes, colours and sizes, as components are readied for despatch.

Right: compressed air blasts release the caps from the moulds after they have been dipped and baked.

Below: the image shows masking sleeves for motor manufacturing electronic components as they are raised from the dipping tanks.

Like a scene from and aged Dr Who, plastic screens part, lights flash and horns alert as large, ominous 8 cubic metre tanks of liquid plastisol are forked into holding bays. These come from the workshops across the way. Here, Sinclair & Rush manufacture and mix their own materials in colours and formulations for every conceivable plastic moulding, single and double dip, and coating requirement.

The mezzanine area over the packaging and distribution centre is the tool shop. Standard tooling is maintained and bespoke moulds created to client specification. The specialist team of engineers have extensive experience to support S&R sales engineers as they solve tricky masking problems with innovative fresh solutions.

The prep, dip, blast, pack, ship is the tip of the plastic moulding iceberg. Much goes on behind the scenes, particularly when tooling a new application. The benefits of custom precision create solutions that apply more quickly and last longer. Some may remove one or more of the expensive finishing stages altogether, speeding the entire process, saving time and improving manufacturing quality throughout.

As you know, masking is an essential part of the finishing process across a wide variety of production stages in a large range of manufacturing and engineering industries.

To keep target areas protected from liquid contamination and invasive materials, reusable caps and sleeves reduce labour intensive masking and their quality / tolerance avoids the even more costly errors leading to scrappage, re-engineering or a time consuming clean-out process to repair.

Left: Preparing to re-tool one of the dip furnaces for a standard range of caps. Sinclair & Rush Sales Engineers work with our tooling specialists to create custom moulds to cap, plug and protect almost anything.

Whatever the surface finishing process, paint, powder coating, e-coating, plating - and however hostile the operating environment and temperature - key components benefit from fast, efficient, re-usable, dedicated or versatile masking solutions.

There are many off-the-shelf caps, plugs and sleeves manufactured and supplied globally through Sinclair & Rush http://www.sinclair-rush.co.uk/.

There is also a wealth of experience to advise on the best product type, combination and application for the many and varied processes that clients face in their manufacturing and shipping processes.

Technology, machinery and materials have evolved alongside engineering skills. Dip moulding processes are more flexible and precise. Results provide exceptional accuracy to previously unattainable tolerances, enabling bespoke masking to be less costly to create; ergonomically easier to apply and remove; and economically reusable.

Put us to the test.

If you would like to review your masking and product protection policies in search of cheaper, faster, more efficient solutions, call Sinclair & Rush today on 01622 693 200; visit www.sinclair-rush.co.uk  or email sales@sinclair-rush.co.uk today - and put a smile on your FD's face.

Right: they may look like fork handles, but...:

http://youtu.be/Cz2-ukrd2VQ (enjoy).

Gripping news for global plastic moulding solutions

As you reach for your pliers, do you ever wonder at the global resources that have combined to create the branded plastic grips on the handles – well of course not …

…but if you are a hand tools manufacturer, then finding the most cost-effective means, source and logistics for finishing and differentiating the grips and handles on your products over the competitions’ is a year round task.

This is where you’d expect us to tell you about the cost efficient, flexible, supportive and viable dip moulding and dip coating solutions from Sinclair & Rush’s GripWorks brand, products and service portfolio.

Or that our bespoke dip coating and moulding, colours, double dip texture variables and branding solutions are second to none and are proven to fit into cross-continent manufacturing logistics.

But again that’s not what we want to brag about today.

What we do want to introduce today is our ability to supply Liquid Plastisol to manufacturers for dip moulding and dip coating either by us or by your own preferred dip coating supplier. If you have ‘in house’ dip coating solutions but your liquid plastic is not up to spec, contact Sinclair & Rush and we will supply it anywhere in the world.

Sinclair & Rush laboratories have created numerous combinations of Liquid Plastisol under the VynaFlex brand at our parent company, Sinclair & Rush, Missouri, USA. In fact, there are over 55 combinations and colours to suit all applications. Some materials are even available in fluorescent, metallic and translucent colours. These unique VynaFlex plastisol formulations are also mixed at our Maidstone works to support customer-specific solutions across Europe.

These are just some of the single and double dip effects and variations that our fabrication techniques facilitate:

...and this short video clip shows the broader THINK PLASTIC solutions available from Sinclair & Rush:

Our custom dip moulding services can take your product and create a GripWorks solution, from Sinclair & Rush, to add value to your products and make them stand out at retail point of sale.

Typical applications for plastisol include coatings for marine products, playground equipment, outdoor furniture, hand grips and electrical insulation covers. GripWorks (as it says on the tin) are heavily involved in the grip business, hence the availability of a number of plastisol formulas specifically designed to improve the look and feel of materials for hand grip applications.

Sinclair & Rush (UK / Europe) have recently been asked to replicate an arrangement being successfully operated ‘Stateside’, over here in Europe. There, hand wrenches are supplied to a third party, as is the liquid plastisol from S&R. The wrenches are dipped to create the distinctive grips. Then the manufacturer continues their US distributions with optimal cost efficiency and practical logistics.

Irega is perhaps Europe’s leading manufacturer of adjustable wrenches. They are based in Spain but support customers and users worldwide. A statistic quoted at the recent International Hardware Fair in Cologne stated that “over 90% of its total production is exported to over 60 countries around the world”. Global indeed.

Their manufacturing and logistics systems are finely tuned to supply the best quality adjustable wrenches, serviced anywhere, whilst optimising stock levels, all managed from Spain. Part of this chain of events is the dip coating of their highly distinctive grips in Slovenia.

In Europe, we are to start supplying the liquid plastisol to Unior in Slovenia for the dip coating process. The wrenches will be dipped and sent back to Spain for packaging and further shipping to the States for onward sales and distribution there.

For a business intent on cost effective manufacture of the highest standards – we are proud they have chosen Sinclair & Rush to supply the quality plastisol they need.

Make a cost-effective distinction to your grips – coat them with GripWorks soon.

FOR MORE DETAILS AND

A FREE SAMPLE PACK

PLEASE VISIT:

http://www.sinclair-rush.co.uk/