Getting a handle on our grips for the right grip on your handles

Whereas Component Force is a new division of Sinclair & Rush, GripWorks is a seasoned global division manufacturing and stocking Hand Grips for every size / shape of hand and every practical application.

In 2012, Sinclair & Rush acquired Hunt-Wilde in America extending our grip manufacturing solutions to include all of the pioneering tooling and design innovations developed by HW since 1946.

Together we manufacture all manner of Hand Grip in plastic, foam and rubber as well as combinations to balance strength and tactile ergonomics.  Dip moulded, double dip moulded and injection moulded parts all combine to serve a wide, almost endless range of applications including: cycle handlebar grips; lawn & garden tools; sports & leisure equipment; industrial tooling; as well as medical and general engineering.

Please meet just some of the injection moulded grips: 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:

Foam hand grips not only help the user to get a firm grip on the tools or sports equipment, but can be designed to look good too, creating the product finish that sets it apart from the others:

Then rubber Hand Grips offer a good look, a good finish and a popular grip for bicycles. In fact one of these is the best selling bicycle grip in Europe:

So - the choice is vast, the opportunities greater still. Perhaps the best way to start if you are not sure exactly which grip type is right for you is to call our expert advisers on

01634 686 504.

Or - you can look and shop on-line now by clicking the image below:

VisiPak – sounds great but what is it?

Clear plastic boxes, tubes and clamshells for packaging, protection and display.

The diversity is enormous – shape, size, strength, flexibility, durability; and branding technology offering silk screen; hot stamping, offset and pad printing; with closures that flip, plug, hook, screw, shake; and shapes galore including round, square, rectangular, triangular, oval; all in practical sizes from 3/16^th to 5 inches diameter and up to 144 inches in length; and everything available in colours to make even the rainbows turn green with envy.

Then you can customise your containers with simple punching, slicing, crimping and other fabrications to create the most unique and functional packaging for your unique and functional products. Just give us the problem and we’ll give you the solution.

Not only does the visual clarity remain fresh even after a possibly volatile shelf life, but the S&R service has a customer-friendly clarity that starts with your enquiry; runs through the proposals and agreement stage; and continues with after sales service to ensure satisfaction from start to finish.

What’s it made from? – Plastic … well, plastic is really a generic because PET provides the robust and visually stimulating solution, part of it at least.

PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate, a mouthful but an invaluable product. It’s a plastic resin and a form of polyester. For you techies out there, polyethylene terephthalate is a polymer that is formed by combining two monomers: modified ethylene glycol and purified terephthalic acid.

Manufacturers use PET plastic to package products because of its strength, thermo-stability and transparency. And customers choose PET because it is inexpensive, lightweight, re-sealable and shatter-resistant.

Here’s an example of the quality of branding and the detailed printing of crucial sales information – specifications, directions for use, safety notices etc.:

Boxes are manufactured, overprinted and supplied flat. Die-cut tongues fold into place as the package is literally and simply squeezed together. The product is enclosed and the top pressed to. The protruding ‘euro-slot’ is ready to hang on euro hooks at the point of display supporting smart, simple merchandising.

In schools, gold stars are out and tokens proudly displayed in clear plastic tubes reflect quiet competition and tell all who's king (or more likely queen) of the class this term.

Sharps, such as drill bits or felting needles are kept safe in their plastic jackets, yet visible for easy selection in their clear plastic coat.

Clear plastic boxes, tubes and clamshells for packaging, protection and display - what will you use yours for...

Call now for expert advice on 01634 686 504 or take a look and buy on-line HERE

01634 686 504

Diversity doesn’t change a thing

Those of you who have followed the recent messages of growth and diversity we’ve been proud to share since acquiring the breadth and vigour of Component Force in April, may be forgiven for thinking we may have stepped beyond core values. But you’d be wrong.

Diversity doesn’t and hasn’t changed a thing.

We are still your first and last point of contact for protective caps, plugs and sleeves.

Sinclair & Rush is, and has been for over 60 years, a global leader in dip, injection and extrusion moulding of plastic products and components. We have developed unrivalled expertise helping engineering companies across the broadest range of industries to improve the speed and efficiency to protect products, components and WIP throughout their invasive manufacturing and finishing processes, as well as onward protection in transit.

Whatever process is being employed to modify the mechanical properties of metal surfaces in the manufacturing process, effective masking is an essential part of the process. The requirements to mask surfaces, stop holes and blank off delicate internal elements of components during their manufacture, finishing and transportation all vary almost from one application to the next.

Powder and e-coating? Shot blasting? Shot Peening? Anodising?

Chemical, electrolytic, mid through to high temperature applications need expert masking to avoid contamination of sensitive elements within the component. EPDM caps and plugs for example, are chemical resistant in plating and anodising. Silicone rubber caps and plugs are ideal for plugging holes where the diameter can vary slightly and provide protection across a range of operating temperatures between -65˚c to +230˚c.

·         Whatever your product protection needs, we  deliver cost effective solutions - from stock or custom made.

·         Just ask - we've over 60 years of global plastic manufacturing expertise.

·         UK production and support from Kent, for swift ex-stock and ex-works delivery throughout Europe.

·         Vinyl, rubber or plastic? We'll advise you what's best to support the process and applications you need to protect.

·         For expert knowledge, perfect products and cost-effective solutions - just call: 

 01634 686 504

If you want to know more about the range of standard and custom masking products and the principles of their use, take a look at the StockCap website here: 

If you want to see what’s available in stock and ready for next day delivery, take a look in The Shop here: 

But don’t forget – if you want to ask advice from one of our friendly members of staff – 

just call 01634 686 504 today.

Edging Strips help Protect, Package and Finish

Sinclair & Rush’s remit is to manufacture and supply products that Protect, Package and Finish our customers’ wide ranging materials, products and work in progress. It’s unusual to find one product range that fits into all three categories – but Edging Strips do just that – they protect, they Package and they Finish.

Of course, this is a new departure for traditional Sinclair & Rush clients and is further evidence of the increasing diversity of the product range we now offer since acquiring Component Force in April. The standard plastic edging strips (below) will be manufactured at our Rochester site as we further develop our Extrusion Moulding facilities there.

The best way to find out more is to call our experts on 01634 686 504 or to look at the range and shop on-line here.

Edgings strips have a huge range of applications and, as such, are available in an equally huge variety of materials, strengths and formats.

The simplest is the standard plastic edge which protects sharp and vulnerable edges. It is durable and flexible enough to clip over irregular shapes. These strips are available in 10, 25 and 50 metre lengths which you simply cut to size and apply.

Heavier duty edging strips offer extra protection & durability to provide a neat and safe finish to sharp edges. These too are available in handy 10, 25 and 50 metre lengths.

Foam edging strips or Edge protectors are prized by the transport industry for protecting products and goods during transportation. As well as being excellent for shipping protection, the foam edge can be used to protect any number of corners and crevices. The edge protector can be used for carrying sheet metal or glass, table tops, protect desk edges, painting protection, fragile goods, MDF, general edge protection etc.

Impact protection profiles provide both a visual warning and a safety cushioning. They protect corners, protruding edges and goods in warehouses, production areas etc. These high quality foam edging protectors are fitted with a self adhesive strip for easy installation to a smooth, dust and grease free surface and are manufactured in flexible age-resistant polyurethane foam.

As we said though – the applications are so varied and the products to Protect, Package and Finish so broad that the best way to find out more is to call our experts on 01634 686 504 or to look at the range and shop on-line here.

Call our experts on 01634 686 504

or to look at the range and

shop on-line here.

Hand in hand, our grips work harder

Our Foam Grips and Sleeves are made from a variety of proprietary foam formulas through the GripWorks division of Sinclair & Rush. The enormous range is such that there is bound to be a solution for almost any hand grip application.

 

Styles range from standard foam bicycle grips to extruded foam grips for rake handles and other long handled tools. Materials also come in a wide variety of formulas, densities, and finishes.

 

 

Smooth Foam Grips are the least expensive foam grips formed from simply foam tubes that go through no conversion process. These straight tubes have a shiny exterior surface and are popular on long handled tools, brooms, rakes, and u-shaped handle bars. Splined Foam are unique foam grips that offer a different look to the extruded foam tube.

 

 

Buffed Foam Grips come from one of the most common methods for turning foam tubes into foam grips, buffing off the exterior skin of the tube. This buffing process yields foam grips that have a sponge-like exterior with a suede-like feel. And Foam Hand Grips are the most common, standard hand grips.

 

We have a large range of Foam Grips and Foam Sleeves held in stock and can soon turn around special orders and / or custom designs. Just call us on  01634 686 504 for advice or FREE SAMPLES or click here to shop on-line now.

 

To help you make sure you are ordering the right size of grip. James Gardner stepped up to the camera to demonstrate exactly how to measure the accurate specifications for the grip you need. Just click on the image below to view the video.

 

 

Consolidated Dip Moulding ~ increased production

Since the acquisition of Component Force and its union into the Sinclair & Rush family in April this year, there has been a lot going on in the background that we hope has been seamless as far as our customers are concerned.

As one big plastics manufacturer and distributor merges with another, there are bound to be operational overlaps. Without revealing all the nitty gritty (you’ll have to buy the book for that!), here’s the simple version to show how everybody wins:

 

 

We have moved all of our Dip Moulding resources to one site – from Laker Road, Rochester to Spectrum West, Maidstone. This has increased our manufacturing capacity enormously. With all the machinery, raw materials and skills now in one place, customers benefit from competitive long run production as well as technical bespoke engineering and manufacture to provide short run and one off solutions – all under one roof.

But what does that mean for Rochester production? We’re very pleased you asked. That has enabled us to increase resources to extend our Injection Moulding and Extrusion Moulding volumes. Product ranges are growing and prices are now more competitive than ever, particularly on longer run orders.

Rochester has also increased its stock holding and distribution capacity. With increased manufacture across a broader product range, we need the capacity so that you (the valued customer) can still benefit from next day delivery.

Whether you buy on-line at www.component-force.com;

ask for our new Product Overview Brochure by calling 01634 686 504;
or dial the same number (that’s 01634 686 504) and ask for assistance to make sure you order the most appropriate product to solve your Protection, Packaging or Finishing needs…

… we still promise next day delivery on any stock item*.

 

[* next day delivery on stock items for orders placed by 15.00 for mainland UK delivery.]

Just waiting for the T shirt

Working with, in and for Sinclair & Rush as a supplier, customer, colleague or member of staff can rarely be called dull. We just never know quite what’s around the corner. Give someone responsibility for a business that’s ticking over and many would be happy with the tick and just make sure it passed its MOT each year. Others might put it through a textbook service, turning the tick to a purrrr.

But then you have Sinclair & Rush with its combination of American direction and Great British leadership. This baby was given a full ‘change management’ re-tune. New, low profile high performance all weather wheels were fitted; a Mercedes AMG team went to work under the bonnet; and its whole image was spruced up with a great looking, memorable paint job.

In proverbial ‘car speak’, this is pretty much why Sinclair & Rush became the staff & customer centric, service-ethos business it is today.

But this was no textbook service – this wrote a new textbook altogether … literally.

 

MD, Peter Boulton, engineered these changes and has taken ‘perfection’ a step further by writing a book about it:

Thinking Profit ~ the Journey is a corporate autobiography, he shares the blow by blow processes that stopped decline and boosted dramatic growth.

“There are literally thousands of books on business success that purport to take you behind the scenes and reveal the 'method behind the madness'. In most cases they rarely live up to the hype. Thinking Profit - The Journey is a fascinating and carefully constructed front row perspective of what it takes to actually grow a company under the most trying of economic circumstances and exceed expectations.”

So wrote Andrew Priestly CEO The Coaching Experience Ltd on reading a pre-print draft.

This unpretentious, easy reading and above all helpful biography of a year (or so) in business has much to offer and does so honestly. Amongst the methods he follows and techniques he still applies on this Journey, Peter details:

• the importance of the Mission Statement;
• the concept of ‘Why’;
•  the 3 Step Process;
•  his Eleven Elements;
• and a crucial Seven Step Marketing Plan.

…all frank revelations of pragmatic management style.

International business development coach and mentor, Penny Power OBE wrote: “Peter Boulton is a seasoned business manager. In this book he is not hyping things up, he is not getting over excited by new technology, he tells you how it is and what it takes to grow a sustainable business.”

So – we have the plastics engineering business: Sinclair & Rush: http://www.sinclair-rush.co.uk/

we have the video: http://bit.ly/1qPa9Qf

and now the book, Thinking Profit ~ the Journey, available at Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1nMTmv7

Just waiting for the T shirt !

 

[Proceeds from book sales will be donated to Parenta Trust / Fields of Life. Fields of Life realised that by drilling fresh water wells in an impoverished and poorly east African village, stopped the children having to walk for hours to fetch the polluted liquid that passed for water previously. This newly available youthful time was then put to good use in the school (also built by Fields of Life) to educate the kids and re-invest their skills in a sustainable, agricultural village life.

For details of Parenta Trust charity, click: http://www.parenta.com/charity/ ]

Next day delivery from the biggest ‘shop’ in Kent

Since the 1st April announcement of the merger of Component Force into Sinclair & Rush after their acquisition, senior management teams have been busy optimising their joint resources. But this is not the usual post-acquisition rationalisation through cuts, closures and severance. This is an exercise in positive optimisation of joint skills and resources.

For this business, bigger really is better.

By combining manufacturing and customer services into the Maidstone site and sales, stock and distribution to the Rochester site, the joint resources of both will be co-located from July to better serve customers needs across the UK and Europe.

Sinclair & Rush has become a ‘one stop shop’ for products to Protect, Package and Finish manufacturers’ and distributors’ components, work in progress and stock in store and transit.

SHOP NOW is the joint message on each corporate and satellite website. And, for products held in stock – and that’s what we technically call ‘a heck of a lot’ – for orders placed today, you get the goods tomorrow. That is ‘next day delivery from the biggest shop in Kent’.

 

So just what can be found in this ‘shop’?

This is what it says above the entrance to this virtual shop:

“Sinclair & Rush now incorporate Component Force, creating the biggest single source of Protection, Packaging and Finishing products in Europe, offering specialist plastics manufacturing operations supply OEMs and distributors with dip and injection moulded plastic, rubber & nylon caps, plugs, sleeves and hand grips from stock and engineered to bespoke order.  We also stock and supply clear plastic boxes, clamshells and tubes for packaging; and huge varieties of tube inserts, feet, castors, wheels, hinges, fastenings, locks and latches for finishing.”

And what does this mean for customers?

The important thing for existing clients who have been used to exemplary service, perfect product, competitive pricing and helpful problem diagnosis and solution – there’s no change.

For new clients, well, you'll gain the benefits that existing clients already enjoy: exemplary service, perfect product, competitive pricing and helpful problem diagnosis and solution.

If you have:

• a tube that needs a liner;
• a leg that needs a foot;
• two components that need a hinge;
• a garden tools you manufacture that need grips to enhance the product / brand;
• or if you are a global engine manufacturer needing to plug and protect vital components from invasive swarf or heat treatment;
• a distributor wanting bold branding and clear instructions on plastic point of sale packaging;
• an engineering company needing bespoke plastic dip moulded caps, sleeves or plugs …

…you’ll find the answer here: www.componentforce.co.uk and 01634 686 504.

 

…and don’t forget:

2 x Executive Officers; 1 x £350 car; 1,100 x gruelling miles – what a way to Think Plastic ~ we do

What better way to test the resolve of the MD of one leading plastics manufacturing business and the once MD of the other leading plastics and hardware stockist and distributor (now acquired by the former) than to send them out to buy a £350 car and drive it across Europe, over the Alps hairy Furka Pass and on to Monaco.

Well, that’s exactly what Peter Boulton (MD Sinclair & Rush) and Paul Gardner (CD S&R post MD Component Force – now a division of Sinclair & Rush) are doing – all in the name of one fantastic charity.

The process of acquisition is long and arduous, particularly for the heads of the acquirer and mergee, both in the long months before the event and those securing the perfect operational unity afterwards.

So, what better test of co-operative spirit than to cast them adrift in ‘an old banger’ to take part in the Maidstone to Monaco Banger Rally raising much needed funds for Parenta Trust. Parenta Trust (incorporating Fields of Life) is an innovative charity whose efforts are giving more than just hope to the children of Uganda and Kenya.

 

They drill sources of fresh drinking water and build schools for the children of eastern Africa. Each project is turned into a business. Managers are mentored to deliver sustainable resources locally, so that school, water and farming become self-sufficient within each of the communities the charity helps.

The children gain two basic assets for life - water and education - and their parents the guidance to grow and sell crops. As well as nourishing their families, they contribute financially to the running of their village schools. School managers are taught how to claim and maintain authority and charitable grants enabling Parenta Trust to move its own resources to fund and manage fresh projects elsewhere.

93 pence in every pound donated delivers sustainable help where it’s needed most – on the ground.

Paul has been involved with the charity for some time and has visited projects in Uganda. Sinclair & Rush have sponsored and supported Fields of Life (now part of Parenta Trust) activities in the past also. So it made sense for their joint venture to continue across Europe, over the Alps, to Monaco and back (hopefully!) to raise money.

Their efforts will raise a minimum of £1,000 but through your support, sponsorship and general kindness, they hope to raise much more as their old banger chugs and splutters its way to the chequered flag.

If you would like to sponsor the S&R car, we will reproduce your logo onto a magnetic sheet that sticks to the wing (it might even help keep it together) and you’ll ride the hood from 25^th to 29^th June from Maidstone through Europe, over the Alps and down to Monaco – then back, route direct for home.

In true Top Gear style, all they have to do is buy a car for £350; drive across Europe; navigate the hairy Furka Pass, switching back on themselves through hairpin bends with unforgiving drops – will £350 buy power steering – and let’s hope it has a clutch!

To reserve your logo, please e-mail paul@component-force.co.uk. If you would like to donate even a small amount to this amazing cause, just follow directions on the link, here:

These are just some of the life changing projects our team will be driving for:

 

If you would like to make even a small donation, just follow this link: https://www.justgiving.com/Sinclair7

and these children will be so happy ... 

…thank you.

 

 

 

Protect, Package, Finish – ‘discovering app after exciting new app!’

Since we completed the lengthy process of merging Component Force into the Sinclair & Rush family of global manufacturers and distributors of plastic caps, plugs and sleeves; plastic boxes, clamshells and tube packaging; and handgrips - we have been discovering so many exciting benefits and new opportunities. Our world has become very exciting indeed.

It’s rather like buying a new phone...

We clearly spent a great deal of time researching the pros and cons of this over that before ‘purchasing the phone’. And yet, now we actually have the shiny new toy in our hands, we’re discovering app after exciting new app that makes life easier and opportunities greater still.

Component Force has become a new and exciting division of Sinclair & Rush. Let’s take a look at what these changes and new service apps mean for customers old and new.

Firstly, the opportunity to source protection, packaging or finishing products and components through just one point of contact is now greater than ever before. Frankly, if we can’t find it in over 300 pages of catalogued items, it probably doesn’t exist – but that’s not a problem. If it doesn’t exist, our combined experience and global resources will either source it, or design and manufacture it.

StockCap, GripWorks and VisiPak are global divisions of Sinclair & Rush. Now, Component Force is too. So, if we click (virtually) the all new Component Force app, what will we discover:

 

Here’s a small cross-section of what you’ll find: rubber and plastic feet; castors and wheels; handles and hand wheels; hinges and fasteners; tube fittings and tube connections; street furnishings and scaffold protection; locks and latches; fasteners; cable management and edging strips; the list goes on.

And if we (again virtually) click the VisiPak app… :

 

 

...we find even more great products to add to the ‘packaging’ side of the group’s ‘Protect, Package, Finish’ promise. Clear plastic clamshells protect and package products on display at point of sale; plastic tubing is ideal for mailing purposes as well as protecting and packaging ‘sharps’ such as needles for crochet enthusiasts and drill bits etc; and clear plastic boxes are tailored to size, delivered flat to ‘pop up’ and immaculately branded for point of sale perfection.                         

 

The range of finishing products is vast, with stock items available for despatch on the same day the order is placed. Product and components not held in stock are sourced to order. Our combined technical sales team helps to ensure that specifications are clear, deliverable and that the components will satisfy their intended application. Then our extended Customer Services department follow that order and support customers through to satisfactory completion.

 

We have managed to combine: 60 years of dip and injection moulding; long run manufacturing processes; short run flexibility; an extensive product / component range in stock and to order; procurement expertise and technical sales support skills; and an exemplary multilingual customer service record.

This means that 01622 693 200 becomes the only number you need to find cost effective solutions for Protection, Packaging and Finishing.

 

 

Protection, Packaging and Finishing

01622 693 200

Sinclair & Rush Limited – the story grows on

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sinclair & Rush give a huge welcome to Component Force

We are absolutely delighted to announce a major new stage in the exciting futures of both Sinclair & Rush Ltd and Component Force Ltd. We have found the perfect fit in acquiring Component Force and welcome them warmly to the Sinclair & Rush family.

The merger of these two Kentish plastics manufacturers and distributors creates a match like the proverbial hand in glove - the corporate fit is textbook.

For those of you who don’t know, Component Force launched in October 2000 and has grown consistently over the years to the dynamic business it is today, with operations headquartered outside Rochester in Kent.

Their product range overlaps to some degree with that of Sinclair & Rush, though with notable exceptions. Both have an extensive collection of protective plugs, caps and sleeves; however Component Force deals efficiently with shorter volume orders, whereas Sinclair & Rush manufacture a combination of longer runs and / or custom dip moulding projects.

Hand grips can also be sourced from both companies, yet the options, volumes, applications, customers and manufacturing capabilities vary considerably. This means that customers now benefit from joint product / service opportunities, affording them an even bigger, broader, more cost-effective universe of plastic grip products to choose from.

Clear plastic storage, packaging, mail and point of sale products from our VisiPak division will be new to Component Force. Likewise, their ‘hardware’ range of wheels, handles, hinges and street furniture add a new dimension to Sinclair & Rush.

Component Force will immediately be able draw on our 60 years (plus) of global manufacturing and distribution, as well as the extensive plastics industry R&D to which Sinclair & Rush has been a formative contributor. We will enjoy fresh procurement skills and short run flexibility across a broader product range – and more besides no doubt.

“As part of Sinclair & Rush’s continuing expansion, we welcome Component Force into our family of companies.  We believe that their wide-ranging offerings related to product protection and component needs will greatly enhance our product portfolio and ultimately the customer experience”, said Brad Philip, President and COO, Sinclair & Rush, Inc., our US parent company.

Having merged, these two companies jointly present a cutting edge plastics manufacturing, sales and distribution business that services small to large customer product protection, packaging and finishing solutions across the UK and Europe - all wrapped in a business ethos following these two principles:

‘We are known for always striving to deliver great customer service’

            ‘Our mission is to leave our staff and customers feeling respected & valued’

31^st March 2014 – this is a very exciting day for us all and completes our vision of a corporate marriage ‘made in Kentish heaven’.

For more information please call Sinclair & Rush 01622 693 200, or visit www.sinclair-rush.co.uk