Rubber & Plastics News | Date: April 17, 2006

M.R. Mold expands

By Mike McNulty
Rubber & Plastics News Staff

BREA, Calif. —M.R. Mold & Engineering Corp. has expanded its plant and capabilities by adding a 4,000-sq.-ft. section to accommodate a new technical center and equipment.

The addition increases the size of the mold maker's Brea facility to 15,000 square feet and significantly expands its technical operation and capabilities, according to General Manager Jim Albert.

Two injection molding machines and other equipment were added for processing liquid silicone rubber and other thermoplastic elastomers, the company said. The Brea-headquartered firm didn't give financial details.

M.R. Mold, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, previously had a small research and development operation shoehorned within the plant, Albert said. "We basically expanded to improve customer service," he said.

That's always the bottom line at the company, he said. "We previously had a machinery in a corner that we used to supply samples and customers could see their tools being run."

The firm now can provide turnkey projects for its customers, including developing the robotics and automation needed to improve manufacturing methods, President Rick Finnie said. M.R. Mold's goal is to provide customers with the best LSR molds and molding technology needed to keep them at the top of their industries, he said.

The company, which employs about 25, was launched with the idea that it would specialize in molds for the rubber industry. In the early 1990s it branched out into making molds for plastics companies.

By the late 1990s, however, competitive pressures forced the firm to realign it's business and return to it's rubber roots while maintaining its expertise in the thermoplastics.

That led to development of a niche segment dealing with thermoplastic elastomers and LSR.