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Stockwell Rubber
Stockwell Elastomerics, Inc. History
Occasionally they hear comments from customers and vendors who are surprised that Stockwell Elastomerics is still privately held – and a 4 generation business that continues to operate independently in a dynamic marketplace.
They successfully operate the business in Philadelphia – with an interesting mix of diversity and culture in Their 75 person workforce. Their commitment and the systems they have developed using Lean Business tools have enabled them to build a Rapid Customer Response system that they strive to have recognized as world class. They have more growth ahead of them – and they are committed to remaining in Philadelphia to benefit their dedicated staff who serve their customers with excellence and passion.
Come see them, meet their dedicated staff or contact me to learn more about what they are up to.
Their First 90 Years
Stockwell Elastomerics is a fourth generation, privately held business founded in 1919 as a distributor of belting, hose, sheet rubber packing and wholesale rubber products by Frederick E. Stockwell. They have changed greatly over the years. Each succeeding generation has made its mark on the company, capitalizing on market opportunities, incorporating new products and capabilities and surviving the challenges that beset all small businesses.
Elbridge F. Stockwell became President of their firm in 1949. It was during the late 1940s when their firm adopted new materials and technologies such as Rubatex? closed cell neoprene sponge and silicone rubber products made in sheets from General Electric silicone compounds. These products helped their company penetrate the early aerospace, aircraft, color television and business machines markets of the 1950s and 1960s.
Elbridge F. Stockwell, Jr. became President of their firm in 1968, during the peak years of the space program. Silicone rubber components provided by Stockwell Elastomerics orbited the earth and landed on the moon. However, through the 1970s the Philadelphia industrial market matured, with many customers leaving the region for what was called the 'Sun Belt'. Since many of these customers were the main users of their traditional hose, belting and rubber packing distributor product line - they decided to improve and expand their in-house die cutting and rubber molding production capabilities, and concentrate on the manufacture of gaskets, seals and cushioning components. This shift toward supporting Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) customers was a defining period in the history of the company.
William B. Stockwell became President of the firm in 1980. They relocated from a multi-story facility to their present location at 4749 Tolbut Street in northeast Philadelphia in March 1981, and continued to invest in new equipment for the custom rubber molding and fabrication operations. Significant investments were made in R&D and Process Development to support the Strategic Aerospace and Defense Electronics sectors throughout the 1980s. Conductive elastomers for ESD Protection, thermally conductive silicones and advancements in rubber molding technologies were keys to their success.
Stockwell Elastomerics transitioned once again in the early 1990s to commercial high technology applications - utilizing the silicone rubber materials technologies developed in the 1980s. Additional materials such as Rogers Corporation PORON? cellular urethanes, BISCO? silicone foams, COHRlastic? (now NORSEAL?) silicone sponge and solid silicone and Specialty Silicone Products' conductive silicones for EMI shielding enabled them to provide a broad range of solutions to the engineering community in their core markets. With the support of their strategic vendor base, their core competence truly became the fabrication and molding of silicone rubber and related high performance elastomers.
However, the global economy also dictates leaner operations and responsive production lead times. Recognizing this trend, Stockwell Elastomerics purchased the adjacent property (4773 Tolbut Street) in 1996 to facilitate further production capacity expansion. After a significant renovation, their custom molding operations were moved into the new facility in early 1997. With this added space, the company expanded into liquid injection molding of silicone rubber (LSR). The fast cure cycles of liquid injection molding enable fast-turn initial production of molded silicone rubber components from relatively simple single cavity molds.
In 2001, they invested in a Flow International water jet system, to cut fast turn prototypes and initial production runs for innovative customers in the technology sector. With a properly scaled and dimensioned dxf file received in the morning, they developed capability to ship prototypes that night if the situation required. In 2002 they purchased a second water jet system and in 2003 they purchased a third water jet system. Interestingly, much of running time on the water jet systems is consumed by production work, such as gaskets with very narrow walls and othe
Occasionally they hear comments from customers and vendors who are surprised that Stockwell Elastomerics is still privately held – and a 4 generation business that continues to operate independently in a dynamic marketplace.
They successfully operate the business in Philadelphia – with an interesting mix of diversity and culture in Their 75 person workforce. Their commitment and the systems they have developed using Lean Business tools have enabled them to build a Rapid Customer Response system that they strive to have recognized as world class. They have more growth ahead of them – and they are committed to remaining in Philadelphia to benefit their dedicated staff who serve their customers with excellence and passion.
Come see them, meet their dedicated staff or contact me to learn more about what they are up to.
Their First 90 Years
Stockwell Elastomerics is a fourth generation, privately held business founded in 1919 as a distributor of belting, hose, sheet rubber packing and wholesale rubber products by Frederick E. Stockwell. They have changed greatly over the years. Each succeeding generation has made its mark on the company, capitalizing on market opportunities, incorporating new products and capabilities and surviving the challenges that beset all small businesses.
Elbridge F. Stockwell became President of their firm in 1949. It was during the late 1940s when their firm adopted new materials and technologies such as Rubatex? closed cell neoprene sponge and silicone rubber products made in sheets from General Electric silicone compounds. These products helped their company penetrate the early aerospace, aircraft, color television and business machines markets of the 1950s and 1960s.
Elbridge F. Stockwell, Jr. became President of their firm in 1968, during the peak years of the space program. Silicone rubber components provided by Stockwell Elastomerics orbited the earth and landed on the moon. However, through the 1970s the Philadelphia industrial market matured, with many customers leaving the region for what was called the 'Sun Belt'. Since many of these customers were the main users of their traditional hose, belting and rubber packing distributor product line - they decided to improve and expand their in-house die cutting and rubber molding production capabilities, and concentrate on the manufacture of gaskets, seals and cushioning components. This shift toward supporting Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) customers was a defining period in the history of the company.
William B. Stockwell became President of the firm in 1980. They relocated from a multi-story facility to their present location at 4749 Tolbut Street in northeast Philadelphia in March 1981, and continued to invest in new equipment for the custom rubber molding and fabrication operations. Significant investments were made in R&D and Process Development to support the Strategic Aerospace and Defense Electronics sectors throughout the 1980s. Conductive elastomers for ESD Protection, thermally conductive silicones and advancements in rubber molding technologies were keys to their success.
Stockwell Elastomerics transitioned once again in the early 1990s to commercial high technology applications - utilizing the silicone rubber materials technologies developed in the 1980s. Additional materials such as Rogers Corporation PORON? cellular urethanes, BISCO? silicone foams, COHRlastic? (now NORSEAL?) silicone sponge and solid silicone and Specialty Silicone Products' conductive silicones for EMI shielding enabled them to provide a broad range of solutions to the engineering community in their core markets. With the support of their strategic vendor base, their core competence truly became the fabrication and molding of silicone rubber and related high performance elastomers.
However, the global economy also dictates leaner operations and responsive production lead times. Recognizing this trend, Stockwell Elastomerics purchased the adjacent property (4773 Tolbut Street) in 1996 to facilitate further production capacity expansion. After a significant renovation, their custom molding operations were moved into the new facility in early 1997. With this added space, the company expanded into liquid injection molding of silicone rubber (LSR). The fast cure cycles of liquid injection molding enable fast-turn initial production of molded silicone rubber components from relatively simple single cavity molds.
In 2001, they invested in a Flow International water jet system, to cut fast turn prototypes and initial production runs for innovative customers in the technology sector. With a properly scaled and dimensioned dxf file received in the morning, they developed capability to ship prototypes that night if the situation required. In 2002 they purchased a second water jet system and in 2003 they purchased a third water jet system. Interestingly, much of running time on the water jet systems is consumed by production work, such as gaskets with very narrow walls and othe