the Magazine as a pdf file

Nolato Magazine
No. 24 / Nov 2013
Rapid support in the development of aortic valve tools
A tool manufactured by Nolato
in the US plays an
important role in
heart surgery on
high risk patients.
Read more on page 4.
Proposed material switch
profitable for both parties
Thanks to a proactive working
method, customers’ costs have been
reduced.
Read more on page 6.
Cost-effective relocation
of millions of pen parts
There will now be
millions of pens at
Nolato Hertila. Or
plenty of parts of
pens at least.
Alexandra Svensk is a project
manager at Nolato Gota.
Close cooperation with Volvo
Cars from concept to delivery
of parts for the new engine family
Read more on page 8.
Read more on page 7.
Automatic surveillance
detects the slightest defect
Essential medicines require perfect
packaging. Which is
why pharmaceutical jars are checked
automatically.
Read more on page 12.
1
Nolato-made products in focus during Obama’s KTH visit
During US President Barack Obama’s stay in Sweden, he visited
the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, where he
was informed of such things as fuel cell technology from development companies myFC and PowerCell. Both products con-
Production managers
shared their experience
Just after the summer, Nolato’s production managers met up for three days to
exchange experiences, primarily within the area of lean manufacturing. The
meeting was part of Nolato’s leadership
training programme and involved lectures from external specialists as well
as experience exchange events including visits to Nolato Plastteknik, Nolato
Gota and Nolato Cerbo.
2
tain essential parts manufactured by Nolato. The image shows
President Obama with Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and
researchers Rakel Wreland Lindström and Carina Lagergren.
Nolato Medical expands
its operations in China
Nolato is expanding its Chinese production facility with an additional 2,200
square metres, of which around 800
square metres will be clean room of the
highest standard in accordance with ISO
14644-1:1999, class 8.
“China is the fastest growing market
for pharmaceuticals and medical devices, which means that more and more of
our customers are discussing expanded
production in China for the Asian market,” says Christer Wahlquist, President
of the Nolato Medical business area.
The expansion, which will accommodate
around 30 injection moulding machines,
is being made to allow us to stay one
step ahead of our customers and secure
resources for future growth in China.
“Our philosophy is to be a close, longterm and reliable partner who can offer
our customers global development and
production facilities. The new facility
will satisfy even the most demanding
requirements of our customers,” Christer
Wahlquist adds.
Nolato Medical has been active in
China since 2008. Overall, Nolato Medical has around 25,000 square metres of
clean room capacity in a range of classes at nine facilities in Asia, Europe and
North America.
Nolato expanding
in Hungary
Nolato is refining, selling
its Sunne operation
Nolato is extending its Hungarian production unit by a further 3,700 square
metres in order to create room for
expansion. The unit produces for both
Nolato Medical and Nolato Industrial
customers.
“Our Hungarian operations have
grown substantially in recent years and
we need to expand our resources in
order to continue meeting customers’
production requirements”, comments
Nolato’s President and CEO Hans Porat.
“The extension also creates even higher
fundamentals for efficient production.”
The extension is expected to be
brought into use in the latter part of
2014.
The Nolato Group has sold its subsidiary, Nolato Sunne AB, to an associated
company within Per Vannesjö Industri AB.
“Nolato Sunne focuses entirely on
the production of rubber products,
which is unique to this company within the group. This sale is a step towards
our increased focus on the development and manufacture of plastic, silicone and TPE products,” comments
Johan Arvidsson, head of the Nolato
Industrial business area.
Nolato Sunne has 95 employees and
a turnover of approx. SEK 130 million.
The buyer took over the operation on
1 November 2013.
Hans Porat, President and CEO
Welcome to
the Nolato Magazine!
In this edition, as usual we will be
showing you Nolato’s capability
when it comes to supporting our customers, from development to delivery. For example, we will be telling the story of how a development
company in the US, without any prior experience of plastic products,
approached Nolato Contour for
help with the design of a disposable
tool for use in aortic valve replacement surgeries. And how Volvo Cars
turned to Nolato for support in the
development and subsequent production of parts for their new engine
family.
We’ll also be describing the winwin situation in which Kinnarps
received a proposal about a material switch in parts for their office
chairs. And how Nolato Hertila got
Ballograf to relocate their entire inhouse plastic injection moulding production unit for pens, thanks to highly efficient production.
In addition to a whole lot more
about how we work to generate
value for our customers and owners alike.
Happy reading!
Hans Porat
President and CEO
Nolato Magazine is produced for our customers,
shareholders and employees, and anyone else with
an interest in the Group. Editor: Mats Håkanson.
Printed in Sweden by JMS.
Nolato AB, SE-269 04 Torekov, Sweden
+46 431 442290 • info@nolato.com • www.nolato.com
3
A DVANCED P R O D UC T S
Rapid support with knowledge
of materials, processes and
design resulted in an effective tool
for aortic valve replacement surgery
In aortic valve replacement surgery on high risk patients, a method is used
that involves the new valve being delivered to the heart via a catheter. A tool
manufactured by Nolato Medical plays an important role during surgery.
Some years ago, the transcatheter aortic
valve repair technique (TAVR) started to
become more common for people with
symptomatic aortic stenosis who are
considered to be high-risk patients for
open-heart surgery. This minimal invasive surgical procedure repairs a heart
valve without removing the old, damaged valve. Instead, it wedges a replacement valve into the place of the damaged
valve.
Somewhat similar to a stent placed in
an artery, the TAVR approach delivers a
replacement valve to the heart through a
catheter.
Compressed by the surgeon
The new valve is made of biological tissue leaflets surrounded by a stent (a metal frame). Before entering the body the
valve has to be compressed by the surgeon with a special crimping tool.
Global medical device company Sorin commissioned US device design company Machine Solutions to develop a
simple, low cost disposable aortic valve
4
crimping tool. The tool was to be a component in a broader device kit for TAVR.
No experience of moulding
Used to producing highly automated
and high value capital equipment for the
medical device industry, Machine Solutions wrestled with this idea. They had
never produced a plastic device before,
so they contacted Nolato Medical’s team
of engineers in Baldwin, Wisconsin (at
that time Contour Plastics).
The team was perfect for the job,
thanks to their expertise in new product development and their speed-to-market approach; not to mention the fact
that Machine Solutions knew very little
about injection moulding, as John Martin of Nolato recalls:
“The project engineers worked closely
with the product designers at Machine
Solutions, helping them create a device
that would be suitable for injection
moulding. Since Machine Solutions’ prior experience had been of manufacturing machined parts, their designs were
not compatible with the moulding process – they had no experience with thermoplastic resins. Nolato recommended materials and manufacturing solutions based upon the strict requirements
for the device. Since the assembly process involved a lot of moving parts that
required lubrication, which also had to
withstand sterilisation through gamma
radiation, some very unique engineered
grade resins were recommended.”
DFM and DFA support
Nolato also had to take into account
the fact that parts had to be designed
for both manufacturing and easy assembly. “Our engineers provided invaluable
DFM and DFA support for a suitable
design, for not only moulding but for
assembly as well.”
This was a great accomplishment for
the Nolato team, since it represented
the first fully-assembled device in their
Class 7 clean room facility. The assembly includes 26 injection moulded components, two sub-assemblies, 24 fasten-
With 26 different components, two sub-assemblies, 24 inserts and a lot of moving parts, the crimping tool has been fairly
complex to design, injection mould and assemble.
ing hardware inserts and numerous pad
printed graphics. Once fully assembled,
the product was prepped and packaged
for sterilisation.
To Machine Solutions’ delight, the
team of engineers at Nolato was able to
work diligently to rapidly turn around
effective prototypes of the crimping tool
within just a few months.
The tool is now being used by clinicians in Europe and awaiting FDA
approval in the United States.
The project has opened up a new business segment for Machines Solutions,
and according to president of the company Daniel Kasprzyk, “The successful
launch and work with Nolato has made
us think differently about product design
and assembly, where previously we never
considered precision mechanical designs
for injection moulding. We now have a
handful of projects we will be discussing
with Nolato and I would definitely recommend them.”
BACKGROU ND: TAV R
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement surgery is carried out via a
small incision, for example, in the
groin. Using a catheter, the new
valve is inserted in a compressed
state through the femoral vein. Once
the new valve reaches the heart, it
expands and forces the damaged
valve aside.
5
C ONSTANT I M P RO V E M E N T S
“Proposing the switch to a new material created a win-win situation,” explains Per Berlin, salesperson at Nolato Polymer.
Active material switch for chair parts
profitable for customers and suppliers alike
At Nolato Polymer they have long been producing plastic parts for Kinnarps’
office chairs. Thanks to a proactive working method, it has been possible to
reduce the customers’ costs, without an impact on quality or function.
At their factory in Ängelholm, Nolato
Polymer has been manufacturing a number of different plastic parts for the
Swedish company Kinnarps’ office chairs
for the past five years.
As is the case throughout the group,
Nolato Polymer are constantly striving
to refine production and create improvements for the customers as a result.
Proactive working method
“We have a proactive working method
and always want our customers to feel
that we are doing our very best,” says
Per Berlin, salesperson at Nolato Polymer. “But eventually you get to a point
6
where it is no longer possible to further
improve production.
Which is why we began looking at the
plastic material we were using in production,” explains Per Berlin. “Could we
switch to a cheaper material, without
affecting the function?”
After searching the market and testing
several different materials, we actually
found a solution that would reduce the
cost of the parts for Kinnarps.
“All of the customer’s specifications
were still met, so we visited Kinnarps
and presented our proposal for a material switch,” says Per Berlin.
“And once they had tested and test-
assembled the parts in the new material,
they decided to follow our recommendation.”
Profitable for both parties
The switch was a win-win situation
for both parties, as the cost saving was
shared by both the supplier and the customer.
“A perfect win for us,” says Per Berlin.
“Not just financially, but also because
we have yet again been able to demonstrate that we are not just manufacturers
with good prices, we also live up to our
goal of being a profitable development
supplier for the customer.”
E FFECTI VE P RO D UC T IO N
Cost-effective relocation
of millions of pen parts
There will now be plenty of pens at Nolato
Hertila. Or plenty of parts of pens at least.
Several million parts for ballpoint pens
and propelling pencils will now be produced every year at Nolato Hertila in
Åstorp, Sweden, since the prestigious
Swedish pen manufacturer, Ballograf,
has handed over all of its plastic production to Nolato.
“Ballograf produces approx. 4 million pens a year, and we will be producing all of the plastic parts for the pens,”
explains Patrik Peterson of Nolato
Hertila.
“Our production unit is so cost-effective that Ballograf decided to close down
their own injection moulding unit and
transfer everything to us.”
Ballograf has been manufacturing
ballpoint pens for more than 60 years.
The pens are still assembled in Gothenburg, Sweden, and sold throughout the
Nordic countries, and in places such as
Japan, France, Switzerland, Italy, Poland,
Germany, Austria and the US. Roughly
half of the produced pens are exported.
“We have chosen Nolato Hertila to be
our plastic parts production partner as
they have shown a knowledge of and
interest in our type of production,” says
Peter Orrgren, MD of Ballograf. “An
important criterion for us during our
internal supplier selection process has
been to keep production in Sweden as far
as possible. Our own production unit is
now being transferred and we look forward to a long and exciting working
relationship.”
“Our production unit is so cost-effective that Ballograf closed down their own injection moulding unit and transferred production of their plastic parts over to us,” explains Patrik Peterson (left). Shown together with machine operator Conny Dufva.
7
E ARLY I NVO LV E ME N T
Close cooperation
from initial concept
to efficient production
Production of Volvo’s new engine family VEA
– Volvo Engine Architecture – has now begun at
Volvo Cars’ engine factory. Nolato has been involved throughout the development phase and is
manufacturing parts for the new engines.
This focus on new four cylinder petrol
and diesel engines is part of Volvo Cars’
independence strategy for the future.
Having full control of development and
production increases both flexibility and
the opportunities for affecting the quality of the engines.
“The new series of engines is a milestone in Volvo Cars’ history,” says Derek
Crabb, vice president of Powertrain
Engineering. “With our new engine family, we are placing more focus on the
driving experience and on fuel efficiency.”
Newly developed from scratch
The new engines are being manufactured
at Volvo Cars’ engine factory in Skövde,
Sweden, and have been newly developed
from scratch. The engines are smaller
than previous engines, and yet they provide greater performance and lower fuel
consumption.
“We have wanted to offer good fuel
8
economy, low environmental impact and
major driving pleasure for an attractive
price,” comments Derek Crabb.
Nolato has been involved throughout the development phase and is now
manufacturing parts for the new series
of engines. It is mainly Nolato Gota and
Nolato Lövepac that have been involved
in the process.
Development of the intake manifold
“The biggest and most complicated part
that we are involved in is the intake manifold for the new engine series,” explains
Klas Persson, sales manager at Nolato
Gota in Götene, Sweden. “In 2009 we
received an enquiry from Volvo Cars’
engine factory about helping them with
the concept work.”
In the development of previous
engines for Volvo’s passenger cars, a
substantial amount of the development
work has been carried out by the major
system suppliers, usually in Germany.
Nolato has been involved in development
of the manifold for the new engine family
since the initial concept phase.
9
But for the new series, a conscious strategy of Volvo Cars has been to take control
of the development process. The work
on the new engine series has therefore
largely been carried by Swedish engineering teams.
The new intake manifold has, for
example, been developed in close cooperation between Volvo’s engineers in
Gothenburg and Nolato Gota, as well as
a couple of Swedish consultancies.
Optimising the process
“To begin with it was mostly about discussing pure concept solutions, what
was possible and not possible to produce,” explains Klas Persson. “During
later stages of the project, the work has
mostly been based on optimising the
design and construction, in order to create the most efficient product solution
possible. Both financially and qualitatively.”
“In addition, we have designed testing tools for the various development
phases.”
Production of the new intake manifold – of which there are two versions,
for petrol and diesel engines respectively
– is fairly complex and involves a number of different stages.
“We deliver a finished product to the
Volvo Cars engine factory in Skövde,”
says Klas Persson. “In addition to injection moulding, the highly automated
production line also includes the embedding of metal casing, welding and assembly of various parts.”
At the end of the line, the intake manifold is pressure-tested, after which it is
packed for delivery to Skövde for fitting
to the engine.
Close proximity is a good thing
“It has been both an interesting and
a pleasant project,” reveals Klas Persson. “Close proximity to the customer
has made it easier for them and for us.
A short drive instead of international
flights makes meetings easier.”
“We now hope that the new series of
engines will contribute to good sales figures for Volvo Cars and that as a result
we will be able to produce both the
intake manifold and the other articles we
manufacture for a long time to come.”
Above: Sebastian Mann Andersson, operator, during production of the intake manifold. Below: Jan Jacobsson, production
technician, Alexandra Svensk, project manager and Jan Wedebrand, senior manager project engineering of Nolato Gota.
10
“By coming in early in the process, we were able to create efficient solutions for the gaskets for the new engine family,” explains
Jesper Johansson, marketing manager, and Ola Hultberg, production technique manager.
Early cooperation for development
of the new gaskets
Also Nolato Lövepac has been closely involved in
the development of Volvo’s new series of engines.
“Just over three years ago we received an
enquiry from Volvo’s constructors about
gasket solutions for the new engines,”
reveals Ola Hultberg, development
director of Nolato Lövepac.
“Based on their specifications, we
drew up a few possible solutions that
would meet the demands of a new generation engines. Throughout the ongoing development work, the solutions
were gradually refined and we have now
begun supplying gaskets for the new
series of engines.”
Several different gaskets
Nolato Lövepac produces a lot of the
secondary gaskets in the engine. This
includes, for example, manifold and
exhaust gaskets as well as gaskets for oil
and water connections.
The gaskets are die cut from stainless
steel, which in some cases is rubber coated for additional sealing properties.
Joined the process early
“We have a close, positive working relationship with the constructors at Volvo,”
comments Jesper Johansson, sales director. “By joining the development process early, we could create solutions that
effectively met their requirements and
could still be manufactured rationally.”
“We are now in the process of preparing ourselves for production of the gaskets for Volvo Cars’ new engine factory
in China as well. We are establishing a
department within Nolato’s existing unit
in Beijing, which means we are faster
and can get production up and running
with less risk.”
11
H I GH PRODU C T ION R E L IAB IL IT Y
Automatic surveillance
detects the slightest defect
Every pharmaceutical packet that Nolato manufactures must be checked to ensure it meets the
highest patient safety standards.
The quality requirements for pharmaceutical packaging are high and each
package must be checked to ensure
patient safety, for example the absence of
material contamination. But at the same
time, all production must be as costeffective as possible.
Automatic surveillance of production,
using computers that interpret images
from cameras and ensure everything is in
order, is nothing new in itself. But with
modern demands on ever higher costefficiency, you must have a system that
really has been optimised for your own
business.
Lower costs for our own system
Therefore, in 2013 the British company
Nolato Jaycare, which is part of Nolato
Medical Pharma Packaging and has production units in Portsmouth and Newcastle, developed its own automatic con-
Automatic inspection of pharmaceutical packaging inside the black globe.
trol system. The system uses four cameras and standard vision control software that, with the help of an interface
developed by Nolato Jaycare’s technicians, has been custom designed for the
purpose.
By using standard products and adapting it themselves, the final cost for the
system was 30% lower than the market
price for a similar solution.
Nolato Jaycare’s system can automatically inspect jars of up to 300 ml in size
and has a production speed of 4,000
units an hour, i.e. just over one jar a second. The smallest defect that can be
detected is as little as 0.1 mm.
Better lid control
Also the Swedish sister company Nolato
Cerbo in Trollhättan has had a new
vision system installed this year. Here
they manufacture best selling lid SC
Light and have installed a system that
enables inspection of the top and bottom
of every lid.
Five cameras – one from above,
three on the sides and one from below
– inspect unfilled parts, discolouration,
colour shades, ovality, assembly and
owerflow.
The system also identifies in which of
the injection moulding tool’s cavities a
possible faulty lid has been produced.
That way you get a good picture of the
tool’s status.
Fixation by vacuum
The closures are so small and lightweight
that it is difficult to hold them in place
for the brief amount of time that the
cameras are inspecting the lid. The solution was to hold them in place with the
help of vacuum. Two vertically parallel
conveyor belts mean the lid can switch
from being held in place from below, to
instead being held in place from above.
That way, the inspection can be carried
out from both sides.
The result of the new equipment is
that lid inspections are more thorough,
in addition to be carried out from both
sides and with more points of measurement. Which means an even safer product than before.
12
Thermal interface
material new product
Yanxia Wang at Lövepac Converting analyses a thermal dissipation material with
an IR camera and advanced software.
THERMAL MA N AG E M E N T
Nolato Silikonteknik has expanded its
product portfolio to include thermal
interface materials.
A wider range of products enables us
to help customers with more complex
problems.
The new range goes under the name of
Compatherm and is used to divert thermal heat from hot circuit board components.
“Our new material fills in air pockets and microscopic irregularities, which
provides a dramatically greater cooling effect,” explains Bei Ding of Nolato
Silikonteknik.
The material is sold in sheets and is
easy to cut to size for a perfect fit. The
thermal conductivity value (WmK) can
be certified for each individual batch.
The new material fills in air pockets and
increases the cooling effect.
Advance testing lab in Beijing
for optimum thermal dissipation
A growing problem for all constructors
of electronic equipment is the high level
of heat generated by today’s increasingly powerful components. While the electronics are getting hotter, the parts must
be squeezed together in as small a space
as possible, which further restricts thermal dissipation.
Thermal Management has therefore
become a very hot topic on the agenda.
What is the easiest way to effectively
divert heat from the components, to prevent them from being damaged or from
making the product uncomfortable to
use?
Technicians and researchers
Within Nolato Telecom, Lövepac Converting, with its head office in Beijing,
China, has opened an R&D centre to
design the best solutions for diverting
heat from electronics in, for example,
mobile phones. A team of experienced
technicians have been attached to the
new unit, supported by researchers and
other experts within the field. Even the
equipment in the new laboratory creates major opportunities for advanced
analyses.
Virtual testing
“We can create virtual models of thermal conditions to simulate and analyse
various different thermal dissipation
solutions,” explains Dan Wong, MD of
Lövepac Converting. “It enables us to
test different materials and applications
before they actually exist. That way we
are both faster and more cost-effective.”
“Our goal is to be a leader within Thermal Management,” reveals Dan Wong.
“This means that we will be able to supply optimum solutions for each individual customer project.”
13
Nolato Medical: Medtec, Stuttgart, Germany
Pharma Packaging: ICSE, Frankfurt, Germany
Nolato Silikonteknik: EMC China, Shanghai
Nolato Industrial: Elmia Subcontractor, Jönköping, Sweden
All credit to social media,
but meeting IRL is cool too!
Despite the fact that we live in the digital age, where we can easily meet at any
time via the social media, telephone or
video conferencing, IRL meetings (in real
life) are still very important.
Trade fairs – where salespeople and
customers cross paths, shake hands, look
each other in the eye and take some time
to talk about the latest developments,
handle the products and share a cup of
coffee – still play an important role in a
modern company’s marketing communication.
As a global company, Nolato exhibits
at trade fairs on almost every continent.
The most common trade fairs we attend
14
are in Europe, Asia and North America,
but North African trade fairs are also on
the agenda.
All of Nolato’s marketing communication is based on the business area or the
individual company. Even if the design
of the exhibition stand is always based
on our corporate common graphic profile, it can be interpreted differently and
thereby give each area of the group its
own image.
For example, Nolato Medical’s exhibition stand at the Medtec Exhibition naturally alluded to the white purity of its
business subject, whereas Nolato Industrial’s exhibition stand at the Swedish
Elmia Subcontractor show used red as a
signal colour against an otherwise grey
stand – at least when it came to the colour scheme.
15
Nolato AB, SE-269 04 Torekov, Sweden
3
The 2013 Nolato Medical Camp theme was “What actually makes a project successful?” With
interesting lectures about projects from different perspectives and how to reach the top (without falling down), combined with rewarding talks and mentally stimulating outdoor activities,
the numerous participants enjoyed two successful days of camping. It’s soon time again!
16