International. OEMs want high-performance waterproof seals and an increasing number will specify that these are coated to improve performance.
Canadian coatings manufacturer GBIE has announced the opening of a new additional production facility for its SLIP-COAT water-based abrasion resistant coatings (ARC) for automotive weatherstripping sealing systems.
The large investment allows GBIE to adapt to growing customer demand with an immediate doubling of production capacity and a pre-built capacity to easily integrate more equipment as needed to increase production capacity eightfold.
The new 64,000 square foot facility, located in Windsor, Ontario, is a completely new construction that has been carefully designed to maximize efficiency and houses a large R+D laboratory.
It is equipped with state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and adopts a strong safety culture with eco-efficient designs implemented to minimize waste and reduce operational carbon footprint, including a rainwater capture system for use in cleaning processes.
OEMs want high-performance waterproof seals and an increasing number will specify that these are coated to improve performance (in particular, noise reduction in the case of electric vehicles), aesthetics and haptics.
"The commissioning of our new factory is an important chapter in the history of our family business and marks a major gear shift that takes our business to the next level," explained GBIE President David Bareich.
"It also comes at an opportune time as we are seeing an increase in demand for sustainable, high-performance coating solutions and we are also introducing some fantastic new eco-friendly products developed at GBIE, including water-based primers and cleaners," Bareich explained.
"Pure science has always been at the core of our success and the lean new facility with its dedicated R+D lab will support our planned technological acceleration that will allow us to not only support our customers' growth, but also expand our existing customer base," continued Bareich.
"As far as we're concerned, the sky is the limit in terms of innovation in our already advanced coating technologies, and we couldn't be more excited about GBIE's future," added Bareich.
