New Capabilities
The recent acquisition of Stern Rubber Company by Zhongli Corporation is going to add many capabilities to Stern Rubber over the coming years.  Zhongli is an automotive supplier that designs, develops, tests and manufactures powertrain mounts, chassis components, suspension assemblies, and plastic parts.  Stern Rubber Company will be expanding into some of these areas, and the first priority will be powertrain mounts and chassis components.
Some of the powertrain mounts that Zhongli currently produces are gearbox mounts, engine mounts, and anti-torsion bars.  Some of the chassis components will include top mounts, suspension bushings, and spring isolators.Â
Zhongli North America in Troy, Michigan currently designs, develops and tests these types of products, but they are currently manufactured in China.  Going forward, new projects will continue to be designed and tested in Michigan, but will be produced at the Staples, MN facility.  We will be also adding testing capabilities in Staples, to test parts as they are manufactured.  The acquisition has given Stern Rubber immediate access to the design and testing capabilities in Michigan.
Zhongli North America’ current testing equipment include a MTS 831 for doing testing up to 1000 Hz, and two MTS 832’s for doing multi-axis fatigue testing.  This equipment is available for Stern Rubber to use immediately, and will eventually be added to the Staples facility.  This test equipment will allow Stern Rubber to expand its offerings in vibration dampening projects.
Zhongli Corporation uses highly automated manufacturing processes in its manufacturing facilities in China.  This high level of automation will be added to Stern Rubber.  This automation will be used for future automotive projects, as well as for current customers and projects.  The first automated equipment that will be installed in Staples will be for metal preparation, and bonding agent application.
Zhongli Corporation also has a much more automated milling process to produce rubber.  They have automated weighing equipment for the ingredients, mix rubber on an internal mixer, and have a full batch off unit for prepping the material for the molding process.  The long term plan will be to upgrade the Staples facility to have similar capabilities.
It will be exciting to see all the improvements and added capabilities that will be added in the upcoming years.  If you have a project that Stern Rubber can help with, please click here to send over the information.