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Vital Statistics:
A new polymer research and development facility is now open in Ravenna,
Ohio, in the heart of the state’s “Polymer Valley,” home to nearly half of Ohio’s
polymer industries as well as academic resources and a dedicated polymers
workforce. The new center is part of Parker Hannifin Corp.’s Parflex divi-
sion, which designs and manufactures thermoplastic and fluoropolymer
hose, tubing, and accessories for applications in the transportation,
medical and life sciences, oil and gas, construction, and marine
industries. The 24,000-sq-ft facility consolidates the division’s R&D activities
into one location and is designed to help develop and prototype new products,
with roughly 40% of the effort so far going into innovative medical devices such as highly
flexible catheters.
Success Factors:
The facility includes a support lab, processing area, and five-story polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) paste tower
for medical tubing development, as well as offices and meeting space. The center’s services are designed to comple-
ment its customers’ product design, development, testing, and manufacturing capabilities by providing help with
everything from design expertise to prototype creation to high-volume production. A wide variety of polymers can
be processed at the new facility, including PTFE, melt-processable fluoropolymers, engineered polymers, elastomers,and thermosets. In addition, processing capabilities include multilayer,
PTFE, and thermoset extrusion, micro and traditional molding, and
twin-screw compounding. In-house material and product testing is sup-
ported by an extensive range of analytical, thermal, and rheological test
equipment.
About the Innovators:
In the past, plant managers within the Parflex facility were frequently
asked to make room in their busy production schedules to accommo-
date test runs for prototypes, as part of the division’s R&D efforts. The
result was extensive project timelines—a problem solved by the new
center. What used to require three or four weeks now takes three or
four days due to the dedicated R&D facility. A $2.3 million funding com-
mitment from Ohio’s Third Frontier Research and Development Center
Program and a $15 million investment from Parker came together to
develop the facility. The University of Akron and Cleveland Clinic Foun-
dation are collaborating with Parflex on the project as well.
What’s Next:
The center is now involved in several high profile devel-
opment projects including high-pressure compressed natu-
ral gas hose to leverage America’s recent shale gas boom,
specialty polymers to enhance existing product performance,
and two advanced technology catheter development initia-
tives with the Cleveland Clinic. The engineering team is also
working with customers to develop special tubing consisting
of unique polymers in order to improve product performance,
reliability, and costs.
Contact Details:
Donald E. Washkewicz
Center
330.296.2871,
4700 Loomis Parkway, Ravenna, OH 44266
Class 10,000 clean room for assembly
and packaging of life science and
semiconductor products.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2014
Polymer Innovation Center
Specimen
Name:
SucceSS AnAlySiS
Melt flow index machine used to test
polymer viscosities at various
temperatures.
Tri-layer extrusion line for producing
high performance tubes and hose.