ElectriPlast: Local Reporter Uncovers More...

Local Press

Digs Deeper




By Bill Powell
The (Jasper) Herald Staff Writer




[ElectriPlast Blog Editor's Note: Lately, it seems that news about Integral Technologies has been coming as fast and as forceful as a blast of water from a fireman's hose. Already the most prolific year since 2001 in terms of press releases, now we have news from The Jasper Herald that sheds more light on the Integral Technologies/Jasper Rubber relationship, progress made on the manufacture of ElectriPlast particles and future plans.]

[ElectriPlast Blog Publisher's Note: We are working hard to fact check one item within this report that caused a bit of confusion upon early reading. While it is true that Tom Aisenbrey has been working with Integral Technologies since 2000, it is also true that prior to working for Integral, he worked for another agency wherein he gained knowledge of polymer substances. It was derivatives of this exposure and self-initiated research which--upon employment with Integral Technologies--he thought might help with enhancing the adhesive quality of the corporate focus of the moment, the Flat Panel satellite antenna. But that is me reading far too much into the reference of the " 9 years " noted within the article. We will fact check this reference and get back to you with the actual response from the Herald's Staff Reporter as soon as possible. PK sends...]


Jasper Rubber to Make Revolutionary Product

JASPER, IN, Nov. 30 --- Considering that the company involved was founded in 1949 to manufacture rubber plungers, a major business deal involving Jasper Rubber Products and a revolutionary new product is something of a bombshell.

"The execution of this manufacturing agreement places (Jasper Rubber) squarely in the middle of potentially one of the largest technological advancements ever to occur in the rubber and plastics industries,” is how Doug Mathias, the company’s president and CEO, describes an agreement with Integral Technologies Inc.

Integral Technologies, of Bellingham, Wash., has selected Jasper Rubber as the official manufacturer of ElectriPlast, a plastic that conducts electricity.

ElectriPlast is the world’s first highly conductive plastic, according to its inventor and Integral Technologies chief technical officer Tom Aisenbrey.

Aisenbrey, 49, has been working the last nine years to perfect the plastic that conducts electricity as if it were metal. It does it in a unique way, using a proprietary recipe that can create a vast variety of highly conductive polymers.

The inventor spoke to The Herald from Jasper Rubber’s production floor today.

Almost anything made from metal today can now be molded from ElectriPlast. Integral Technologies and Jasper Rubber are now front and center in a growing, multibillion-dollar industry, Aisenbrey said. “The market for it is astronomical,” he added.

While other conductive plastics on the market are considered semi-conductors, Aisenbrey said household current can actually be run through ElectriPlast.

The big companies that approached Integral Technologies about producing ElectriPlast did not leave Aisenbrey with a safe feeling. The opposite is true with Jasper Rubber; he added, and that means from the top executives to the work force on the production floor.

Jasper Rubber initially approached Integral Technologies about simply using its product. As the two corporate entities talked, the Washington-based company asked the Jasper company to take ElectriPlast from the prototype to production stage.

“I haven’t felt like I’ve worked with a better group of guys in 25 years,” Aisenbrey said. “The atmosphere here is one of the best I’ve seen in any factory and I work in factories all over the world. These guys are just good, wholesome people here. It’s been a blessing to have Jasper come into my life.”

“We’re extremely happy to be selected to be the worldwide, exclusive manufacturer,” Mathias said.

After Jasper Rubber’s purchase of some new equipment, Aisenbrey said, “we’re making pellets like crazy every day now.”

With more than 800 employees, Jasper Rubber had already established itself as a leader in rubber and plastics development, according to Mathias. The company is still manufacturing molded, extruded, lathe-cut rubber and thermoplastic products for the major appliance, oil filter and automotive industries.

But now, in a departure from just making parts, Jasper Rubber has also been manufacturing the ElectriPlast pellets for parts makers around the globe since October. The process involves a lot of automation, Mathias said, but it will also mean “some additions to staff along the way.” He declined to discuss numbers.

Jasper Rubber also has a license agreement to manufacture some parts out of ElectriPlast.

There already are 111 ElectiPlast patents, with thousands of applications already identified. ElectriPlast, according to its makers, can be used in household appliances, in construction, in the automotive industry, in the medical device arena and in the defense industry.

On average, Aisenbrey said, ElectriPlast components weigh 40 percent less than aluminum counterparts. Using a jet airliner as an example, Aisenbrey said, the use of ElectriPlast for its wiring harness could strip out 3,000 pounds of weight. “That would hold true for vehicles, boats and anything else,” he said.

According to Mathias, bringing Jasper Rubber’s sales force into the equation will help identify new business opportunities for the ElectriPlast. Special training for the sales force began in October.

Dealing with patent-protected property give Jasper Rubber “an opportunity to have larger margins (and) not have to concede on terms to customers,” Mathias said.