Graham, Blue Star Silicones Combine on Medical, Pharma Tubing

Graham Engineering Corp. and BlueStar Silicones North America are combining on an effort aimed at advancing the development of silicone-based medical and pharmaceutical tubing.

Graham, York, Pa. will lend equipment, including an American Kuhne 1.5-in. Ultra RS silicone lab extruder (photo), and extrusion processing expertise to create a silicone extrusion line at Bluestar Silicones’s 226,000 ft² technical center in York, S.C. for the collaboration. Other line components include a die package from B&H Tool, San Marcos, Calif., a downstream cooling, haul-off and cutting technology from Conair, Cranberry Township, Pa.  The site includes state-of-the-art clean rooms and enhanced quality systems. It also serves as Bluestar’s global center of excellence for healthcare, medical and long-termimplant grade silicones.

This joint effort is expected to benefit processors by enabling them to interact with and learn more about silicone materials, silicone extrusion equipment, and processing, all in one location on the state-of-the-art American Kuhne brand lab line.

“We are very excited to partner with globally-recognized extrusion innovator Graham Engineering Corporation,” says Bob Waitt, marketing manager for Bluestar Silicones’s U.S. medical market. “American Kuhne silicone extruders are the most advanced on the market today.  In concert with our silicone materials expertise, we expect the collaboration to further optimize our heat-cured rubber product processing performance, as well as to provide additional levels of technical service and training for our medical and pharmaceutical tubing customers.”

“When cutting-edge materials, equipment, and processing expertise convene, it creates a rich environment for development and learning. We believe this is a unique opportunity to ally with Bluestar Silicones and that it will cultivate learning to benefit not only both organizations and their customers, but also the industry,” said Steve Maxson, Graham’s business development director, extrusion.

In addition to heat cured rubber, Bluestar Silicones, E. Brunswick, N.J.,  offers a full range of silicone technologies for the medical and pharmaceutical markets including liquid silicone rubber (LSR), room-temperature vulcanized silicones (RTVs), skin adhesive tacky gels, cushioning gels and permanent adhesives for the healthcare market.