Mack Blog

Nancy Cefalo, a 14-year employee of Mack Molding, has been promoted to human resources director for the company’s three Vermont manufacturing facilities, it was announced today by President Jeff Somple.

“Nancy has served as human resources manager during her entire tenure at Mack and is uniquely qualified for her new role and responsibilities,” says Somple. “Beyond HR experience, she brings a well-rounded background of nursing, organizational management and mediation training to the table. She will be a welcome addition to my staff.”

Cefalo replaces Kevin Dailey, who has served as HR director for 16 years, but has now accepted the new position of VP, human resources, for Southwestern Vermont Health Care (Bennington, Vt.). “Kevin has been on the Board of Trustees of the hospital for several years and has a strong interest in healthcare issues,” adds Somple. “This is a wonderful opportunity for him — we wish him the best in his new and exciting position.”

Before joining Mack, Cefalo worked as a home health nurse for Manchester Health Services, Manchester, Vt., where she established the Maternal Child Health Program for wellness and preventive care. Earlier, she was owner/operator of a family restaurant, where she managed all operations, including human resources.

Cefalo holds an associate’s in nursing from Bunkerhill Community College (Charlestown, Mass.), a certificate in mediation/conflict management from Woodbury College (Montpelier, Vt.), and a bachelor’s in organizational management/psychology from Ashford University (Clinton, Iowa).

Active in the community, she is a member of the board of directors for the Battenkill Valley Health Center in Arlington and past treasurer of the Arlington Area Child Care board of directors. Cefalo is also a member of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Cefalo lives in Arlington, Vt., with her husband, Richard. They are the parents of three adult children and are now enjoying two young grandsons. When she isn’t working, Cefalo enjoys cooking, hiking and bicycling.

Effective today, Jeff Somple, president, Mack Molding Northern Division, will assume the presidency of all of Mack Molding, it was announced by Don Kendall, CEO and chairman of the privately held Mack Group.

“Jeff took over the helm of our northern division in 2002 and has delivered sustainable, profitable growth ever since,” says Kendall.  “That has been particularly challenging in the face of the Great Recession, financial market chaos, massive job loss throughout the country, and a tepid economic recovery. For Mack, this time period also reflected a significant loss of sales from the computer and business equipment sector to overseas low-cost labor; diversification of our markets with a major thrust toward medical device manufacturing; grass-roots development of a full-service machining center; and the acquisition of an engineering services company to enhance upfront design capabilities. Jeff has demonstrated strong, confident leadership throughout each of these challenges. I am extremely pleased he has chosen to accept this one as well.”

As president of Mack Molding, Somple will be responsible for both its northern and southern divisions, including five manufacturing facilities in Vermont, North Carolina and South Carolina; Mack Prototype, a prototyping and low-volume manufacturing facility in Massachusetts; and Synectic, an engineering services group in Connecticut. Kendall will remain as CEO and chairman of Mack Group, which includes Mack Molding and Mack Technologies.

Somple has been with Mack since 1988, when he joined the sales department. He moved quickly up the ranks to vice president, sales/engineering, and then president, Northern Division. Earlier, Somple was northeast regional sales manager for five years for Continental Extrusion Corporation, an extruder, printer and converter of plastic packaging in Garden City, N.Y. He also owned and operated his own restaurant in Black Rock, Ct.

Somple holds a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt. He and his wife, China, are the parents of three daughters and make their home in Manchester Center, Vt.

It has long been an accepted practice in the plastics industry to maintain a 60 percent rib-to-nominal-wall ratio in injection molded parts. Any increase in this ratio can cause visible sinks on the part’s cosmetic surface. However, with a thickness differential of 40 percent, the rib and wall of the part can shrink at different rates, causing the entire part to warp and distort. So, how can you achieve a flat AND beautiful part?

External Gas Assist
Mack Tool Design Engineer, Tom Revane, has a solution. External gas-assisted (EGA) injection molding. This process allows for an increase in rib-to-wall ratio without creating sinks in the visible cosmetic surface. Here’s how.

This molding technique employs a micro-thin layer of nitrogen gas that is released to the non-cosmetic surface of the part once the mold cavity has been filled with resin. The nitrogen gas layer packs the part evenly, replacing the holding phase in traditional injection molding.

The nitrogen gas flows along the ribs, pushing them toward the surface of the wall. This causes the rib to narrow at the point of intersection with the wall, providing a flatter, more even pack with no visible sinks.

Designing for EGA
Molding using EGA is not quite as simple as adding nitrogen gas into a standard injection molding procedure. The process must be engineered into the design of the part.

“If the gas escapes from the mold, the process doesn’t work,” says Revane. “We have to design features into the mold to seal the part.” Working closely with toolmakers and design engineers is critical to ensure that elements such as shiplap joints, grooves and ribs are incorporated into the part to prevent gas leaks.

1-to-1
Using EGA, Mack can increase rib-to-wall ratio in molded parts far above the industry standard of 60 percent, which is particularly important in molding large panels and trays.

“We are able to raise the rib-to-wall ratio to one-to-one,” Revane says. This uniformity within rib and wall thickness allows parts to be more structural with less distortion. Additionally, the part shrinks uniformly, allowing for improved fit during assembly.

Mack has used EGA to increase rib thickness in several recent molding projects to mold polycarbonate, PC/ABS, ABS, nylons, polyethylene, polypropylene and even glass-filled HDPE. The process is not limited to any specific resins.

Additional Benefits
While EGA is specifically effective in creating parts with high rib-to-wall ratios, it has many additional benefits:

• no molded in stress, resulting in less warp and stress-cracking
• lower clamp force requirement, allowing for a smaller press
• reduced wear on molds due to lower operating pressure
• uniform packing pressure
• reduction, and sometimes elimination, of secondary operations
• better texture reveal on part surfaces.

Total Customer Satisfaction
Increasing rib-to-wall ratio in parts from 60 percent to one-to-one, Mack is able to produce parts that are well within customer specifications for cosmetics, flatness and dimension. Employing EGA in the injection molding process has allowed Mack to provide its customers with better quality products.

“EGA is not really well known in the industry,” Revane says. “A lot of people have never heard anything about it. Yet, for us, it’s a normal part of processing. We do it every single day.”

 

Contact:
Tom Revane, Tool Design Engineer, Tom.Revane@mack.com