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Barco

The co-owners of Barco explain the sustainable process behind its rubber manufacturing operation

The business began life in early 2016 , with President and Co-Owner , Mike Cash , collating a group of investors with a passion for his business venture . Construction began on a 66,000-square-foot facility in 2016 , with the new building and equipment installation complete by early 2017 .

The company is headed up by co-owners Mike Cash and Ian Malpass , who join us to discuss the company ’ s evolution , the process of pyrolysis , and plans for the future . “ When Ian and I started the business back in 2016 , we had 20 associates running a single shift ,” Mike begins . “ Today , we ’ re running a 24 / 7 operation , with the recent additions of another mixer for black compounds , a smaller unit for nonblack mixing , and extended calendering capabilities .”

Since its foundation , Barco ’ s facility has been extended four times ; a 10,000-squarefoot extension to the finished goods warehouse came first , followed by an additional 38,000-square-foot to the raw material warehouse , and another 58,000-square-foot building and the installation of a 4-roll invested ‘ L ’ Calender and then another 10,000-square-foot addition for finished goods .

Currently totaling 182,000 square feet , Barco ’ s ever-expanding manufacturing facility is testament to the company ’ s tremendous growth trajectory . The site allows mixing capabilities of the following polymers : natural rubber , SBR , PBD , NBR , XNBR , EPDM , Neoprene ( CR ), and polyisoprene ( IR ). Its capability of using various grades of carbon black is supported by tanks for smaller volume oils , as well as 10,000-gallon and 20,000-gallon oil tanks for large volumes ,

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