Vanguard Goes West: Our Fiber Optic Sheaths and MD&M West

The science of fiber optics has come a long way since the days of 1842, when Daniel Colladon wrote the first popular science article on the subject, “On the Reflections of a Ray of Light inside a Parabolic Stream”.  Since then, that clumsy “ray of light” has been honed and miniaturized until today a standard optical fiber is contained within a clumped cable of thousands of its kind. This allows for many possible uses, some of the most prominent being in medicine. Whether a cardiologist needs better light by which to navigate his scalpel while performing heart surgery, or whether a surgeon needs fiber optic nasopharyngoscopy to examine a nasal cavity for tumors, polyps, chronic nosebleeds, sleep apnea, or the like; there’s a strong medical need for many different types and lengths of fiber optic cables.

Likewise, there is a strong need to protect the intricate design of these cables from the inevitable wear and tear they suffer when utilized in a medical or dental environment.   That’s where Vanguard’s cable sheaths come into the conversation. Being that we have long-standing experience in manufacturing fiber optic cable sheaths for the medical industry; and being that we’re able both to perform long production runs of standard sheaths and/or customize our sheaths to comply with the intricacies of specific devices, we certainly are looking forward to this upcoming MD&M West in Anaheim, CA, February 12-14, 2013, at the Anaheim Convention Center.

As anyone in the medical device field readily knows, MD&M-West is one of the main medical showcases in North America, both in terms of exhibiting new technology and in presenting new techniques and approaches in manufacturing for medical products. Finally, MD&M is one of the primary means by which those in the medical OEM field can meet face-to-face in an informal, comfortable setting, and get to know one another’s business needs and timetables more clearly.

At MD&M West, we look forward as always to meeting up with old friends and business partners, as well as establish new possible ventures for the coming year. Not to mention that mid-February’s usually a nice time to leave Connecticut for a couple of days in favor of Anaheim! So stop by our booth, booth number 3355, and come say hello. For a complimentary pass to the exhibition, visit http://www.mdmwest.com. 

 In the meantime, contact us by phone or by email if you have any questions about our attendance of MD&M West or anything else.

Vanguard and Hurricane Sandy: Providing Customers with Shelter from the Storm

When Hurricane Sandy pile-drove into the New York Metropolitan Area, it didn’t take much for anyone who was caught in it to realize that the night was going to be a long and potentially dangerous one. Unfortunately, those instincts were spot-on. Hurricane Sandy proved to be the worst natural disaster to befall the New York region in nearly a century (the Spanish Flu of 1918-19 being the worst “natural disaster”). Over one hundred people in the Tri-State Area alone lost their lives due to the storm. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses suffered damage from flooding and 80 mph winds; many neighborhoods also were decimated by fire. In total, the official tally of damage now amounts to an estimated $71 billion, of which $9 billion is earmarked to improve the storm protection infrastructure of the region in the event of a future disaster of this scale.

Our own facility here in Connecticut lucked out: we suffered no remarkable damage to either our property or production capability. And as many tragedies happened that day, there were an equal number of stories of resistance and resilience in the face of Nature. In fact, many homes and businesses equipped with hurricane shutters and/or floodgate systems came through the disaster in good working order. While many companies should take credit for providing protection for businesses throughout the region, we at Vanguard contributed as well by providing  the gaskets and  seals we extrude here at our facility to several companies that expertly manufacture hurricane and flood protection equipment  used throughout public and private infrastructure to help insure no rain or water creeps (or sweeps) into a building.

Hurricane Sandy was a wake-up call of sorts to New York and the surrounding environs. Hurricanes, as it turns out, are no longer simply the province of Florida, Louisiana, or the Carolinas; they can happen right here in Connecticut and they can be heartbreakingly devastating. Now that the superstorm’s fury has passed, it’s time to insure that our houses, offices, warehouses, factories, and storefronts are secure from any future danger.   Meanwhile, here at Vanguard, we’ll keep working with the manufacturers that produce this high quality protection equipment and providing them with the highest quality sealing products in the industry.  

Vanguard Set to Exhibit at Electronica 2012 This November in Munich, Germany

In order for a company to build on its success, there simply isn’t time rely and focus on past successes. It doesn’t matter how resounding your command over your section of industry may be,  there will always be  another company  somewhere around the globe  waiting in line to fill  and advance your niche. In terms of this maxim applying to Vanguard, we don’t seek just to build the quality products that meet today’s expectations. We know it’s a deeper game than that: we need to keep abreast and stay ahead of current developments in electronics technology and its relation to elastomeric products if we expect to be a leader in tomorrow’s applications. On that note, it makes good sense for Vanguard to have a strong presence at Europe’s key electronics expo of 2012, Electronica 2012, to be held November 13 – 16 in Munich, Germany.

Everything from semiconductor smart-grids, to the greater PCB components industry, to how embedded computing devices are revolutionizing the world, will be on the table and up for discussion.  Booths from the world’s most innovative and far-sighted companies will be parked side-by-side on the main convention floor-space. Visionaries from North America, Europe, Asia,  and Australia will together present a total picture of electronics that is bound to impact businesses and stimulate engineering minds throughout the forthcoming year. We’ll be there, exhibiting our products in Hall A2: Stand #471. To be included amongst the movers and shakers of today’s global electronics industry is a true honor and privilege for our company.   Here’s to meeting new faces!  

So what are you up to?

Since 1966, we’ve been making the world’s best high precision extruded, molded, and fabricated elastomeric goods.  Everyone at Vanguard is committed to the highest quality and to a customer service that is second to none.  In summary, our days are pretty full. Between engineering manufacturing, quality testing, and fielding orders and quotes, we really don’t have that much in the way of free time!

That being said, we want to take a quick break to spend some time asking you, our readers and customers, some pertinent questions. We know the capabilities of our rubber and silicone seals, gaskets, O-rings, and tubing from A to Z, but it’s always nice to know how these devices are being used in actual, in-development projects and applications. There’s always the chance that there are new, exciting uses for our products that we haven’t anticipated. On that note, it’s your turn to let us know how and why you’re using your Vanguard products, or at least the sorts of products that Vanguard specializes in. We’d also love to hear if there is any way we can improve our products and services; if there is any way we can become a better and more responsive company. We’re relying on you, the everyday users of our products, to fill us in on what we don’t know! In the end, we never want to stop growing and innovating, and a key component of that is being open to solid, intelligent feedback from the people you serve.

So leave a comment here on the blog, send us an email, or just pick up the phone and give us a call. We’ll enjoy hearing from you!

Vanguard’s Clean, High Performance Silicone And EPDM Products Provide Reliable Sealing And Fluid Transport For Critical Water Needs

Dependably clean water--it is not only needed to sustain human life.  A reliable clean water supply is critical for the operation of many industries ranging from pharmaceuticals production to power plants and electrical production.  Without clean water, the internal workings of power plant systems can experience failures due to the buildup of residues contained in the water.  This could cause long term outages resulting in not only inconvenience, but economic disasters.  Without high purity water, it would be impossible to produce quality pharmaceuticals that meet the rigorous requirements that the FDA has set forth. 

With respect to human consumption, the supply of clean, potable water is growing more and more challenging.  Population growth is straining the already taxed water supply in environmentally challenging areas such as Asia and Africa.  Further, political unrest and military actions around the world require that a reliable water supply be provided to not only our military, but to those civilians caught in the area of unrest.  This is not to mention the needs for clean water required by those of us who enjoy “getting away” from civilization for a while by hiking, biking, or camping in the wilderness.

For all these requirements, Vanguard has you covered.  Our custom silicone o-rings are used in large scale permanent water treatment facilities around the world to provide reliable sealing for membrane and media filtration units.  These rings are formulated with clean silicone compounds that offer an extreme resistance to compression set, allowing their performance over the long term without leakage.  Our silicone tubing is used extensively in portable potable water systems where reliable fluid transport is a requirement even after long periods of storage, all without imparting taste or smell to the water.  Our EPDM extrusions and EPDM molded products have been used in sealing systems for wastewater treatment and reclamation systems for decades due to their durability and long life.

All in all, Vanguard is doing our part in working with our valued customers to increase the supply of this critical element around the world. 

Vanguard and the Mark of Perfection

The NSF Mark is a big deal in the business world. You will find the mark on millions of the most highly regarded consumer, commercial, and industrial products in the world including bottle water, food equipment, water treatment products, appliances, and even pool and spa components.

At Vanguard, we are excited because we recently added more of our materials to our listings with NSF. These new materials are for use in food equipment and meet NSF’s standard 51. What this means is that now several of our materials are approved to be used at elevated temperature in commercial food processing and handling equipment like ovens, and refrigeration and holding equipment. The NSF recognized that our compounds are specifically formulated to be completely safe for food contact. They can handle high temps like in the case of steam and they are also resistant to degration from animal fats and cleaning chemicals.

This time around, we added 5 new silicone materials to our listing with NSF International. That brings Vanguard’s total number of NSF-51 listed materials to 10. It is big accomplishment to be recognized by such an outstanding international organization and it speaks to Vanguard’s continuing commitment to giving our customers the highest quality goods available. To learn more about all of our NSF approved materials, drop us a line or call today. 

American Made O-Rings Make the Difference

Not all O-Ring products are created equal. While O-Rings may seem like an afterthought, they’re actually essential components you can’t skimp on.  A lot rides on each O-Ring you purchase and put into place. If one O-Ring fails, you could be looking at damage that can shut down an entire operation or application, and even put your workers in danger.  In short, you need to choose your O-Rings carefully.

Whether you realize it or not, the vast majority of standard O-Ring products purchased here in the US, even those purchased from US based “manufacturers,” are actually manufactured and sourced outside of the United States.  While overseas manufacturing has certainly improved over the past decades, you still too often hear of unauthorized material substitutions or poor quality from these anonymously sourced products. 

At Vanguard, we don’t do low quality O-Ring products, and we don’t do outsourcing or offshoring.  Our philosophy always has been and continues to be to offer cost competitive alternatives to these outsourced products while maintaining and advancing the quality reputation we have earned over the past 45 years.  All of our O-Rings products, whether standard or custom, are made right here in the USA.  You know what you’re getting when you buy from us. All of Vanguard’s O-Ring products are made in our ISO 9001:2008 certified facility and can be custom formulated to meet your exacting mechanical properties, color needs, and resistance demands. Whether you need food grade, MIL Spec/Aerospace Grade, or ASTM D2000 certified O-Ring products, skip the overseas manufacturers and rely on Vanguard. Unlike so many factories abroad, we don’t thrive on anonymity: we have nothing to hide! We stand behind everything we make. It is simply not worth risking your money and time to take any chances with your O-Ring requirements.