AUTOMOTIVE PARTS MANUFACTURER >
PRODUCT CASE STUDY
GEAR SHIFT BOOTS
CHALLENGE
Our automotive customer came to us with a challenge of materials. They needed to replace a cut-and-sewn leather gear shift boot application with an economical simulated leather shift boot that would be used across several truck lines, while maintaining the quality look and feel of the sewn leather with the new design.
SOLUTION
Using the slush molded process, Midwest Rubber engineers created a shift boot with the beautiful look and durable performance of leather, but not the hefty price tag. The recreation of the leather grain and stitching was so authentic it fooled automotive reviewers and focus group participants. During the first year of production, Midwest Rubber saved the customer over $1 million. It was also proven that the new shift boot improved noise, vibration and harshness over the leather boot. Model redesigns after the first year in production eliminated its use in two product lines, but the shift boot is still used in the most popular line. One of the two boots was even able to be modified to fit a newer transmission style.
Our two-shot grommets are competitively priced, but more importantly, they also deliver on the quality, performance and technical requirements. Most manufacturers can’t promise that.
We created a shift boot with the beautiful look and durable performance of leather, but not the hefty price tag. In fact, our material was proven to perform better than leather, and we saved our customer $1 million during the first year of production.
Through careful analysis, our engineering team identified what was causing pieces of our customer’s product to fail in the field and created a solution to get the product back on track.
Our engineering team developed an adaptable seal that was able to meet increasingly stringent assembly requirements and helped our customer remain competitive in an ever-changing environment.
We developed a customized, permanent rubber bonding process to lessen vibration, reducing stress on important equipment. Our customer was satisfied with the solution, and it has been used across many types of machinery.
We developed a customized dip-molding process to produce a critical component of a new product that our customer, an automotive OEM, had created. The resulting winter wiper hood met our customer’s goals for performance, appearance, and target budget.
WHY MIDWEST RUBBER?
Vibration
Our solutions ensure less noise and a longer service life. Midwest Rubber strives to do everything we can to simplify your operations, and this includes reducing and eliminating excessive vibration caused by machinery. Noise vibration harshness can be caused by any type of motor, and can be a huge source of stress and disruption – not just to the machine, but to you as well. We create our solutions using custom molded rubber and rubber-to-metal bonded parts, making them a premium solution for anti-vibration.
