Insulation Components, a family-owned company that has called Mishawaka, Indiana, its home for over 20 years, provides the unique parts that builders need for insulating pipe joints. Specializing in plumbing, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) and mechanical industries, Insulation Component’s business produces tens of thousands of parts orders at any given point during the year. Now, Insulation Components can deliver its products even more quickly than in previous years thanks to a Manufacturing Readiness Grant (MRG) and a partnership with Industry Labs at the University of Notre Dame to implement a new way to produce pipe insulators more efficiently.

Building and municipal pipes run throughout structures to provide water and gas for heat. In factories, it’s crucial to have hot water or gas available at separate points in manufacturing processes. One of the many structures in place to aid these successful deliveries are the insulating components for the pipe joints, made of materials like metal, foam, and fiberglass. If pipes are exposed to the elements between buildings or rooms, protection is important to maintain the safety and continued integrity of the pipes.

The company worked with Industry Labs to establish an industry collaboration. This type of engagement includes conversations with Industry Labs’ Engineers-in-Residence and enFocus Fellows with innovative ideas to discuss possibilities in digitization, automation, talent retention, and other areas of focus, and maps out pathways to achieve those goals.

Insulation Components sought methods to further its ability to customize orders, with unique features to fit specific equipment, increasing productivity, and enhancing employee safety and well-being.

iNDustry Lab team member and enFocus Project Manager Jody Suryatna worked with the Insulation Components team throughout the process to implement a new system. enFocus Fellows are early career professionals in an accelerated program that are placed in projects to work closely with business and industry leaders to bring new and innovative ideas and expertise to the organization. Suryatna and other enFocus Fellows working with Industry Labs visited Insulation Components and met with the leadership team to update steps and tooling in its production line, assisted with vendor research, helped identify partners, technologies, and helped the company gain the MRG. In the end, Insulation Components chose to partner with a regional integrator: Press Automation.

“As the iNDustry Labs team worked with Insulation Components to get to know the company, industry, and needs of the team, we were able to gain an understanding of their existing processes and what we could build on with them to automate their processes,” Suryatna said. “After we understood how they wanted to build their employees’ skills, as well as upgrade the equipment, we were able to work together to create solutions to effectively fulfill all of the goals the company had, including successfully applying for an MRG grant.”

“We knew the goals we had all needed to be fulfilled for this to be successful as we entered into this partnership for the MRG,” said Insulation Components General Manager Kevin Lockwood.

“Through introducing a new automated process, we were able to achieve each of our goals. We are pleased that we can scale our business, while providing a better working environment to our team and fulfill quality product orders more quickly to our customers. We feel confident in the upgrades we were able to implement with iNDustry Labs’ advice, and hope other manufacturers in the region can benefit from partnerships like this in the future to help their businesses continue to grow.”

Industry Labs collaborates with companies in the South Bend - Elkhart region, focusing on automation, digitalization, product and market diversification, and talent solutions. To inquire about potential partnerships, please visit Industry Labs Services.

About iNDustry Labs

iNDustry Labs at the University of Notre Dame helps companies unlock a competitive advantage for the South Bend - Elkhart Region. iNDustry Labs is a proud anchor of the region’s Labs for Industry Futures and Transformation (LIFT) initiatives.

Learn more by visiting industrylabs.nd.edu.

Contact: Christina Clark, Research Communications Specialist

iNDustry Labs | Notre Dame Research | University of Notre Dame

cclark26@nd.edu | 574.631.2665

Originally published by Christina Clark at industrylabs.nd.edu on March 18, 2025.