Manufacture of rubber compounds in all common polymers, with its own plants for fluorine, silicone and special rubber compounds.

RADO Gummi GmbH

Radevormwald (main plant, FCC, silicone plant) · ViernheimNew on Amplifa

1959Founded

70+Employees

3 + 1Production plants (Radevormwald, Viernheim)

several thousand tCompounds per year

2,000Formulations (1,200 proprietary)

About RADO Gummi GmbH

RADO Gummi GmbH is a family-owned company founded in 1959 with headquarters in Radevormwald in the Bergisches Land region. Since 1992, RADO has been a pure rubber compounder, producing several thousand tons of compounds per year. The portfolio comprises around 2,000 formulations, of which 1,200 originate from the company's own development laboratory, based on 20 to 25 rubber types and more than 1,000 recorded raw materials. Production takes place in three separate business units: the main plant for special rubbers (NBR, CR, EPDM, ACM, natural rubber), the Fluor-Competence-Center (FCC) for FKM compounds, and a special plant for silicone compounds. The spatial separation of the production lines rules out contamination. The compounds are used in automotive, aerospace, mechanical engineering, the cable industry, the energy and oil industries, as well as the electrical and food industries. Mass-market and tire compound business is deliberately avoided; instead, RADO focuses on special solutions based on its own or customer formulations.

Site: Radevormwald
Processes: Development of proprietary formulations in the in-house development laboratory, Processing of customer formulations, Refinement of the compound material, Versatile packaging according to customer requirements, Testing / quality assurance with its own QS laboratory (inspection certificate EN 10204 3.1), Back-up production capabilities
Materials: Fluoro rubber (FKM), Silicone rubber (VMQ), Fluorosilicone rubber (FVMQ), Nitrile rubber (NBR), Polychloroprene rubber (CR), EPDM, Acrylate rubber (ACM), Natural rubber (NR)
Certificates: DIN EN ISO 9001:2015, DIN EN ISO 14001:2015, ISO 50001 (Energy Management)
Founded: 1959
Employees: 70+
Industries: Automotive, Aerospace, Mechanical engineering, Cable industry, Energy and oil industry, Electrical industry

01
Raw material purchasing (natural and synthetic rubber, fillers, chemicals)
02
Formulation development in the company's own development laboratory
03
Homogenization in the closed internal mixer or on the open mill
04
Post-homogenization on an open roll mill line
05
Finishing via batch-off (strips, sheets, granulate, calendered goods)
06
Refinement and packaging according to customer requirements
07
Testing in the QS laboratory, inspection certificate EN 10204 3.1
08
Delivery

Materials & Processes

FKM

Fluoro rubber

Special rubber mainly for automotive applications, manufactured in the company's own Fluor-Competence-Center.

VMQ

Silicone rubber

For the electrical industry, automotive, mechanical engineering and the food industry, produced in the separate silicone plant.

FVMQ

Fluorosilicone rubber

Special compounds whose in-house production began in 1979.

NBR

Nitrile rubber

Processed in the general mixing operation of the main plant.

Polychloroprene rubber

Part of the general mixing operation portfolio at the main plant.

EPDM

Standard polymer of the main plant mixing operation for a wide range of industries.

ACM

Acrylate rubber

Special polymer of the general mixing operation at the main plant.

Natural rubber

Sourced from plantations in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Compound.

Rubber compounding

Homogenization in the internal mixer, further processing on open roll mill lines and finishing via batch-off.

Kalander.

Calendering

Production of large, thin calendered sheets.

Entw.

Formulation development

Development of proprietary formulations in the in-house laboratory with verification under series-production conditions.

Locations

Radevormwald – Main Plant

Parent plant and general mixing operation for special rubbers

Materials: NBR, CR, EPDM, ACM, natural rubber and others

Internal mixers
Open roll mill lines
Batch-off lines

Radevormwald – Fluor-Competence-Center (FCC)

Special plant for fluorine compounds, contamination-free production on separate lines

Materials: FKM

Internal mixers
Roll mill lines
Rubber Process Analyser (RPA)

Radevormwald – Silicone Business Unit

Special plant for silicone and fluorosilicone compounds

Materials: VMQ, FVMQ

Roll mill lines

Viernheim – Viernheim Rubber GmbH (VRG)

Back-up compounding to ensure delivery capability

Materials: All common rubber types

Inside the production

Process technology: roll mill and mixing lines

Industries

AutomotiveAerospaceMechanical engineeringCable industryEnergy and oil industryElectrical industryFood industryIndustryConsumer applicationsPolymer-bound chemicals

Additional services

Development of proprietary formulations in the in-house development laboratoryProcessing of customer formulationsRefinement of the compound materialVersatile packaging according to customer requirementsTesting / quality assurance with its own QS laboratory (inspection certificate EN 10204 3.1)Back-up production capabilities

Quality & Certification

RADO tests raw materials, formulation development and production with process-accompanying checks in its own QS laboratory, using among other things a Rubber Process Analyser (RPA), rheometer and Mooney viscometer; on request, RADO issues inspection certificates in accordance with EN 10204 3.1. The company has been certified to DIN EN ISO 9001 and DIN EN ISO 14001 for years.

Evidence	Radevormwald (main plant + FCC)
DIN EN ISO 9001:2015
DIN EN ISO 14001:2015
ISO 50001 (Energy Management)

History

1959
Founding of RADO by the Dornseif brothers in Radevormwald for the manufacture of rubber rollers for roller skates.
1974
Entry into the aerospace and automotive sectors; 100% supplier to headlamp and lighting manufacturers; sale to an interest group from this segment.
1979
Start of in-house production of silicone compounds in a separate production building.
1982
In-house production of rubber compounds of all types in the new mixing building at the main plant.
1992
Discontinuation of the moulding business; RADO becomes a pure rubber compounder.
1993
Installation of a new internal mixer line; fluorine rubber compounds complete the portfolio.
1999
Relocation of the silicone plant to new premises near the main plant.
2001
Founding of the subsidiary Viernheim Rubber GmbH (VRG) as a back-up plant.
2002
Commissioning of the Fluor-Competence-Center (FCC).
2004
Concentration of all fluorine compounds at the FCC site.
2005
Fred Ebers becomes the principal owner of RADO.
2006
End of affiliation with Hella AG (subsidiary until 2006).
2009
50th company anniversary.
2013
New process control system in the fluorine plant FCC.
2014
Installation of a new ERP system.
2015
Modernization of the testing equipment (Rubber Process Analyser); certification to ISO 50001.