After 40 Years—

Newtown Firm Remains A Global Leader In Ultrasonic Technologies

By John Voket

Newtown-based Sonics & Materials, the same company that helped bring innovation to companies supplying the toys we all played with as children, also provides some of the most widely used laboratory equipment aiding research and creating treatments for ailments we may suffer as we age.

The company was first established in Danbury by Robert Soloff in 1969, several years after he established his first invention — an instrument that concentrates sound waves so intently that it excites and fuses plastic molecules together without glue or searing heat.

Mr Soloff, who still conveys the energy of an inventor on the lookout for his next inspiration, easily recalls the “light bulb moment,” back in the early 1960s, when sitting at his desk, he fused together a plastic tape dispenser using the cool pin prick from an ultrasonic probe.

Thinking the idea might be best suited for the toy industry, he refined his idea after buying out shelvesful of toys at several Danbury retailers.

“I chopped a bunch of toys in half and put them back together using this ultrasonic device,” Mr Soloff told The Newtown Bee during an interview at his company’s Church Hill Road headquarters this week. His next move was to call around to see if any of the big toy manufacturers of the day were interested in seeing how this innovative technology worked.

“Up until then all the plastic toys were glued together,” he said. “My first stop was the Ideal Toy Company. I sat down with them, showed them what I had, and they wrote me a check on the spot. It was just what they were looking for, and it wasn’t long before they were integrating ultrasonic welding of plastics into their automated manufacturing systems.”

Today, that same foundational technology surrounds virtually anyone who drives or rides in an automobile, because it is used widely throughout the world by automakers to fuse everything from plastic door panels and seat belt mechanisms in the passenger compartment to the wire harnesses and windshield washer tanks under the hood.

“About 50 percent of our business comes from foreign clients,” Mr Soloff said. “The technology has been embraced by a wide variety of automakers.”

The next step towards sealing the company’s future success came with Mr Soloff’s applications of ultrasonic technologies for biomedical and mechanical research.

“This part of our business quickly became as important as our plastics welding,” he said. “Our liquid processing systems are used primarily for biomedical applications, and even nanotechnology. Our products are used in most research labs around the world, from universities and hospitals to pharmaceutical and chemical companies.”

The Finer Things

Mr Soloff’s ultrasonic machines and applications are among the only laboratory tools used to break up cellular structures and mix atom-sized elements — from producing atomized liquids for specialized coating processes to cutting-edge DNA research.

Since relocating his company to Newtown in 1998, Sonics & Materials has developed a third product line, which capitalizes on some of the components being used to meld plastics, but applying the technology to fusing metals that might not otherwise be compatible.

“This equipment is used mostly in the electronics industry,” he said. “Many people are holding our process in their hands every day because our equipment fuses together the battery wires that power their cellphones.”

Engineers Mike Patrikios and Eric Lee also touted the environmentally friendly aspects of the products they make, as well as the green applications some of the company’s clients provide. During a demonstration of metal fusing, Mr Patrikios explained that the finished products he was holding would be used to wire together photovoltaic cells inside solar-generating panels.

“But the process itself is very green,” he said. “It shears together the connections by mixing the metal molecules using very little power and no consumables. It replaces the need for soldering — there’s no heat, no fumes, no hot vats of lead because it’s not melted, it’s mechanically melded.”

With its world headquarters here in Newtown, a branch on Long Island, and a field office in Switzerland, the company employs around 70 individuals with varied skills, including marketing professionals, R&D representatives, and computer-aided designers, toolmakers, and finishing specialists, several employees in the company’s manufacturing and testing departments, packers, shipping specialists, and account reps who travel the world ensuring all the company’s clients are satisfied with the products and services Sonics & Materials is providing.

Both Mr Soloff and his daughter, company Vice President Lauren Soloff, extol the virtues of their employees, crediting them with helping Sonics & Materials achieve both a worldwide regard for their products, as well as a virtual monopoly on many of the processes they provide to various specialty markets around the globe.

A Dedicated Workforce

Walking through the plant, Mr Soloff goes from room to room, and workstation to workstation, as workers look up smiling, waving, and shouting out greetings of “Hey, Chief,” as he walks by.

He talks about the contributions of employees like Lois Biaid, who has been on board for 35 of its 40 years in business, as well as other longtime staffers, such as applications and tooling manager Brian Gourley, R&D Director Bill Simon, and General Manager Dan Grise.

As he moves quickly from room to room at the sprawling plant, the company founder addresses his workers by name, asking one about a recent vacation and another about the status of the company’s latest invention.

“We can’t really talk about that one yet,” he said.

Lauren Soloff, who came back to help run the company after a successful career as a labor and employment attorney, said she never felt any familial pressure to take over the family business. But at the same time, she acknowledges that the highly specialized scientific processes and equipment fashioned by her father and his diverse workforce represent “something I grew up with.”

“I worked there as a kid. I think I started coming to the factory when I was in second grade,” she recalled with a laugh. Her latest achievement was helping guide Sonics & Materials through the acquisition of a former competitor’s product line, which was formerly known as Misonix Sonicators, and rebranding of the new subsidiary.

“That was just over the last two weeks, “ Mr Soloff said. “That acquisition has helped us bring more work to the company, keeping jobs and giving us a much stronger market share.”

“And it’s exciting to chase a new deal,” Ms Soloff added.

Ms Soloff said that as she continues to acquire more responsibility running the company, she maintains a balance that encompasses increasing market share while maintaining Sonics & Materials conservative approach to launching new products.

“Everything we have ever done has been all about enhancing our core products,” she said, “while providing incredible service. We don’t just sell the products and walk away. We get to know our customers so we can anticipate their needs.”

As Ms Soloff moves toward the eventual goal of taking the helm from her dad, she also looks to her staff and the “dynamic work environment” the company provides that she says “encourages creativity and exploration of ideas.”

A sound business practice that will likely bode well for Sonics & Materials as the company moves into its next 40 years of innovation and advancement.