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New Brunswick Plating, Inc. began in 1932 by Martin
and Harry Sica. The original name "New Brunswick Nickel and
Chromium Plating Works" was changed to the current name in
the 1960's. In the early 1930's the company gained expertise
in the hard chromium plating process which was new to the
industry.
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The company grew in size during the
60's and 70's, adding another 30,000 square feet to its 1947
building, while employing about 25 people. The next change in
business came in the 80's, which ushered in the environmental
factor in electroplating. The company kept pace with increasing
regulations, but the days of the giant projects were over. With
every operation they had to consider their treatment system.
Pollution prevention, waste-water, solid waste, VOCs and OSHA
ended the "Rube Goldberg" era at New Brunswick Plating.
As the Cold War ended, Star Wars faded, and heavy machine
manufacturing companies moved off-shore. The firm turned toward
plating electronic components and optical fiber devices. The
second generation positioned the company for a handoff to the
upcoming third generation. They, in turn, made ISO 9002 a
reality. With online computers in every office, bar coding,
electronic data interfacing, and computer generated scheduling,
they have positioned the firm with a solid foot into the 21st
century.
Today, the company employs over 50 people: 25 production
workers, 7 in quality control, and 2 chemists. To expand
operations, in Spring 2001, NBP repurchased and fully renovated
the 50,000 square foot facility at 1010 Jersey Avenue. The third
generation continues to operate the company with their
grandfathers' philosophy which survived the Great Depression:
"Know your trade and do it better than anyone else" to which
they added, "don't merely satisfy your customers - delight
them."
* They hard chrome plated the largest die body in the world,
a 3-stage chrome operation.
* Sulfamate nickel plated 35 foot stainless steel periscope
tubes with .020" nickel.
* Nickel - Gold plated the internal sections of a cast iron
reactor for the Atomic Energy Commission 4'x6'x3'.
* Plated the landing gears on JFK's Air Force One.
* Decorative Rhodium plated the framework of the "Great Ring
of Canada" designed and made by Stuben and presented to the
people of Canada by President Lyndon Johnson.
* Gold plated the retro rockets on the Surveyor Space Craft,
which made the first soft lunar landing.
* Gold plated many parts on the early communication
satellites, and also black nickel plated thin foiled solar
collectors 4'x8'.
* Nickel plated 8-ton shafts for the USS Milwaukee.
This expertise contributed to the
war effort by adding the finish to aircraft wing hinges and
torpedo sleeves. Cadmium plating was done on military hardware,
silver on electrical contacts and nickel on parts for the
Manhattan project. In 1946, the company moved for the third time
to a 50,000 sq. ft. facility to meet the growing post war
demands.
The fourth move came two years later when the company abandoned
high-volume commercial plating to return to the industrial
market where plating experience and expertise were scarce. With
a reduced work force, the company hard chrome plated dies,
rolls, shafts and molds. It was one of the first plating job
shops to acquire an FAA repair station license and to plate
critical aviation parts. They silver and gold plated wave
guides, cadmium plated and phosphated radar cabinets, zinc,
nickel and copper on military hardware for the Korean Conflict.
This expertise was passed to the second generation who in turn
set some records themselves.
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