development

It was great to see how quickly and flexibly we reacted to challenges together. In today's world, it's crucial to be fast - and that's exactly what we managed to do," says Fabian Schlang, co-founder of air up.

The development of the "Straw" product is particularly impressive - a silicone solution with which air up's Scentaste™ technology can be applied to almost any drinking bottle. Only four months passed from the starting signal to the market launch. RICO realized the series production of the silicone component in just nine weeks - a remarkable value, especially for a custom-developed component with high quality requirements.

"Implementing a project with such a tight timeframe requires a high degree of technical precision, coordinated toolmaking, an optimized process design and close coordination across all project phases," explains Markus Nuspl, Managing Director of RICO. "It was crucial that we worked in parallel on tool development, automation and process technology - with a clear distribution of tasks, a high degree of flexibility and a strong commitment from both teams."

While it usually takes more than a year in the industry, the Straw was launched in Germany in September 2024 and is now available in 14 European markets. "The development of the Straw was a prime example of agility. The product was on the market within a very short space of time - and went viral," says Alex Jantschke, Lead Designer at air up.

Thinking about toolmaking from the outset saves time and costs and achieves better results - a strategic lever for quality, speed and innovation.

In the silicone injection molding industry, one thing counts above all else: precision. In order to turn a product idea into a reliable and economically producible component, all the gears must mesh perfectly - from development to toolmaking to series production. A key success factor is the early process integration of design and toolmaking. This significantly increases efficiency, especially in complex silicone injection molding.

The decisive advantage: early integration

We combine development, tool manufacture and production under one roof. This saves time, reduces costs and promotes genuine cooperation. The earlier our toolmakers are involved, the better. Co-development creates a direct exchange between development, toolmaking and production. This allows challenges to be identified early on, solved pragmatically and processes to be designed efficiently.

Project implementation in top time

Our toolmaking specialists contribute their expertise right from the design phase. This means that the requirements of the injection molding process are taken into account right from the start
. The benefits:
- optimized moulded part geometries
- shortened development cycles
- fewer iterations
- reduced risk of contamination in cleanroom projects

More quality, less friction losses
RICO contributes comprehensive expertise in LSR processing as well as many years of experience in "Design for Manufacturing" (DfM) - i.e. the production-oriented design of components.

Key areas of focus:
- Functional geometries: such as sealing lips or restoring zones
- Targeted material selection: Shore hardness, transparency, biocompatibility
- Integration of multi-component parts: Thermoplastic, metal, inserts
- Tolerance management and demoldability