2015 is the year when AMV Networks was integrated into the starlim//sterner group of companies. 2016 AMV moved to the headquarter in Marchtrenk.
Extension work of the production area in factory II in Weisskirchen commenced in September 2014 because here too, the halls began to fill up rapidly. The project was completed quickly in May 2015 after only eight months. Area was increased by 3200 m2 and contains two production units, extended storage space and rooms to house quality control offices and technical installations.
A particularly welcome message was received in November 2014 from our personnel department – In our international group we had passed the 1000 staff mark. Since 2010 the number of staff members has even doubled and this development is still rising steeply.
In spring the extension of the Marchtrenk production area has been opened, a project which began late at the end of 2010. The production area has been extended by 70% to a total of 42,500 m2. The newly constructed production bays 6-9 have enough space for 120 injection molding machines.
![2012 – Opening of the STC (PRC [People's Republic of China]) sales office in Taicang](/fileadmin/user_upload/history/2012_starlim_taicang.jpg "2012 – Opening of the STC (PRC [People's Republic of China]) sales office in Taicang")
In January 2012 the sales office in Taicang (People's Republic of China) was opened. For the time being we restrict ourselves to an office, in the medium term we are planning to build a storage hall and in the long term a factory. The Asian market promises to have great potential for starlim//sterner – car sales are rising and therefore the demand for silicone parts.
2011 is the year when Poly-Nova Technologies was integrated into our group of companies. Poly-Nova makes rubber products and special elastomers for the North-American market.
The 200-machines mark has been surpassed. Since 2010 we produce on two Upper Austrian sites: Marchtrenk and Weisskirchen on more than 200 fully automatic injection-molding machines.
At the end of 2009 the assets of a competitor that went bankrupt were purchased. Company buildings, machines and patent rights are now the property of starlim//sterner. The Weisskirchen Factory II is now adapted to conform with starlim//sterner standards. With an annex building the area is extended by another 600m2. Factory II now accommodates 42 new injection-molding machines.
Many companies in 2008 were forced to make cutbacks, dismiss their staff or putting it on short-time work. That crisis did not fail to leave marks on starlim//sterner, but to a lesser extent than feared. We did not lay off any staff during this period but used this "extra time" to clean up our act.
Being an owner-operated family enterprise we enjoyed clear advantages. Long-term and progressive thinking prevented us from making parameter-based ad-hoc decisions. We were able to act strategically and in a staff-friendly manner.
We have commissioned our fully automatic and integrated high-rack storage area and the logistic system in the year 2008: This guarantees flexible and fast delivery of pre-fabricated parts to our customers.
The staff in the tool-making section enjoys benefits, too. Due to a lack of space the decision was made in 2007 to extend the floor area by 4200 m2. Completion of the work was in March 2009, when transfer activities began. Machines weighing tons were integrated into the new hall and the establishment of a modern machine park began.
Audio Mobil Elektronik is a supplier of systems to the automotive industry. starlim//sterner begins co-operating with this company which is located at Ranshofen near the city of Braunau / Austria.
The pharmaceutical and medical industry is a growing field of business. The clean room with an area of 640 m2 was commissioned in 2005. From this date on parts for the life-science and the electronics industry which must fulfill very high standards of dust-free environment and hygiene are being produced and packaged in the clean room. In 2008 retro-fitting from classes 7 and 8 (ISO 14644-1) began to attain the level of GPM classes C and D. This way the conditions for meeting the requirements of the life sciences industry were established.
Expansion also takes place in Europe. starlim//sterner starts a further co-operation with the specialist company for rubber ATG s.r.l. in the Italian town of Castello d’Argile.
Already back in the 80'ties the Franz Sterner GmbH company received their first overseas orders. The company is getting increasingly prominent. The decision to start with the construction of their own factory in North America was made in 2000. Before the opening could be celebrated in June 2005, there was an extensive search for a suitable site, followed by three years of construction work. The opening celebrations in the new North America factory in London / Ontario were attended by 80 staff members coming from Austria.
In 2001 starlim//sterner entered into a co-operation with today’s partner company based in Reutlingen / Germany. Silcos GmbH (Silcos stands for Silicone, Coatings and Systems) specializes in surface finishing of plastic and silicone components and is an ideal complement within the starlim//sterner portfolio.
At the turn of the millennium a change within the company's management took place: Franz Sterner handed over the entire management to his son-in-law Thomas Bründl. The two of them had been working together for the past five years in the company's management.
Tool-making, together with the production under one roof require a lot of floor space; separate space for production being just a matter of time. Following the completion of the STARLIM building in 1997 we started production with three production bays and only three machines. "We shall never get these halls filled" said one of the former colleagues at the time, only to be convinced otherwise quite soon.
Markets are increasingly demanding compliance with uniform standards of quality. This is a criterion which increasingly forms the basis for business requirements. Therefore, our company structure is adapted to comply with ISO 9001 standards and starlim//sterner has been certified for the first time in 1994. With the focus on global quality management certification, compliance with ISO/TS 16949, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 13485 standards follow.
1984 – Foundation of Starlim Gummi- und Kunststoffverarbeitung GmbH (today’s STARLIM Spritzguss GmbH).
An important milestone within starlim//sterner's history was achieved as early as 1987: Franz Sterner for the first time produced LSR-injection molding parts himself.
Only two years after the foundation of the company the first apprentice was accepted and trained to become a tool maker. This was the start for the excellent quality of apprenticeship training in the following years.
Aged 24, Franz Sterner establishes the Franz Sterner GesmbH. He soon gained some prominence as contract manufacturer, making tools, handling and automation systems and rendering grinding service. Early on the trained tool maker still works in a garage, later on in his own factory. At that time the order situation is improving, mainly on the European market. Therefore, own premises become a necessity and the STERNER building is constructed.
