What Flexfab manufactures

Flexfab is an elastomeric engineering company that designs and manufactures high-performance silicone hose, lightweight ducting, flexible connectors, boots, bellows, sleeves, and special-shaped parts. The core product families are coolant hose, heater hose, charge air connectors, turbo hose and turbo sleeves, silicone ducting, elbows, connectors and reducers, and clamps, sold both to OEMs and through an aftermarket distributor network. The company describes its silicone as engineered for a wide operating range, from roughly -65 degrees F to 500 degrees F, and says its parts last several times longer than standard rubber. Named catalog lines include the 5526 Series heater hose, the 5508 Series wire-reinforced coolant hose, and the 7700 Series hot- and cold-side turbo boots.

The work is vertically integrated around silicone and rubber chemistry. Flexfab runs its own proprietary processes for compounding, calendering, extruding, molding, and bonding silicone rubber, organic rubber, EPDM, and reinforcing materials such as fiberglass fabric. It also builds engineered assemblies that combine hose, connectors, and hardware into a single installable part, which the company says replaces three parts with one. Beyond hose, the portfolio extends to lightweight ducting, flexible connectors, boots, bellows, and special-shaped aerospace products, along with dairy and food-grade hose for the milking and processing industries.

Flexfab serves several demanding markets: heavy-duty truck, aerospace, automotive, rail and locomotive, marine, military and defense, and broad industrial fluid and air movement. That market spread is reflected in its certification set and in the OEM programs it supports. For a manufacturer of engineered Tier 1 components, the mix of aerospace and heavy-truck qualification alongside automotive is what distinguishes a full elastomeric engineering supplier from a commodity hose maker.

Technology and manufacturing

Flexfab positions research and development as a core function, with investment across robotics, additive manufacturing, and new materials. The company operates robotic cells for material handling, welding, assembly, and packaging, which it credits with reducing error and freeing labor for higher-value work. It runs 3D printing for tooling and development, and it has developed proprietary lightweight materials it markets as RTL and RFP, engineered to be lighter than aluminum while surviving the heat and vibration of large engines.

Conventional elastomer processes anchor the plant floor: liquid injection molding, transfer molding, insert and over-molding, co-extrusion, and calendering of reinforced fabrics. The combination of automated production and in-house material development is consistent with a supplier that qualifies parts to aerospace and heavy-truck standards, where process control and repeatability are prerequisites rather than differentiators.

Ownership and history

Doug DeCamp founded Flexfab in Hastings, Michigan in 1961, and the company remains privately held and family-owned. Matthew DeCamp serves as President and CEO, continuing family leadership into a second generation of ownership. The company reports employee tenures exceeding 30 years and cites a values framework it calls HEARTS, for Honesty, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, Teamwork, and Support.

From its Michigan base, Flexfab has grown into a global operation with manufacturing on three continents. Its own materials describe over 1,000 employees across four countries. In the United States it runs corporate offices and manufacturing in Hastings, a thermoforming operation at Hastings West, and distribution near Grand Rapids in Kentwood. Internationally it operates Flexfab Europe Ltd. in Nottinghamshire, England, Flexfab South America Ltda. near Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Flexfab (Dongguan) Rubber Products Co., Ltd. in Dongguan, China. The multi-plant footprint lets the company localize service for international customers while moving product between its own facilities, a pattern visible in its customs record.

Certifications and quality

Flexfab maintains a harmonized global quality system, certified separately at each region to internationally recognized standards. Its United States operations in Hastings and Grand Rapids hold AS9100D, ISO 9001:2015, and ISO 14001:2015, along with IATF 16949:2016 for automotive production. Flexfab Europe in Nottingham holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, and the EN 9100:2018 aerospace standard. The Dongguan, China plant holds AS9100D, ISO 14001:2015, and IATF 16949:2016, and the Sao Paulo, Brazil operation holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and IATF 16949:2016. The company posts current certificates for each site, with its United States IATF 16949 certificate dated August 2026, and its quality lineage on record extends back through QS9000. This multi-site aerospace and automotive certification is the credential a buyer weighing nearshoring or dual-sourcing options would check first.

Known customers

Flexfab does not publish a customer roster, which is normal for an engineered-component supplier. Several relationships are documented through the OEM supplier awards the company has announced:

These awards come from heavy-truck and aerospace OEMs that hold suppliers to measured quality and delivery metrics, which is a stronger signal of a durable program relationship than a logo wall.

Sourcing evidence

Flexfab's United States import record reads like a global manufacturer's internal and material supply, not a reseller's finished-goods flow. The customs record shows 2,452 US sea shipments from January 2015 through September 2026, with the most recent logged on September 21, 2026. The single largest source is the company's own plant: Flexfab Dongguan Rubber Products in China accounts for 1,036 shipments of finished silicone and rubber hose moving between Flexfab facilities. Reading the bills of lading alongside the company's own footprint is what separates intra-company transfers from third-party purchasing.

Five shown of the recorded suppliers. By origin country the mix leads with China at 1,052 shipments, followed by Vietnam at 491, Indonesia at 290, Turkey at 198, and Germany at 104. The declared product codes cluster where a silicone hose maker's would: HS 3910.00 for silicones in primary form, 4009.21 for rubber tubes and hoses, 3917.39 for plastic tubing, and 3926.90 for other rubber and plastic articles, with flange and component codes appearing from its metal-parts suppliers. Customs-derived estimates put cumulative ocean shipping spend near $6.5M with cost data covering roughly 73 percent of shipments, an order-of-magnitude figure rather than an audited one. Shipment volume has cooled recently, with the latest month down about 34 percent against the prior year, though monthly activity continues.

Coverage caveats apply. These are United States ocean-freight records only, so air, truck, and rail movements do not appear, and cross-border flows with Flexfab's own overseas plants are only partly visible. Some manifest descriptions carry optical-scan noise, and product categories come from declared codes, which are imperfect. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence.

Frequently asked questions

What does Flexfab manufacture?

Flexfab manufactures high-performance silicone and elastomeric hose, lightweight ducting, flexible connectors, boots, bellows, sleeves, and special-shaped parts. Core lines include coolant hose, heater hose, charge air connectors, turbo hose and sleeves, elbows, reducers, and clamps for OEM and aftermarket use. It also builds engineered assemblies and dairy and food-grade hose.

Who owns Flexfab?

Flexfab is privately held and family-owned. Doug DeCamp founded the company in 1961, and Matthew DeCamp serves as President and CEO. The company operates as a global business with plants in the United States, England, Brazil, and China.

Where is Flexfab located?

Flexfab is headquartered in Hastings, Michigan, with corporate offices at 102 Cook Road and main manufacturing at 1699 West M-43 Highway, plus a thermoforming site at Hastings West and distribution in Kentwood near Grand Rapids. It also operates Flexfab Europe in Nottinghamshire, England, Flexfab South America near Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Flexfab Dongguan in Dongguan, China.

Who are Flexfab's customers?

Flexfab supplies heavy-duty truck, aerospace, automotive, rail, marine, and industrial OEMs. Documented programs include PACCAR, which has recognized Flexfab with repeated Achiever and quality awards, Daimler Truck, which awarded its Masters of Quality recognition for a seventh time, Boeing, which granted a Performance Excellence Award, and FAW.

What certifications does Flexfab hold?

Flexfab holds AS9100D, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and IATF 16949:2016 at its United States sites. Its European plant adds EN 9100:2018 for aerospace, and its China and Brazil plants carry the aerospace, environmental, and automotive certifications appropriate to their work. The company posts current certificates by site.

How many employees does Flexfab have?

Flexfab states it employs over 1,000 skilled people across four countries. A 2021 Michigan state environmental inspection reported roughly 300 workers at the Hastings plant. Databases that model headcount from online profiles show lower figures because they undercount manufacturing workforces.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.