Contract manufacturer Norman Noble Inc., Highland Heights, Ohio, (normannobel.net) announced completion of a $1.9 million expansion of its metal finishing operations. The expansion centered on increasing the level of automation in Norman Noble's production finishing capabilities. Changes include automating how the company chemically descales laser-cut materials and passivation and finishing lines, along with various polishing processes. The company also improved its existing environmental controls (humididity, temperature, and filtering) critical for development and manufacturing. The investment doubles the capacity of its finishing for R&D and production. It was prompted by demand for metal and PEEK-based medical devices and implants used in cardiovascular, orthopedic, and sport-medicine applications. Norman Noble VP of Manufacturing Dan Stefano says the expansion was necessitated by requests for increased production of custom Nitinol-based products combined with a company strategy to diversify its capabilities for the development and production of micro medical devices.