Plastic welding & joining
Five processes for joining thermoplastics with heat, friction or vibration instead of adhesives, fasteners or solvents.
- Spin welding
- Hot plate welding
- Laser plastic welding
- Ultrasonic welding
- Heat staking
Manufacturers’ representative · Est. 2014
Most equipment quotes start with the machine. Vertex starts with your part.
An Indiana manufacturers’ representative agency for assembly, test and inspection automation — every process specified by a mechanical engineer, not a salesperson.
- Experience
- 28 yrsMechanical engineering
- Projects
- ~300Completed since 2014
- Territory
- IN · KYPlus select clients beyond
Who you are talking to
An agency run by the engineer who answers your questions.
Vertex represents capital equipment manufacturers focused on assembly, test and inspection automation. Jeff Trotta founded it in 2014 after years of watching sales people fail to answer the questions engineers actually ask.
Capabilities
Four equipment categories. One way of choosing between them.
The category is the easy part. The recommendation comes from your part geometry, material, joint requirement and production volume — which is why every project starts with the part in front of us.
Metal riveting & forming
Permanent mechanical joints made by deforming a rivet, stud or seam under controlled force.
- Radial riveting
- Orbital riveting
- Servo riveting
- Roller forming
- Articulated roller forming
Assembly automation
Machines that take over the fastening, joining and verification steps operators currently do by hand.
- Fastener feeding and driving
- Plastic assembly cells
- Leak detection and verification
Ultrasonic metal welding
Solid-state welds for conductive metals — no melting, no filler, dissimilar pairs included.
- Ultrasonic spot welders
- Ultrasonic wire splicers
- Battery pack welders
Line card
Four builders. One engineer specifying them.
Vertex is the manufacturers’ representative for these capital equipment builders. Each line carries its own territory, and the recommendation between them is made against your part — not against a quota.
Extol
- Territory
- Indiana
Sonics & Materials
- Territory
- Indiana & Kentucky
BalTec
- Territory
- Indiana
Visumatic
- Territory
- Indiana
How a project runs
Five steps between your problem and a machine that holds spec.
Most equipment sales conversations start with a quote. This one starts with the problem, and the sequence is the same on every project so you always know what happens next.
STEP 01
Problem assessment
Vertex meets with you to assess the problem and the application in detail. The conversation is engineer to engineer.
STEP 02
Application engineering review
Jeff applies an application engineering approach to the specification, including design attributes that affect process success.
STEP 03
Feasibility work
Where needed, Vertex coordinates lab work to prove viability — welding feasibility studies and strength analysis across technologies.
STEP 04
Solution recommendation
Vertex identifies the best process and technology for the application: what works on the production floor, not what carries the highest commission.
STEP 05
Quote and implementation
Vertex provides the quote and supports you through implementation with the manufacturer, including tuning after launch.
Industries served
Five industries. The same method in all of them.
Vertex chooses equipment based on the part, not the industry. A battery enclosure and a door panel are both automotive, but the joint requirements, material pairings and volumes are entirely different.
Largest segment
Automotive
Batteries, door panels, electronics, EV powertrain, exterior systems, fluid systems, HVAC, interiors, lighting and underhood assemblies.
- EV powertrain
- Battery modules
- Lighting
- HVAC ducts
- Fluid reservoirs
- Interiors
High volume
Consumer products
Appliances, drones, electronics, food and beverage packaging, furniture, lighting, pool systems, power sports, power tools, sporting goods and pet products.
- Power tools
- Appliances
- Packaging
- Sporting goods
- Electronics
Fastest growing
Energy storage
Battery energy storage systems including modules, flow batteries, membranes and stack-welded assemblies across lithium-ion, LFP, lead acid, AGM and supercapacitors.
- Cell tabs
- Busbars
- BESS modules
- Flow batteries
Aerospace & Defense
Industrial
Aerospace panels, seating and windows; defense ammunition, electronics and protective gear; heavy equipment engine, exterior and filter systems; pallet and dunnage.
- Structural panels
- Defense electronics
- Filter systems
- Dunnage
Precision
Life sciences
Diagnostics, durable medical equipment, filtration, medical devices, single-use disposables and surgical robots — where precision, low particulate and traceability decide the process.
- Microfluidics
- Catheters
- Drug delivery
- Capsule filters
- CGM devices
- Medical devices
Field notes
Three projects, three different answers.
None of these started with a machine recommendation. They started with a part, an operator problem and a production target.
TIER 1 AUTOMOTIVE
Truck grilles, glued to staked
- Problem
- Large plastic truck grilles were assembled with a gluing process the supplier wanted gone.
- Approach
- Vertex worked with Extol engineers on infrared heat staking feasibility, and advised grille design changes to make the new process viable.
- Result
- A custom 42-point IR heat staking machine went into production. The gluing process was retired.
DEFENSE
Screw driving for naval assets
- Problem
- Operators hand-drove screws across multiple stations, creating cycle time variability and inconsistent torque on a critical application.
- Approach
- Vertex specified Visumatic VLB-900 Locking Bit screw feed and drive systems across several operator stations.
- Result
- Faster assembly, with precise torque management and control at every station.
INJECTION MOLDING
Heated tools off the floor
- Problem
- Operators installed metal threaded inserts into plastic parts with heated tools — slow, and a safety concern on the floor.
- Approach
- Vertex brought a Sonics & Materials handheld ultrasonic staking demo unit in so operators could try it on their own application.
- Result
- Several ultrasonic units now deployed across the operation. The heated tools are gone.
Who you will work with
When an engineer asks Vertex a question, the answer comes from another engineer. That is the whole difference.
Jeff Trotta has spent 28 years on the engineering side of manufacturing — product design, application engineering, engineering management and technical sales. He founded Vertex in 2014 because he kept meeting sales professionals who could not answer the questions engineers actually need answered.
You are not handed off to a junior account manager. Every project goes through the founder, and the recommendation reflects what the application needs rather than what carries the highest commission.
Member in good standing
Bring us a part, a print or a problem.
Feasibility lab work, sample welding and demo equipment on your own parts — all before any capital is committed. Serving Indiana, Kentucky and select clients beyond.