Simriz® – Quick Tooling Ensures a Reliable Supply of FFKM Seals

Simriz® 498 outperforms every other FFKM material on the market. Its patented structure provides outstanding, long-term performance in nearly every environment, including cases of extreme temperatures up to 617°F (320°C) and in use with harsh chemicals, overheated steam, and hot water.

But in this case the customer, even more was required to implement a final solution: Because Freudenberg Sealing Technologies did not have the exact metric tooling needed to mold the required seals at that time, the company immediately launched efforts to design and manufacture 14 new metric-sized tools to fulfill the customer’s requirements. Our facility in Santa Ana offers a wide range of sizes that have already been tooled, but even more exciting is their ability to quickly tool new custom sizes. They can create custom tooling within four weeks and even as low as ten days in some cases, this service is available for O-rings and round molded parts/ shapes with sizes ranging from .5” to 5.27” for all Simriz® FFKM compounds and many of our other compounds. This development allows us to offer tremendous value to customers who often have significantly longer turnaround times, and ensures their facilities continue to run at peak efficiency.

The Results

With the quick time to get 14 new tooling developed and begin production, we were able to ensure the customer a reliable supply of the needed Simriz® FFKM seals to keep them running efficiently both today and for years to come. The project also had a sizeable benefit to our distributor, thanks to the ability to keep their customer happy they secured over $200,000 in initial business and over $150,000 a year in reoccurring business in Simriz® 498 O-rings with an opportunity to expand into finished gaskets and sheets of the specialized FFKM material.

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies FFKM Simriz® 498 material, in combination with its efforts to support the production of the customer’s seals, has further solidified the working relationship between the two companies. Freudenberg’s deep material expertise, vertically integrated structure, and ability to move fast in developing reliable solutions offer great value to our distributors. The distributor, in turn, is playing an important role in introducing its customers to the premium materials and capabilities Freudenberg offers. Our distribution network is filled with outstanding companies, that provide exceptional products and services to keep the industry running. Our shared networks, expertise, and resources find solutions to incredibly challenging issues and prove that we are truly better together.