waterjet

Alex Bergeron
Sealing Solutions Provider at Elasto Proxy

What do you think of when you hear the word “outsourcing”? Do you think of increased efficiency and higher quality, or do you worry about a loss of control? Outsourcing your manufacturing processes to a partner requires trust. That’s why long-term business relationships are important, and why proof can strengthen a commitment.

As a solutions provider for Elasto Proxy, it’s my job to listen to all of your application requirements and business needs before recommending the right sealing solution. Words aren’t always enough, however, and sometimes seeing is believing. Such was the case with a manufacturer of ventilation units who chose custom-fabricated gaskets instead of unfinished rubber coils.

Door Gaskets for Ventilation Units

Ventilation units have access doors that allow maintenance and repair personnel to reach machinery. The gaskets for these doors vary in size, but all require rubber compounds that can meet demanding environmental conditions. With our partner’s vacuum units, for example, exposure to dust, water, and pollution made dual durometer EPDM the right choice.

Manufacturing the rubber gaskets for these access doors can be a labor-intensive process, and produce material waste and unwanted variations. At our partner’s production facility, employees would position the rubber coils that we supplied next to a machine. Production personnel would then unroll the rubber onto the access doors, cutting and then splicing the lengths where they met.

Gaining Quality by Giving Up Control

Performing these operations in-house gave our partner maximum production control, but also created opportunities for increased efficiency and higher quality. Human error and variations between workers or even shifts can cause small differences in cuts and splices. If the rubber that’s left on a coil isn’t long enough for finished product, the remaining material becomes unusable for gasketing.

Although our partner originally wanted a distributor, touring our Boisbriand, Quebec production facility provided proof of Elasto Proxy’s custom fabrication capabilities. Today, our skilled production team cuts their doors gaskets to length and then performs film splicing operations. Improvements to quality and efficiency have strengthened our partner’s supply chain, and strengthened our business relationship.