Freudenberg-NOK forms new ARPM seals committee

There are two industry challenges a new Association for Rubber Products Manufacturers (ARPM) committee being launched by Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies will likely tackle in the future.

This new working group will focus on the evolving technical needs of seals and gaskets manufacturers throughout the world, said Joseph Walker, global director, Advanced Materials Development for Freudenberg-NOK. As the largest seals and gaskets company to join the ARPM — a trade association dedicated to the advancement of rubber products manufacturing – Freudenberg-NOK will take a lead role in establishing committee membership and setting an itinerary to leverage individual corporate expertise to benefit the industry in its entirety.

Suppliers are being challenged to respond to intense customer requirements today, Walker noted. Challenges like fuel economy, emissions reduction, less weight and more aggressive mechanical environments require suppliers to respond with new products and manufacturing methodologies that meet a myriad of demands.

“One of the drivers of this committee is to consolidate those demands into a regionally accepted portfolio of test protocols and methodologies that maximize efficiency and reduce costs,” he said. “By working together and working with other industry organizations, we can maximize efficiency and reduce our costs.”

“Freudenberg-NOK’s decision to join ARPM and facilitate the creation of the rubber seals and gasket committee represents a watershed moment for the association,” said Troy Nix, ARPM executive director. “Their leadership on the committee will be a critical component of moving the association’s initiative. It’s a great moment for ARPM and the industry, and we are proud that they want to be a part of what our community is accomplishing.”

Freudenberg-NOK will officially join ARPM and launch the committee in January. It will be open to all seals and gaskets manufacturers working across diverse industrial sectors. The group will also interface with other organizations – the Automotive Industry Action Group in North America and VDA in Germany, for example, – to harmonize expectations and establish global material testing protocols for issues as universal as turbocharged engine blow-by gases, exhaust gas recirculation, crank case ventilation testing and boutique testing – a term Walker uses to describe the process of running the same tests for multiple customers using just slightly different inputs.

“By working through the ARPM, we can build a knowledgeable team that can work in association with other global industry organizations to harmonize these expectations and methodologies into industry-accepted specifications and standards,” Walker said. “This will level the playing field for all participants and allow us to establish a definition of compatibility that we can use at our individual companies to design the next generation of products.”

Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies
www.fnst.com