Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
May 13, 2021 01:22 PM

Trelleborg says experience gives it a leg up in LSR

Erin Pustay Beaven
Rubber & Plastics News
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    There is no substitution for experience.

    And when it comes to the relatively young liquid silicone rubber arena, it may be tough to find companies with more experience than Trelleborg AB. The Trelleborg, Sweden-based company has been working with silicone for about four decades and continues to push innovations and technologies that stretch the material's potential.

    That depth of experience is what gives Trelleborg an edge today, according to Ursula Nollenberger, the firm's global product line director for health care and medical as well as LSR.

    "It is really the experience and the know-how that we have developed over the years and continue to develop. It allows us — and it's a benefit to our customers — to make more and more complex parts with LSR," she said.

    Trelleborg was an early leader in developing the technologies to process and mold the material. Now as trends evolve and require molding or processing with plastics or metals, Trelleborg is positioned to meet those needs.

    "This is the advantage we have in the various markets, where a good-fitting material is used to make intricate and complex shapes by combining LSR with plastic," Nollenberger said. "There are only a few companies like us who are taking it to that level of expertise, at least according to the feedback we are getting from customers."

    Nollenberger notes that Trelleborg's ability to meet the shifting demands from a number of end markets hinges on the strong relationships it has built with its suppliers and its customers. Pointing to trends that require bonding silicone materials to plastics and metals, Nollenberger said suppliers are working to achieve higher expectations and overcome challenges.

    "Our customers are increasingly asking for multicomponent integrational functions," she said. "For us, that means you might have a conductive element, a sealing element and a dampening element all combined in one component."

    Nollenberger notes that LSR represents between 15 and 17 percent of the world consumption of silicone elastomers. But demand for the product is growing, especially as more and more consumer products rely on LSR.

    As demand for LSR grows, so too will the challenges faced in processing it.

    Expanding applications

    The purity of LSR allows it to unlock a range of application potential, according to Nollenberger. And while there is significant opportunity for use in the health and medical industries, the food and beverage industry also is a prime end market.

    Close collaboration with suppliers helps Trelleborg bring to its customers products that demonstrate better odor and taste neutrality, helping to meet some of the strictest standards for food and water safety on a global level.

    Opportunities also continue to emerge in the automotive space for LSR products, thanks especially to their low toxicity. The transition to electric vehicles is further expanding the potential use of the material.

    "LSR is outstanding because there are no toxic byproducts," Nollenberger said, "which is why it is so suitable to so many applications."

    Each opportunity, regardless of end market, challenges Trelleborg and its customers to design and produce parts and devices that meet higher standards, exhibit better durability or show more complexity in size and shape. And these are the spaces where LSR shines.

    "[LSR] lends itself to accommodate the trend toward digitalization," Nollenberger said. "Parts are getting smaller and smaller, and getting back to the fact that LSR is a liquid material with low viscosity, it lends itself to producing microparts, more so than a compound."

    LSR may be a versatile material, but it can't push the limits of technology and industry on its own. This is where Trelleborg's decades of expertise come into play, helping to refine the processes and technologies that keep it on the industry's cutting edge.

    To ensure that its products meet its own high standards, Trelleborg does its own toolmaking. "This is something we see at the core of what makes us good at what we are doing amongst others," Nollenberger said. "Therefore, we believe in doing that all in-house, versus turning to external tool makers. [In this area], we have a very unique technology that we have developed over the years and continue to develop."

    Staying on the cutting edge of an ever-changing industry requires a certain level of agility. To achieve and maintain this, Trelleborg continuously invests in operations by upgrading facilities and expanding capacity.

    "In terms of capacity expansion … this is a continuous [investment] we make," Nollenberger said. "We have a dedicated focus on LSR operations around the world. They are growing, and we continue to expand."

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Baumann named CEO of Arburg US subsidiary
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Debate exposes divisions in plastics treaty talks
    2
    GM, Stellantis give $15M lifeline to insolvent supplier
    3
    PVS Plastics expanding in Tennessee, Ohio
    4
    Ohio recycler Return Polymers triples PVC recycling capacity
    5
    Plastics additives one focus in Paris treaty talks
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified