Trelleborg says experience gives it a leg up in LSR

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.

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."