Gasket Fabricators talk supply chain, materials at 2022 conference

ORLANDO, Fla.—Not far from Kennedy Space Center, the Gasket Fabricators Association launched its 2022 conference and expo, bringing together 310 attendees at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.

With about 145 companies from myriad different industries—aerospace, appliances and consumer-facing markets, and automotive, among many others—the April 27-29 gathering marked the first time many had seen each other since 2018, when the last in-person GFA expo took place.

"This is our first big event back, and from the anecdotal conversations that I have had, people are ecstatic," said James Wolfington, administrative director with the GFA, based in Wayne, Pa. "People are running up and hugging each other, as some of them have not seen each other for four years, even longer for some."

The notion of "best practices" has never been more pronounced or important, as both upstream suppliers and downstream fabricators discussed raw material capacity and overcoming supply chain difficulties.

"Since there are so many supply chain issues and inflationary pressures, it is an opportunity to talk with your peers about how we are dealing with these things," said GFA President Chuck Keeley, who also serves as president of CGR Products Inc., a gasket converter based in Greensboro, N.C. "I have been in this game a long time, and we have never dealt with some of the issues we are dealing with right now."

Even competitors are sharing best practices in this difficult environment, whether that means an alternate source for raw material for foam rubber or a different monomer for a gasket.

"And what are people doing to hire people?" Keeley said. "So, there are lots of issues coming out of COVID. Being back in-person ... that is the biggest help as we are in a time when this can really help.

"We are coming up with ideas, and this is a great forum for that."

Keeley said he did not expect the intense talk about what the supply chain might look like going forward, especially as domestic capacity is concerned.

"Friend-sourcing" is now a term being bandied about by companies up and down the supply chain.

"Geopolitical issues—the war in Ukraine—were never really something that were considered before, these sorts of inputs," Keeley said. "People are talking about onshoring, increasing domestic capacity of certain raw materials, and ... fleshing some of that out.

"There has been a lot of discussion about China and the fine line that China is walking with this ... and how intermingled our economies (are). The geopolitical situation in the world is very real."

Wolfington said the main focus of the conference is to bring suppliers and converters together to solve these problems—or, at the very least, overcome them in the short term.

"You can have as much email exchange you want, but being in person is a big help ... this can lead to great exchanges," Wolfington said.

And in-person meetings mean no Zoom calls are necessary.

"I am so happy that I do not have to tell people that they are on mute any longer," Keeley added.

Worldwide Foam Ltd., based in Elkhart, Ind., started business about 15 years ago.

A company of about 400, they are in a niche market, focused on servicing cross-linked polyethylene blocks, used mainly in packaging but which also boast damping and sealing performance characteristics.

And the supply chain issues are acute for the company, a subsidiary of Jacobs and Thompson Co. of Toronto, Ontario.

"On certain materials we have been able to maintain five- to seven-day lead times ... we used to get a truckload of material in a day," said Shawn Greene, vice president of sales for North American elastomers with Worldwide Foam. "The supply chain has really been ruptured since COVID hit. Before, we used to have 10,000 buns sitting on the floors.

"That is not the case any more."

Worldwide Foams sells to automotive and medical, as well as electric "to some degree," Greene said. The company converts (via skivving) the polyethylene material to a specific size or thickness for its customers, and the customer then die-cuts it, or punches it out in their own required shape.

Between supply chain woes and labor issues—think "The Great Resignation," or as one Time magazine author put, "The Great Reveal"—the economics of the current foam rubber industry has been challenging.

"I have been doing this for six years and I've never seen it this bad," Greene said. "You have a bunch of different things hitting at the same time, labor force issues being one, and this represents tribal (industry) knowledge that leaves when those people leave."

Container costs, with their rampant freight line inflation and matching monopolies on those containers—can represent the proverbial kick when a company already is down.

"It seems like someone keeps turning the tap a little tighter, and up goes the price," Greene said. "We have major lead times attributed to this ... to where I can get it to you in four months, but I can't get it to you now.

"And when the tap turns back on, which I expect it will, as we wait for material to show up the next issue is going to be staffing. Once we have raw materials, how do we get the product out the door?"

DeVoll Rubber Manufacturing Group Inc., based in Victorville, Calif., is a family-owned precision rubber products manufacturer founded by Millard DeVoll in his garage in 1964.

Today, several family members contribute to the operation, a lathe-cutting manufacturer that does its own vulcanization—conducting a couple steps along the process that other companies farm out.

That includes Stacy DeVoll, Millard's grandaughter, who now serves as president.

"We started in my grandfather's garage ... I think if you talk to other family-owned business, the other generation does not really go away," DeVoll said.

"And this is generational knowledge that we have been able to retain in the face of 'The Great Resignation.' "

With its flexibility in production—varied through a range of industries—the company has been able to pivot in a volatile economy when others have not.

"When the economy might slow down in one industry, we are able to pivot and help someone else," DeVoll said.

One customer toward which the company has pivoted is the Southern California Gas Co., which has gaskets in each of its residential meters.

Another is in the aerospace industry, to which DeVoll supplies parts.

"For a rocket company we work with, we have been working on a liner, so that when the fuel burns it does not create collateral damage," she said.

As the GFA Conference blasts into its third day, the human touch clearly has helped these fabricators and converters in relaying suggestions and best practices.

For much more on the attending companies at the 2022 GFA Conference, check back at rubbernews.com and upcoming issues of Rubber News.