Trelleborg's new manway nozzle gasket line boasts 'exceptional durability'

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Trelleborg A.B. and its Indiana-based Trelleborg Sealing Solutions business unit are optimizing railcar manway sealing solutions. The company's new Tran-Secure manway nozzle gasket product line debuted in October after a two-month "soft launch" period.

The new single piece manway gaskets, designed for rail tank car chemical transportation, feature a chevron profile to "stand up against aggressive chemicals and exhibit exceptional durability," Thijs Menzel, Trelleborg's global segment director of chemical and processing, said in a statement.

"For decades, shippers, tank car manufacturers and railcar repair shops have relied on Trelleborg to provide high-performance seals and repair kits, material testing, and root cause analysis support," he said. "To fulfill the need for a single-source supplier for all their sealing requirements, we developed the new Tran-Secure elastomer manway nozzle gaskets."

Brett Hopkins, Trelleborg's technical manager for chemical transportation, said that the new product line has been in development for a few years. Having serviced the railcar industry with valve kits and elastomer seals for almost a decade, Trelleborg began putting out gasket products two years ago with its flat gasket product line and the PTFE manway lid gasket. Once word got out that the Swedish manufacturer would be creating another new product line, customers became interested immediately, he said.

Interest in the newly released manway nozzle gaskets has been high throughout product development and the soft launch period, Hopkins said.

"The elastomer manway nozzle gasket has been in development since 2021 and was the last element needed to position ourselves as a full-service sealing solutions provider for the rail tank car industry," Hopkins said. "Elastomer materials, manufacturing and design are core competencies at Trelleborg, so this product line fits well into our portfolio."

The Tran-Secure product line will be useful in several key markets, Hopkins said, far beyond the railroads. Still, the company mainly is keeping its eye on just a few standout applications, including pharmaceuticals and oil and gas. The development of the new product line has seen Trelleborg work to solve several common but crucial problems with manway gaskets, Hopkins added.

"In general, gaskets in rail tank car applications need to maintain sealing integrity over their lifespan, have minimal compression set deformation, provide strong chemical resistance and withstand a wide temperature range due to exposure to demanding environments," he said.

The company consulted with material scientists and a design engineering team to minimize the chances of these common issues, Hopkins said. He added that the new Tran-Secure line has key features, including self-alignment chevrons, that will ensure that the gasket stays in proper position throughout the transportation process.

These features promise not only product safety during chemical transportation, but a longer lifespan overall, Hopkins said. Trelleborg is focused equally on making transportation of chemicals by rail safer and more sustainable, and the same goes for their own rubber products.

The EU Green Deal, signed in December 2019, will put heavy regulations on PFAS materials beginning in 2026. Even as Trelleborg continues to source from "responsible" raw polymer suppliers, material bans loom over all of Europe, with just over a year to go until enforcement.

While Trelleborg does offer products without PFAS, Hopkins said that "final conclusions cannot be made" on just how dangerous fluoropolymers truly are in this application. He added that several studies have been conducted on the "essential nature of fluoropolymers," even with the advent of the Green Deal.

A recent consultation of the European Chemicals Agency suggests that not only are PFAS chemicals important to many rubber products, Hopkins said, but they may be safer than initially believed. Still, Trelleborg is looking to move away from potentially dangerous chemicals and compounds in their product lines.

"It is our firm position to continue to develop and offer solutions made from fluoropolymers," Hopkins said. "At the same time, Trelleborg has a comprehensive portfolio of high-performance materials that are not based on fluoropolymers."

Trelleborg's fluoropolymer solutions meet the highest requirements imposed by the EU. The company aims to "offer only non-fluorine surfactant solutions as soon as possible and not later than the end of 2026," Hopkins said, provided that its raw material suppliers can comply.

But should the bans begin to impact the company more heavily, Trelleborg is already prepared with some alternative products, he said.

"While continuing to support solutions made from high-performance fluoropolymers, Trelleborg has been working on the development of alternative solutions for some time," he said. "We already successfully offer such solutions today. Our customers can continue to rely on the material and application competence that provides outstanding solutions to challenging applications."

Hopkins noted that while they may be much healthier for the environment, some PFAS alternatives simply do not offer the same versatility of application as their FKM and PTFE counterparts.

As potential bans continue to threaten the rubber and plastic industry across Europe, Trelleborg is working on further alternative solutions to combat the inefficiencies of any possible alternatives. Hopkins added that the company only works with consistently reliable partners to source materials for their products.

"Trelleborg is a downstream user of fluoropolymers and fluoroelastomers and we work only with highly competent and responsible partners in the chemical industry," Hopkins said. "Our products are safe to handle and use and do not impact the environment adversely during or after use, to the best of our knowledge."

Trelleborg is excited about the opportunities its new products may create. From breweries, to pharmaceuticals, to oil and gas, the Swedish manufacturer's new products are in high demand throughout multiple industries.

Even if the future of the gaskets' raw materials and supply chains is uncertain, Hopkins is confident that the possible applications of the new products will continue to expand in number.

"General industrial, aerospace and automotive are currently our largest markets," he said. "Chemical transportation makes up a small percentage of sales, but we have high ambitions for what we can offer customers in this segment."