Recent Years

Restructuring 

-The Company announced the creation of its Automotive Sealing brand to encompass all of its automotive sealing operations under a single brand. With the new brand, the Company hopes to become the leading market specialist of technical sealing solutions in the automotive industry. (From a press release on June 25, 2012)

Divestitures

-The Company closed the sale of its precision molded brake parts activities to ContiTech Vibration Control GmbH. The activities included operations in Andrezieux, France, and the molded brake parts business in Oberwihl, Germany, and Queretaro, Mexico. (From a press release on June 15, 2012)

Contracts

Company	Model	Parts Supplied
Audi	A3	Simmerrings for engine and transmission shafts, valve stem seals, and static seals
Mercedes	SL	Valve stem seals with counter-pressure sealing lip, O-rings, specialty seals, sealing caps, and bellows gears
Porsche	Boxster	Simmerrings for various shafts, O-rings, U-packings, elastomer precision moldings, and rubber bearings
Renault	Twingo	Simmerings for crankshaft , camshaft, and gear shafts, static seals, valve stem seals with counter-pressure sealing lip

Awards

-One of the Company's facilities in Sao Paulo, Brazil won the General Motors' Supplier Quality Excellence Awards from GM Brazil in 2012. This award is given to suppliers who exceed the vehicle manufacturer's high quality standards. (From a press release on November 26, 2012)

Product Development

<Hydraulic accumulators>
-The Company brought several series of hydraulic accumulators to production maturity. These hydraulic accumulators span the entire range of applications in passenger cars and commercial vehicles, including transmission and safety applications. As the new hydraulic accumulators are made of lightweight materials instead of metal, they not only provide a reduction in weight but also allow new approaches in solving various problems, such as brake energy storage. (From a press release on December 18, 2012)

<Plug & Tube Seal connectors>
-The Company developed a connector system called Plug & Tube Seal based off of their earlier Plug & Seal design. The Plug & Tube Seal connector system consists of a rubberized metal carrier with specially designed sealing beads at the outer diameter and an elastomer sealing profile at the inner diameter. These connectors were developed to create safe, simple and economical connections and seals between differently shaped tubes and pipes in combustion engines, engine ancillary components, and transmission systems. (From a press release on July 2, 2012)

<Liquid ACM material>
-The Company succeeded in creating a liquid ACM (polyacrylic rubber) that combines the properties of high-resistance solid rubber and liquid silicone. Liquid ACM (L-ACM) is much less viscous than standard ACM, which means that it can be processed like liquid silicone. Unlike liquid silicone however, L-ACM has a much higher chemical resistance, and is thus compatible with transmission and engine oils. This new sealing material makes it possible to develop sealing shapes with very detailed structures. (From a press release on June 15, 2012)

<Perfluoroelastomer micro-seals>
-The Company introduced a line of micro-seals to its North American customer base. The seals are expected to have broad applications in the medical, chemical and automotive industries, among others. The new line uses perfluoroelastomer, which is more elastic and has a longer life compared to polytetrafluoroethylene, the material that most micro-seals are currently made of. (From a press release on March 28, 2012)

<Valve stem seal with counter-pressure lip>
-The Company developed a new valve stem seal that reduces oil and blow-by leakage. These valve stem seals are fitted with a special counter-pressure sealing lip which seals the valve stem from the exhaust gas stream. This prevents leaks caused from the pressure of the exhaust gas and enables the valve stem to maintain lubrication on the valve bodies. (From a press release on March 6, 2012)

Investment Outside Germany

<North America>
-The Company plans to expand its production of perfluoroelastomer micro-seals from its two manufacturing sites in Europe to two additional Special Sealing Products Division manufacturing sites in North America in 2013. (From a press release on March 28, 2012)