CGR Products has a history of providing gasket and seal solutions to our customer’s most difficult problems.
This was exactly the case with a large truck manufacturer that we helped engineer a new material to seal a gap after the supplier discontinued the original raw material.
Beginnings
A few years ago, CGR was approached by one of our preferred material suppliers. They had a stock gap sealing tape that a heavy truck manufacturer needed to have slit, then die cut for an area between the truck’s roof and the door frame. CGR Products has all those capabilities in house, so the supplier chose us as the preferred manufacturer. CGR Products then made samples, sent them to the customer, and the Foam 2-sided PSA material worked and sealed the roof gap.
Fast Forward
In 2022 with logistical and material challenges, our material supplier notified us and the heavy truck manufacturer that the current sealing material was being abruptly discontinued due to the availability of chemicals in a European Union country. Our material supplier thought they had a replacement but thru testing, it was determined to be too thin, the wrong color, and would not effectively seal the gap between the roof and the frame, plus the price almost doubled.
Gasket and Seal Action
CGR Products development team went into action by reviewing the requirements and specifications of the heavy truck manufacturer and offered a solution. CGR concluded that we could laminate a PSA to a closed cell foam, skive to thickness, cut to width, and hopefully reduce the overall cost by increasing thru put.
The truck manufacturer asked if we could package this in a way to make it easier to apply. Working together, we determined that it would be more efficient for them to receive 4 strips of seals on a single peel and stick liner since each truck cab required two strips. This type of packaging would also improve the installation time on the vehicle.
We only had 8 weeks of combined inventory to make the change, develop the seals, run samples, test the samples and get Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) or the truck company would run out of parts. This is a critical path part for the truck manufacturer and no parts would mean production line stoppage.
CGR fast tracked this thru our system, ran samples for 30 vehicles, overnighted the sample parts, and then the heavy truck manufacturer performed a production trail run. All our expectations were achieved with reduced assembly time, reduced cost, and a better seal than the previous “off the shelf” sealing product which now was closed cell foam skived to their specific thickness. The PPAP was approved, and there was no line stoppage.
Overall, this collaboration with CGR Products shows the value of partnerships in the manufacturing industry and the importance of having a range of capabilities and expertise to meet the needs of customers. This highlights the importance of having a strong relationship with CGR Products and being able to rely on their expertise in providing materials that meet specific requirements.