The Durlon® Sealing Advantage

Our filled-PTFE products – most notably our most versatile product, Durlon® 9000 glass filled PTFE, offer exceptionally tight sealing characteristics. Secondly, our premium grade corrugated metal insert gasket, Durlon® Durtec® with DurCore™ technology, is ideally suited to fluctuating pressure and temperature conditions while being fire-safe and offering unparalleled sealability. When it comes to the hazardous and challenging conditions present in the oil & gas, chemical and mining industries, to name a few, these product specifications ensure safety, reliability and the assurance of a significant reduction in overall fugitive emissions.

High Quality Standards

At Durlon, quality is governed by the company’s active ISO 9001:2015 Quality Assurance program. All manufactured products are batch tested for compliance to internal and published technical data. In addition, all fabricated gaskets are individually measured for dimensional accuracy prior to shipping.

Durlon® fluid sealing products are offered across the globe, with a select distribution network and locations in 17 countries. “End users of our products expect our customized services and support wherever they may have an operating location, and we have strategically established distribution in key countries and locations where our end-user base needs it the most,” Shorts explains. This commitment to servicing customers on a global scale is highlighted by the company’s network of subsidiary and affiliate companies. We have a subsidiary company in Singapore (Durabla Asia Pte. Ltd.), that acts as a sales office to the Southeast Asia market, as well as a subsidiary in China (Durabla Fluid Controls (Suzhou) Ltd.), that assumes the role of sales, warehouse and light fabrication operations for the mainland China market. An affiliate company located in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, Triangle Fluid Controls Ltd. manufactures our Durlon® PTFE gasket sheet material and Gasket Resources Inc., headquartered in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, is the master sales, marketing and manufacturer of Durlon® Sealing Products in the United States. Technical Services for Gasket Resources is located in Houston, Texas, which provides technical support to end users and plant personnel. Along with their established US distribution network, they have serviced their clients with Durlon® gasket products since 2002.

Customized Approach

With the growing market of fluid sealing distribution, fabricators and M&A’s, Shorts urges some caution. Most notably with respect to large industrial supply stores and fabrication warehouses that tend to represent the majority of the major fluid sealing brands, in addition to their own private brands. He explains, “It is important for end users to determine who has their best interests at heart, and who is truly invested in their particular needs in meeting fugitive emissions regulations. ”The mandate at Durlon is to treat every technical inquiry like a custom inquiry,  which also includes educating customers on the company’s products, industry standards, customized installation practices and general fluid sealing technical knowledge. In effect, it is this customized approach that helps guarantee successful end-use application and results. Shorts explains, “We are very much experts in what we do and not just suppliers of the products we have.” In reference to his trained technical staff and full-service fabrication shop, dedicated to the Durlon® brand, he adds, “The complexity of sealing bolted flanged connections is not easily understood and our expert Applications Engineers work diligently with each customer to find the solution that works best for them.”

Mobile Training Initiative

The company offers a mobile gasket training program that travels to customer sites to provide various levels of hands-on gasket installation training. The Durlon® Gasket Installation Certification combines classroom training with hands-on learning, using the company’s state-of-the-art gasket training rig, capable of simulating experiences in real world scenarios. It allows customers the unique opportunity to not only see exactly what is happening inside the flange in real-time, but understand the importance of proper techniques and the advantage of putting best practices to use. Once training is complete, participants receive a certificate of completion that can be leveraged towards further training for engineering credits or as required training hours, if applicable.

Meeting environmental standards

With the goal of providing fluid sealing solutions that make sense, both financially and strategically, Shorts stresses the company’s commitment to a safe and sustainable planet, and its role in the reduction of fugitive emissions within the applications where Durlon® products are used. As a manufacturer of fluid sealing products designed to seal tighter than current regulations require, Shorts explains that Durlon is ideally qualified to resolve troublesome and costly leaks once detected through a leak detection and repair (LDAR) program. Closely monitoring regulatory requirements for methane emissions reductions in the USA, Canada and around the world, we are prepared with several products that are ready to meet pending regulations. “We have products with certification status to NSF61, TA-Luft (VDI Guideline 2440), USP Class VI and API 607. We also have several products that conform to various FDA regulations,” he explains. This proactive stance with regards to up-and-coming regulatory changes is nothing new for Durlon. In addressing the company’s commitment to meeting not only current regulatory emissions goals, but future ones as well, Shorts says, “We were ready for the implementation of the Clean Air Act before it was introduced, which helped customers be compliant without significant additional fluid sealing material costs. Similarly, we are prepared to offer the same ease of-transition to help our customers meet their compliance requirements in the future.”

An eye to the future

Research & Development (R&D) is at the cornerstone of the company’s approach to product performance. According to Shorts, Durlon is always looking to improve upon existing products, in addition to searching for the next greatest fluid sealing solution. The company tests various processing techniques when applied to different grades of PTFE resins, in order to take advantage of unique properties that each may have. With product growth on the horizon, and a dedicated staff on hand, Durlon is ideally positioned to continue helping customers achieve their fugitive emissions targets in the most cost effective manner possible, says Shorts. When combined with the Durlon® Gasket Installation Certification program and highly experienced technical support services, Shorts asserts that tight static seals can be achieved with relative ease.

In closing, he adds: “Fugitive emissions regulations, though daunting in scope, can be solved with existing technologies, provided improved and accurate installation practices are followed. While installing gaskets the right way may take more time, in the long run it is safer not only for personnel, but also the environment.”