Case Studies

The agriculture industry is in major need of good rubber/elastomer formulations. With agrichemical pesticides including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and nematicides being so readily used, the equipment that distributes the agrichemicals need components that will withstand the harsh environment. The agrichemicals are not typically the products that are attacking the rubber/elastomer components, however it is the cleaning chemicals used pre and post use that we must be aware of. At Hiawatha Rubber we are familiar with these and take an approach that exposes any risks to the products we produce. Understanding environment conditions, function of the products, and alternative factors such as cleaning cycles and chemical concentrations, allows for the formulation and design of a rubber/elastomer formulation that is superior to off the shelf alternates. Individuals looking for products in the agriculture/farming industry should understand that all rubber/elastomer materials are not created equal. A particular product having a material identification of EPDM or FKM doesn’t mean it is necessarily suitable for your application.

The best comparison for a rubber/elastomer compound formulation is making a chocolate cake. You can get an inexpensive chocolate cake where the ingredients come all together from a box, you add a couple eggs and some water and bake it. You can also get chocolate cake where a professional baker makes each ingredient from scratch and understands the correct density and moisture profile while making sure the rich chocolate flavor is exemplified. These are both examples of chocolate cake, but wouldn’t you rather have the one that the expert (baker) produced? The same goes for rubber/elastomer formulations. We’ll use an EPDM gasket as an example. You can get an inexpensive gasket that is EPDM. But when you go to use that gasket, it won’t compress like it should to make the proper seal, or after some time in service it becomes brittle and starts to fall apart. An inexpensive EPDM is comparable to the chocolate cake where all the ingredients come together in a box and the finished product is not satisfying. There is a reason for this, the formulation of that EPDM rubber/elastomer compound included very little of the base polymer EPDM. Instead, it is mostly comprised of filler ingredients and oils that cause the compound to be unstable. Using an EPDM rubber/elastomer compound formulation that was developed for the given application that the product will be used in, allows Hiawatha Rubber’s compound development department to use their expertise and put the correct amount of each ingredient needed to deliver an end product that is exceptional in performance and longevity. In this example, you can have your cake and eat it too, you just better pick the correct cake!

At Hiawatha Rubber, we work alongside our customers to develop all our own compound formulations. This has been a staple of our company since the beginning, and it shows in the confidence and trust our customers have in working with us. We look forward to working with you!

There is close to 1.25 billion credit cards in the United States. American’s carry an average of four credit cards each. It seems that everything these days is paid for with a credit card. So how do all these credit cards get produced? They have to be precise, they have to be consistent, and they have to be quick. To do that without flaws, they need to be very clean too! When someone loses or damages their credit card, the provider they are using wants a new one in their hands immediately. If they don’t have a card, it is more difficult to buy stuff with it.

Hiawatha Rubber works with manufacturers of credit cards to supply them with the rubber/elastomer products needed to produce the billions of credit cards. Between cleaning rollers and printing rollers, there is an exceptional level of quality needed to provide the consistency needed for this industry. Hiawatha Rubber’s expertise in developing rubber/elastomer compound formulations is paramount because it delivers the consistency and quality needed to repeatedly produce the credit cards needed for the industry.

Individuals in the credit card industry should understand that all rubber/elastomer formulations are not created equal. A particular product having a material identification of Silicone or Neoprene doesn’t mean it is necessarily suitable for your application.

The best comparison for a rubber/elastomer compound formulation is making a chocolate cake. You can get an inexpensive chocolate cake where the ingredients come all together from a box, you add a couple eggs and some water and bake it. You can also get chocolate cake where a professional baker makes each ingredient from scratch and understands the correct density and moisture profile while making sure the rich chocolate flavor is exemplified. These are both examples of chocolate cake, but wouldn’t you rather have the one that the expert (baker) produced? The same goes for rubber/elastomer formulations. We’ll use an EPDM gasket as an example. You can get an inexpensive gasket that is EPDM. But when you go to use that gasket, it won’t compress like it should to make the proper seal, or after some time in service it becomes brittle and starts to fall apart. An inexpensive EPDM is comparable to the chocolate cake where all the ingredients come together in a box and the finished product is not satisfying. There is a reason for this, the formulation of that EPDM rubber/elastomer compound included very little of the base polymer EPDM. Instead, it is mostly comprised of filler ingredients and oils that cause the compound to be unstable. Using an EPDM rubber/elastomer compound formulation that was developed for the given application that the product will be used in, allows Hiawatha Rubber’s compound development department to use their expertise and put the correct amount of each ingredient needed to deliver an end product that is exceptional in performance and longevity. In this example, you can have your cake and eat it too, you just better pick the correct cake!

Precision is needed in the credit card industry as well. There are times a product needs to be ground to a tight tolerance with consistent runout across the part. Hiawatha Rubber has a long history of being able to provide the surface finish and texture that is desired by the customer.

The food processing industry is comprised of about 21,000 companies and is worth around $750 billion in revenue. It accounts for more than 10 percent of all shipments. When working with companies in this industry they need reliability, consistency, and safety. The safety portion is most critical in that they obviously need operational safety for those people working to produce all these food goods. But they also need safety for the food and the consumers that will feed on these goods. Any time consumer health is a requirement, quality is paramount. At Hiawatha Rubber we work with providers of equipment in the food processing industry. We have experience with food grade rubber/elastomers. We understand the need for reliability, so the end product is safe for consumers. We take a responsibility to supply superior products with the consumer safety that is needed.

For individuals looking for food grade rubber/elastomer products, please turn to Hiawatha Rubber for our expertise in this industry. Our process starts with understanding the function of the product and the capabilities it must perform to. Then we develop the rubber/elastomer compound formulation that will deliver the performance and safety that is expected for products in the food processing industry.

As security continues to increase in our world, having the proper identification is critical. ID cards are essential for many organizations to ensure there is not a security breach or risk to personal safety. From sports teams and other large corporations to schools and the government agencies, they need proper identification for employee safety and operational efficiency. ID cards need to be consistent and accurate. To deliver this, many companies have turned to Hiawatha Rubber for our expertise in rubber/elastomer compound formulation, and our precision manufacturing capabilities to deliver products with close tolerances on a consistent basis.

Between the major delivery services in the United States, there are 34 million packages delivered every day. This industry is only growing as more people have things delivered to their houses than ever before. For each one of those packages, the order needs to be assembled, boxed or bagged, tagged, scanned, routed to the correct places, and ultimately arrive at their destination in good condition. To make all this happen on a daily basis it takes consistency, reliability, and quality. Hiawatha Rubber has experience in helping packaging companies build the equipment necessary for this industry. The precision and repeatable accuracy of the products we make for this industry demonstrates we understand the quality needed in this fast-paced environment. If you’re in the packaging industry and need rubber/elastomer products to deliver equipment and processes to the packaging industry, please choose Hiawatha Rubber as a partner.

The paid parking lot/garage/ramp industry is a $9B industry. Parking services including the machines used for this industry are necessary for a lot of businesses, stadiums, events, airports, hotels, etc. Hiawatha Rubber has been delivering products for this industry many years. These products require attention to environmental conditions including fluctuating temperatures as well as high usage rates at times that demand consistency in performance. Having consistency with critically precision parts necessary of tight tolerances is needed for the equipment in this industry. Hiawatha Rubber can deliver that level of quality. Using the correct rubber/elastomer formulation is critical for performance in changing environmental conditions. Hiawatha Rubber has the capabilities to develop rubber/elastomer formulations for specific applications.

There are an estimated 300,000 shipping containers added to the global fleet each year. There are more than 480,000 school buses across America. The US mining industry grosses over $600B annually. The largest vehicles in the world need the most robust and reliable parts. Transportation involves, environmental conditions whether that is salt on cargo ships, bone chilling cold in Alaska, or the scorching heat of Africa. Having the predictability and reliability in those environments is paramount. With transportation elements, many of them encounter a variety of chemicals and having the protection against failure is required. Hiawatha Rubber has many years of experience delivering products for this industry, and it all starts with the rubber/elastomer formulation for the product.

The best comparison for a rubber/elastomer compound formulation is making a chocolate cake. You can get an inexpensive chocolate cake where the ingredients come all together from a box, you add a couple eggs and some water and bake it. You can also get chocolate cake where a professional baker makes each ingredient from scratch and understands the correct density and moisture profile while making sure the rich chocolate flavor is exemplified. These are both examples of chocolate cake, but wouldn’t you rather have the one that the expert (baker) produced? The same goes for rubber/elastomer formulations. We’ll use an EPDM gasket as an example. You can get an inexpensive gasket that is EPDM. But when you go to use that gasket, it won’t compress like it should to make the proper seal, or after some time in service it becomes brittle and starts to fall apart. An inexpensive EPDM is comparable to the chocolate cake where all the ingredients come together in a box and the finished product is not satisfying. There is a reason for this, the formulation of that EPDM rubber/elastomer compound included very little of the base polymer EPDM. Instead, it is mostly comprised of filler ingredients and oils that cause the compound to be unstable. Using an EPDM rubber/elastomer compound formulation that was developed for the given application that the product will be used in, allows Hiawatha Rubber’s compound development department to use their expertise and put the correct amount of each ingredient needed to deliver an end product that is exceptional in performance and longevity. In this example, you can have your cake and eat it too, you just better pick the correct cake!

Water use in the United States is over 300 billion gallons per day. Fresh water is an essential need for everyday life. There are more than 16,000 publicly owned wastewater treatment systems in the United States. Having access to wastewater services is often taken for granted, until there is a problem. Moving water throughout our communities and treating the wastewater presents daily challenges. At Hiawatha Rubber, we have been working with companies within the water and wastewater industry to deliver components that get integrated into their systems and offerings. We must take into consideration factors such as environmental, operational, and longevity. Taking an approach of starting with the material development, we can ensure the functionality will exceed the expectations of the customer. When you are looking for a vendor with experience in the water and wastewater industry, Hiawatha Rubber is ready to help.