'Kalrez® At Your Service' - Delivering High Quality Services and Products
Rick Bond, global business director-Kalrez®, DuPont Performance Elastomers, reports on the re-energized Kalrez® perfluoroelastomer parts business. |
"A little over five years ago, the Kalrez® perfluoroelastomer parts business took a serious look at its product and service offerings. Based on feedback we received from over 200 external interviews, it was time to re-energize our efforts and concentrate on areas that were not only our weaknesses, but also our strengths.
The Kalrez® trademark is one of the most recognizable and trusted products for high performance seal products, but demand was exceeding our capacity to deliver in a timely manner. Simply put, "customer service was not where it needed to be." As a result, the business implemented an "all hands on deck" plan that focused on three primary objectives: fine tune our manufacturing reliability, improve our market responsiveness, and build on our knowledge of perfluoroelastomers with innovative new products.
Kalrez® Spectrum™ 7075 Resists Aggressive Fluids at High Temperatures, Saves Costs in Hilma-Römheld Clamping Systems Kalrez® Spectrum™ 7075 O-rings fitted to Hilma-Römheld heavy duty clamping systems resist pressures up to 400 bar, temperatures as high as 250°C, and clamp forces up to1250 kN without leakage of hydraulic fluid, thus minimizing the risk of premature seal failure and significantly reducing costly down-time. |
With the many tools and resources available from DuPont, we employed Six Sigma methodology and Lean Manufacturing to overhaul our manufacturing capability. We utilized these techniques throughout our plants to meet and exceed customer expectations. Our global business has also been successful in maintaining our excellent reputation for quality, while achieving the latest ISO and AS standards.
Our improved efforts at market responsiveness with the addition of market and application specialists have given us a better pulse on market trends and needs. This increased customer understanding has led to the development of new products in chemical processing for demanding applications, semicon for ultra low particle generation and pharmaceuticals for process integrity. Our design efforts focused not only on compounds, but also on innovative custom parts development using FEA analysis. Some custom parts have become the industry standard, like door seals in semicon and sanitary seals in pharmaceuticals.
We haven't reached our goal yet. In fact, I doubt if we ever will reach it because there is always a new product, process or customer driven need that raises the bar. But we have become better listeners and a more successful business with a more robust brand. Customer surveys have shown that there has been a marked improvement in service the past four years and we have been recognized with "top supplier" awards by key customers.
"Kalrez® at your service!" is what our business lives by every day."
