PTFE – The hero turns into a villain

August 31, 2023

Great discoveries often come about by accident, and PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene, more commonly known as Teflon™) is no exception. Since its invention in the late 1930s it has shaped all industries from frying pans to aerospace applications.

PTFE is famous for its slipperiness; thus, it’s used in kitchenware, and its chemical inertness allows it to be used for storing fluoroantimonic acid, the strongest acid known to man. 

Forever chemicals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper 

Despite PTFE’s versatile use cases, most great things often come with drawbacks. Ignorance is bliss, but it doesn’t remove the fact that PTFE is popping up in places it probably shouldn’t – especially near production and “recycling” (=incineration) sites. These undesirable places include, but are unfortunately not limited to, drinking water, soil and fauna, including us humans.

PTFE derivatives (also known as forever chemicals) found all over the globe are bundled under the term PFAS. You might recognize this abbreviation from the European Commission’s proposal to soon ban 7000 to 12000 chemicals belonging to the PFAS group.

Decades of work ahead

The health and environmental consequences of the PTFE build-up are yet to be discovered, but my layman evaluation is that they are most definitely not a part of a healthy diet. I also think that the goal of banning PFAS derivatives by the end of 2025 is unfortunately unfeasible.

It took us decades to ban leaded fuel even though the evidence of the lead build-up was clear. The same thing happened with asbestos: the health hazards were undisputed but still we continued to use it because there were no (better) alternatives.

History will hopefully repeat itself

Whether the ban comes into effect in a few years or not, we at TT Gaskets are determined to do our share in finding alternatives for PTFE.

It is true that PTFE has features that other materials do not possess, and there are applications where it is (currently) the only alternative. But when asbestos was eventually banned, it led to a disruptive development of new gasket materials that beat any then-available asbestos materials fair and square. The only change was that the materials were designed for specific circumstances whereas asbestos materials were all-around compromises.

No simple answers or solutions available 

We believe that something similar will happen in the future: we would probably already know if there was an alternative that had the exact same properties as PTFE. That’s why the question of finding alternatives for PTFE is irrelevant as there will probably be hundreds of them.

The simplest thing we could do right away is to reduce the use of PTFE-based materials in applications where they are not needed. There is plenty of over-specification in gasket materials for modest environments where a fiber material would do the job just as well.

This should also be a guideline for all manufacturers who add PTFE derivatives to their recipes without thinking about its necessity and consequences. Let’s first reduce and minimize the need and use for PTFE and then think about the difficult part of replacing it in the applications where no alternatives exist yet.

We humans are stubborn but also able to learn and take responsibility, so I believe that we will solve this issue one way or another. As there is no business to be conducted on an inhabitable planet polluted by PTFE, we want to continue providing Smarter Sealing for a Safer Tomorrow – PFAS-free as soon as possible. 

Design – Sealing the deal, digitally

June 8, 2023

I talked about the importance of gaining trust in my previous blog. In the context of our business, trust is built on our customers’ confidence in our ability to solve the issues they are facing. Whether it’s temperature, pressure, aggressive media, long bolt spans or low bolt loads, we have seen it all during the past 80 years. And even if there’s something we haven’t seen, we’ll most certainly find a way to solve it.

The good old days are not coming back

A lot has changed over the decades due to globalization-driven outsourcing. Very few large OEMs or process industry plants have their designs completely in their own hands anymore, meaning they rely on third parties for design applications.

On the one hand this is good, as it means that specialized professionals are doing the engineering. On the other hand, some aspects such as reasonable tolerances and especially sealability may be neglected. In the good old days, the design team worked in the same building and got direct feedback from manufacturing if something couldn’t be done.

Complex problems sometimes have simple solutions

Nowadays, it may be difficult to give feedback on a project that is spread across continents and involves mostly faceless organizations instead of real people. And when the problems neglected during the design phase pop up during prototyping and testing, it’s often a bit too late to maneuver around them – at least on your own.

When these problems revolve around sealing, we are here to help. Solving sealing issues is our bread and butter, even in tight schedules. Our record time is 38 minutes from order to delivery. While we may not break records in every project, our strength lies in our flexibility, willingness to help, and our multidisciplinary Design Board approach. These are qualities that larger players may struggle to provide.

Standing out from the crowd

As we are digging deeper and learning more about our new target markets in Sweden, German-speaking Europe and the United States, we have found that in addition to the large well-known players, we are also competing against hundreds of “one man in a garage” type of manufacturers.

These small players have their own strengths. They usually operate locally and know their clients’ products by heart, but continuity, development and designing something new may not be their cup of tea.

From trial and error to trial and success

It just so happens that continuity, development and designing new solutions are something we are heavily concentrating and investing in. The traditional trial and error method is an example of the kind of elements we are now steering away from. Of course, testing is still needed in the future, but it is not necessarily the most efficient design method in applications that we are involved in.

Our goal is to ensure that our products do what they are designed to do already in the digital world, and then confirm their functionality through physical test runs.

Diving into the future of gasket design

I am currently finalizing a project regarding the FEA of a hydrogen fuel cell – both topics that hold great promise for our future endeavors. The idea is to create a simulation model of the application, a common practice in modern engineering. Our twist is that we can also create material models of the gaskets thanks to our flexible prototype process and testing capabilities. The application is then replicated in the physical domain to see how well the simulation model matches the real world.

After a couple of iterations, we’ll hopefully have a recipe for replicating different sealing scenarios on the computer screen before moving on to physical testing. This is something that potentially revolutionizes our design capabilities and gives us a definite competitive edge over your local handyman.

If you want to learn more about our approach to Smarter Sealing for a Safer Tomorrow, we invite you to join us at the CIMAC Congress in Busan, South Korea, from June 12 to 16. Alternatively, you can contact us using your preferred communication method.

Collaboration – Earning trust to join the club

May 3, 2023

Ever since our humble beginnings in the 1940s, TT Gaskets has been a key player in the field of engine sealing. Our first collaborations started in the 1960s and are still going strong today. We have gradually gained trust from our partners and became valued globally. Respect can easily be lost with one major failure which we luckily have avoided, and we are doing our best to never make one.

Trust is gained F2F, not B2B

Our gained trust was personified by the late sales legend Jukka Sunila who travelled the globe for decades and was known worldwide. He always put the benefit of the client first and the company and himself second. We are trying our best to embrace this legacy in upcoming years, and Jukka’s name is also commemorated in our new mica material Micaseal Suniflex.

An unexpected but welcome invitation to join the club

One fine example of Jukka’s efforts was the invitation to join CIMAC, the International Council on Combustion Engines, the big boy club for large engine manufacturers and research entities. Its purpose is to discuss technical and regulatory development of the engine industry. 

We are currently the only gasket manufacturer in the council and one of the few SMEs alongside the global enterprises. The first congress we joined was held in 2019 in Vancouver, Canada, and the next one is this summer in Busan, South Korea.

Last time I wrote two articles for the congress, one about the history of gaskets and the other about our early development with Smart Gaskets. Alas, I was still a junior in the company and wasn’t invited to join the event myself – all I got was a T-shirt, but that was better than nothing.

Climbing the ladder and providing input

This time around I have climbed the ladder enough to be able to join the congress with a few colleagues. Again, I’ve written an article and am giving a presentation regarding the current state of Smart Gasket development (which, by the way, looks promising after a longer backwater period). 

We hope that the event provides valuable insight into the upcoming development of the industry regarding, for example, alternative fuels. Of course, we also hope to make TT Gaskets and our competence more known to other members and participants.

In addition to the congresses, CIMAC also facilitates working groups that address different topics regarding the industry. Currently, we are part of the emission regulation working group but are hoping to migrate to the gas engine group instead. We don’t have too much to say about emissions other than less is more, but gas engines are something we have been working with for decades and definitely have something to contribute in. In any case, we’ll get to know people from the technical departments of our current and potential clients and may find something to work on in the meantime.

If you’re interested in learning more about our input within the large engine industry, I believe there’s still room in the congress. And if you’re not able to participate, we are always at your disposal to provide Smarter Sealing for a Safer Tomorrow.

Shutdowns – Saving time means saving money

March 29, 2023

We have all heard the phrase “time is money”. It originates from the 1700s and has since become a guiding force in our economy. Everything we do is measured in either time or money which (according to the saying) essentially mean the same thing.

In the long run, more time means more money. This is true in investing where compound interest is said to be the 8th wonder of the world. In our daily lives though, less time means more money, as time saved in a task can be used for something else, preferably something productive.

Lost production is lost in the short and long run

From the TT Gaskets perspective, the effect of saving time is clearly visible in process industry shutdowns.

Whether the shutdowns are planned or unexpected, an hour of lost production in a plant may cost hundreds of thousands of euros. This then affects both short-term and long-term finances, as well as the number of emails and phone calls received. It also highlights the importance of gaskets as a missing gasket worth a couple euros may delay the ramp-up of an entire production line.

Be prepared for the unexpected

To reduce the number of unnecessary emails and phone calls during a shutdown, we have noticed that planning and preparation are key. This also includes preparing for the unexpected.

A scheduled maintenance is naturally the preferred option for all parties, and this is something we have had great experiences with since 2015. Over the years our service and readiness for shutdowns have developed and are still improving.

Gaskets on hand 24/7

Our TTG Smart Container service has proven to be an effective solution for pre-planned gasket needs. It is a mobile gasket stock inside a 20-foot sea container that can be delivered wherever needed. The items and stock levels are planned together with the customer, preferably a year or so in advance to ensure cost-effectiveness of the items, but in some urgent cases we have set up a Smart Container in only a matter of weeks.

After delivery, the stock is available 24/7 with self-service and the items are invoiced and restocked according to consumption. In major shutdown cases a customer servant is also available. The longest period of use for the stock was over 2 years and the shortest so far has been 4 weeks.

On-site gasket manufacturing

We also have a couple tricks up our sleeve for responding to unwanted but unavoidable surprise needs. Our recommended option is the TTG Mobile Factory, a movable small-scale gasket manufacturing unit built in a 40-foot container.

The unit can cut flat gaskets from sheets and refurbish camprofile and spiral wound gaskets according to dimensions, drawings and models. This capability has proven its worth repeatedly as a single gasket can be manufactured in a matter of mere minutes. The service has been carried out in co-operation with our partner, but in a couple of months we’ll also have a manufacturing unit of our own.

Speed is of the essence

In addition to the Mobile Factory, we also offer a Fast Track service for 24-hour express deliveries. In shutdown cases this is especially helpful if more than just a few gaskets are needed, or the geometry is difficult to recreate on-site. We can, for example, reverse engineer a model with our measuring devices easily and manufacture as many items as needed with precision and efficiency. Our record time is 38 minutes from the customer call to delivery, but unfortunately this is not always possible.

To ensure hassle-free shutdowns, at least gasketwise, we at TT Gaskets warmly recommend considering and trying our services. Let us take care of the gaskets and provide you with Smarter Sealing for a Safer Tomorrow so you can concentrate on saving time and money somewhere else.

Standards, at Your Service

February 21, 2023

If you’ve walked through a door, used a water faucet, or scrolled on your phone today, there’s a high chance that you have encountered standards without even realizing it. Standards are much like gaskets: they are everywhere but we don’t even realize their importance until they cause trouble. They are still very much one of the backbones in our modern society and have been around at least since the building of the Cheops pyramid. 

Time for practicality

An excellent example of the practicality of standards is the creation of standard time in the late 1800s. The need for a standardized reference of time arose as railroads developed and enabled fast travel between cities. Before, traveling took several hours or days so a few minutes’ difference between the solar time in each city caused very few issues. As hardly anybody wants to be on a train on the same track as a train moving in the opposite direction, standardizing came into play. 

Less hassle, more efficiency 

In addition to preventing railroad accidents, standards have been very useful in enhancing industrial efficiency. A world without standards would be even more of a hassle the one we have today. Barely anything fits together these days, but through standardization at least something fits and the need to start everything from scratch is reduced.

You may remember that two decades ago each mobile phone had its own charger cable, and if you were running low on battery, borrowing the correct charger from a friend was not a trivial task. Nokia’s de facto standards of course ruled by market share but were not adopted by other manufacturers. 

Standards for abstract concepts

Today, thanks to the persistent work of standardizing groups (and some EU bureaucracy), we finally have only two different charging cables, and in 2024 mobile phones and electronics will all start using USB-C exclusively.

But again, the power of standardizing reaches beyond the component level. It helps us compare different entities in more abstract terms as well. An example of this are the different system-level standards for business management. It’s one thing to say that we take care of quality than to say that we are ISO 9001 certified in our quality management. Globally acknowledged preconditions make it easier to identify potentially trustworthy partners without months of auditing. 

Standardized partnership

This is one of the reasons why TT Gaskets is certified in quality management (ISO 9001), environmental management (ISO 14001) as well as in occupational health and safety (ISO 45001). The certificates speak for themselves as we (sometimes timid) Finns try to relay to our large global customers that we have everything under control. And the standards are merely a baseline for our operations that is in most often exceeded by a wide margin.

We at TT Gaskets are not just utilizing the standards for our own benefit – we are also doing tedious standardizing work behind the scenes. We have decades of experience in standardizing especially on a national process industry level at PSK. I am currently a part of an expert group working on a standard for installing flange gaskets, and I’m trying to infiltrate other working groups as well.

If you’ve ever come across a standard document, you might agree that it is almost unbelievable that someone has written the things out in such detail – no wonder it takes years to complete a standard. Still, it’s a gift that keeps on giving because you always find something new to standardize. But somebody must do it and we are happy to do so to provide Smarter Sealing for a Standardized Tomorrow. 

Education – Learning is the key to success

January 19, 2023

There are plenty of cliché-sounding quotes about learning such as “anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty” and “education is what is left after you forget everything you learned in school” that are probably not said by Henry Ford or Albert Einstein.

Nevertheless, there is a pinch of truth in these statements.

The actual learning starts when you thought it would end

At least from my experience, it is quite common to hear promises about never studying again once you graduate. Expectations such as knowing enough on the day you graduate and being ready for everything are unfortunately not true.

The wisest of us know that we know nothing. And I know from my studies that electricity is blue, it hurts, and you should put the wires with the same color together and the rest to ground.

Learning by doing works if nothing else helps

But enough rambling, let’s get to the point. I graduated some four years ago and noticed during my first working months that there’s still a lot to learn. I barely even knew what I was supposed to do, so I just started doing something. It was and still is a great method for starting the journey of learning by doing – and it proved to be quite effective as along the way we also met some people who probably knew what they were doing.

During our expedition to the sea of possibilities we came up with great and not-that-great ideas on how to develop our business opportunities. But as a medium-sized company in a niche market, we unfortunately don’t have the resources to do everything we want like some tech giants. As the ideas have matured over the years and we have made more or less successful pilots and launches with them, I now have a better understanding of what I am supposed to do.

Getting qualification is better late than never

And as any sensible person would do, I’m also climbing trees backwards by getting a formal degree in R&D only now, after several years of practicing my informal trial and error method. The vocational qualification studies started in November 2022 and last one year.

My target is to create a uniform procedure for our potential R&D&I cases and find suitable tools for evaluating them. And above all, to have a traditional Finnish cake and coffee session upon graduation.

Open attitude towards learning and teaching

In all, we at TT Gaskets are very open to learning as an organization and as individuals. Many of us, myself included, have started our careers in the company by doing a thesis (and you can too by contacting us).

In the past couple of years, I have mentored half a dozen thesis workers or trainees and at least twice as many have been in other departments. I have given several brief flange assembly training courses to our stakeholders, and we also offer the possibility for certified training together with TAKK.

And the list goes on for a reason, as educated employees are the key to a successful business that supplies you with Smarter Sealing for a Safer Tomorrow.

Sustainability – Doing things the right way requires commitment and investments

December 13, 2022

For the past year or so we have been working on the TT Gaskets sustainable development program that targets our overall sustainability. Its focus areas are the environmental, commercial, and social sustainability of our company.

We have interviewed our employees and stakeholders regarding the importance of sustainability and conducted research to assess our impact on the environment.

Through our findings, we have made a plan on how to improve our operations in the coming years. We are also working on a Code of Conduct for our suppliers to participate in this important mission. One of the key aspects of this program is our Carbon Neutral TTG 2027 goal which is already being implemented with good momentum. We have pieced together our greenhouse gas emission sources and calculated the overall CO₂ equivalent emissions of our manufacturing and administration.

Avoiding false greenwashing

Of our direct emissions, 100 % come from energy: the electricity and heat needed to run our production and keep our facilities warm. Our emissions could be easily (and falsely) “compensated” by spending a couple of thousand euros towards a tree planting organization. After a swift greenwashing cycle, we could claim our company “carbon-neutral”.

There’s nothing bad about planting trees, but taking the easy way out is just not how we are used to doing things.

We like to do things the right way from start to finish which means not spending our money on a dubious forestation program to alleviate our guilty conscience. Instead, we are making actual progress in our green energy investments and spending hundreds of thousands in the process.

Investments for the future

We have already invested in a solar power plant that covers 20–25 % of our annual electricity consumption, and plans are in place to expand the plant to cover the remaining roof area next year. This would increase our solar energy production to roughly a third of our consumption. The rest of the electricity will be sourced from a certified green energy supplier. We are also reducing our emissions by reducing electricity consumption through investments in LED lighting and taking energy efficiency into account in new machinery investments.

Our facilities are currently heated through traditional district heating from the local CHP plant. Naturally, this means high efficiency, but unfortunately the plant uses mostly natural gas for production which is not compliant with our sustainability targets. Therefore, our plan is to invest in geothermal energy and air-water heat pumps to compensate at least some of the need for district heating. And again, the rest of our heat is sustainably sourced from the soon-to-be finished local bio energy CHP plant.

These major energy investments together with all other smaller actions such as reducing unnecessary business trips, electrifying our vehicles and joining a circular economy program ensure that we are well on our way towards a truly Carbon Neutral TTG in 2027. Of course, the journey doesn’t end there, but instead has just started as we are designing Smarter Sealing for a Sustainable Future.

Data – To secure business, we must prepare for crisis

November 11, 2022

The coronavirus crisis, crisis in Ukraine, energy crisis, climate crisis… And the list of crises doesn’t end here. When facing a crisis, like we are unfortunately almost used to by now, it is crucial to be prepared. Like I mentioned in my last blog, our conception in the 1940s wasn’t an easy time period. Starting a business during a war leaves a mark on the DNA of the company, and one of its traits is being prepared.

Our motto is old but gold

An example on how this is illustrated in our daily tasks is a motto we use to define requirements for a project: a good man always wears a belt and suspenders – if the other fails, you’ll still have your pants on. This means that we always think of an alternative method for succeeding if something fails. And we are not caught with our pants down.

Impressive, controversial, yet beneficial stock

Another tangible method for being prepared is the raw material stock we keep. According to modern business principles, maintaining a warehouse is always unwanted and wastes resources, but still, we do it.  And due to recent events in the global supply chain we are not getting rid of it anytime soon.

Stocking over 3000 materials of course places a burden on our business but also has its benefits. We can almost always respond to the urgent needs of our customers, within 24 hours if needed. And when the order backlog is measured in weeks and the lead time for materials in months, it is practically impossible to operate without buffer.

Optimizing stock in the long-term with data

Our long-term goal is of course to reduce and optimize our stock levels, but due to the supply problems we have had to make strategic purchases to secure our operations. This has led to an increase in stock value, contrary to our goal, but has given us more opportunities in the short term. Despite recent events, we are continuously developing our purchasing procedures to increase efficiency.

The latest development project that was finished in the beginning of November 2022 researched the possibilities of data-based decision making in our purchasing. The limited PoC project dived into our existing data from different sources and produced a forecasting model of material usage and customer behavior. The results were promising considering the missing links in data and rough estimates we had to make to get things going.

Unexpected useful results that need refining

We also found unexpected results such as a data-based model of the similarities and correlations between different customers. This can be utilized for the mutual benefit of both us and our customers by streamlining our sales and production processes for better service and reliability. The shortcomings in the data are also taken into account in the specification of the approaching business software updates.

In the short term, I don’t expect anything disrupting from the model, as it is a common GiGo (garbage in, garbage out) model. We must work on our historical data and try to enhance and enrich it before we can move forwards with a production version. The opportunities of data-based estimates are nevertheless endless and therefore I am eagerly waiting for the long-term benefits of data in supplying you Smarter Sealing for a Safer Tomorrow more reliably.

Innovations – 80 Years of Courageous Pioneering

October 7, 2022

For the past 80 years we have survived and thrived thanks to persistent innovating and continuous development at TT Gaskets. In the 1940s our customers’ needs were urgent and resources scarce, due to the dire wartime circumstances during that period. We are unfortunately facing similar circumstances again in Europe and are forced to operate accordingly in a changing world. But as we have tackled such situations in the past, we can do it again in the present.

Resource scarcity in the worst form

During those years of war and uncertainty, our early innovations stemmed from resource scarcity as we couldn’t procure materials from the outside world – we had to use locally available materials. For example, we did a disservice to the Finnish movie industry by melting hundreds of rolls of film to produce gasket material from the cellulose nitrate they contained.

Standing out from the mass

I believe that the hardships gave birth to the idea of expanding our horizons from local resources, which truly came to life in the following decades. We were pioneers in the still very much introverted Finland by fearlessly entering global trade in the 1960s and expanding our exports heavily in the 1970s and especially 1980s.

Some of our still-ongoing global partnerships started in the 1960s. During that time, it wasn’t uncommon for Finnish companies to abstain from foreign trade and outright decline offers that came from abroad.

Trial and error lead to success

We have always been open for new technologies and implementing them. For instance, in the 1980s waterjet cutting was an emerging technology that was doubted by many, but not us.

As was the case with global trade, we were pioneers in waterjet cutting as well. It took time before it replaced traditional punching and die cutting of gaskets, but nowadays waterjet cutting is one of our key production methods. Manual punching and die cutting are slowly being phased out thanks to investments in knife cutting and traveling head die cutting.

Ideas leaning towards the future

These success stories are examples of the gradual development we achieve by courageous trial and error, and the story continues with accelerating pace towards the future of static sealing.

There are currently several ongoing projects including Smart Gaskets, anti-counterfeiting technology, new production methods, design and simulation, ICT and AI, green energy investments and many more. Any of this wouldn’t be possible without the work done in the past and without our current collaborations with different partners such as universities, research institutions and technology companies.

Some of the ideas we have are so groundbreaking that we can’t reveal them before possible patenting – but I’m pretty sure that you’ll hear about them later as we are progressing towards Smarter Sealing for a Safer Tomorrow.

Smarter sealing for a safer tomorrow – now in series

June 3, 2022

It’s no big secret that large series are not our cup of tea. We usually produce between 1 and 1,000 pieces and rarely series of over 10,000. By automatic pressing we can do up to 100,000 pieces, but those are usually small products. But as we are targeting larger global markets, we are facing more and more requests for large annual quantities.

Answering the demand with technology

As per usual, we at TT Gaskets rarely say no to potential or existing customers, so we are already working to meet this demand. Last time I wrote about the automatic turning cell, and we have also made another investment in automated production. Before the end of this year, we should have a new traveling head die cutter that has cobots as coworkers. The new cutter replaces our old traveling head cutter that has well deserved its retirement.

Leaning the process

The new production cell is beneficial especially for cutting large quantities of metal reinforced materials. For large series our manual die cutting or even knife cutting can’t compete with the automated traveling head die cutter. The use of cobots streamlines the process substantially as they can pick the finished product from the conveyor belt and perform after treatments such as marking in the same cell. Before the incoming investment we had to pick the products manually and do after treatment separately.

Collaborative coworkers of the future

Such as in the case of the turning cell with robots, the die cutter cell will be the first time we utilize cobots for our production. To put it shortly, they are more versatile and easier to program than “hard” robots but of course have some weaknesses such as strength. We hope that we gain good experiences from them, and they could be used in other tasks in our production as well. The silly, repetitive tasks are unfortunately not going anywhere when products are manufactured, so any help from machines is welcome – from both the perspective of management and employees.

So, in case you need large batches of gaskets or other components, don’t be afraid to ask us for help. Soon we’ll provide Smarter sealing for a safer tomorrow also in series.