TT Gaskets explores US market opportunities together with UCLA

Exports play an increasingly crucial role in TT Gaskets’ business, and the United States has become the fastest-growing market for the traditional gasket manufacturer in recent years. Positive experiences and insights gained from the Scandinavian and German-speaking European markets have reinforced the notion that there is a broad international demand for the company’s products, innovations, and service model.

”The United States is a natural extension of this development, but operating there effectively requires a profound understanding. This is why we have decided to conduct a thorough market study before making significant investments,” TT Gaskets’ Business Development Director Petri Lehtinen says.

TT Gaskets applied for the University of California, Los Angeles’s (UCLA) Global Access Program in late 2022. The collaboration initiated this summer is currently investigating possibilities for the innovative gasket company within the challenging North American market.

Close collaboration on two continents

The project’s guidelines and objectives have been refined in close collaboration through meetings on both sides of the Atlantic, with the most recent visit being the UCLA team traveling to Tampere in late September.

“The study started immediately after July’s kick-off meeting in California. UCLA’s five-member team is currently conducting customer, supplier, and expert interviews in the United States, which will form the basis for our export development plan by the end of the year,” Lehtinen says.

TT Gaskets is seeking export growth from within the company’s traditional customer sectors. The rapidly accelerating energy revolution is also creating new opportunities for the innovative Finnish sealing company.

“We hope that this market study will generate approaches that help us gain an even stronger foothold in the United States. If and when effective operational models emerge, they can then be applied in Europe as well,” Lehtinen sums up.