Freudenberg adds sealing service centre in US

Plymouth, Michigan - Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) has opened a dedicated engineering service center at its Ashland, New Hampshire, oil seal facility as part of a bid to enhance product quality and service.

Spanning 3,100 square feet, the ‘state-of-the-art’ center offers customers a "one-stop-shop" for complex and expensive sealing system testing and validation efforts, said FST in a 7 July statement.

The facility features test rigs and other equipment that can track pressure, temperature, frictional torque and speed capabilities. The equipment can measure changes in mechanical properties, characterise tribological system interactions, detect leaks and offer failure analysis in seals and sealing components.  

The new centre complements Freudenberg’s engineering service unit in Weinheim, Germany where it offers similar services to radial shaft seal.

The company said its decision to add the Ashland center was prompted by “a rapid growth in North American customer requests for sophisticated validation and performance analysis.”

Commenting on the move, Marcel Santos, global director of business development engineering services said the new facility took the company's product testing capabilities “to a new level of sophistication and access.” 

“We can run 24 hours a day and have already developed and invested in the newest testing equipment available,” he noted.

According to Santos, many customers have deferred or cancelled the purchase of their own testing rigs due to the “diverse and individualised testing” offered by Freudenberg.

In addition, customers using large or difficult-to-install seal applications have found it easier, faster and less costly to request that Freudenberg manage their product testing, he noted. 

“For example, the Ashland center recently completed performance and durability testing on engine seals that are used on 15-tonne marine engines,” Santos added.