“We’re going to be the world’s best at extrusions”
Thomas Kiratsopoulos, Production Director of Trelleborg Sealing Profiles, has an upbeat view of the future. In order to become the market’s leading manufacturer of rubber seals in the Nordics, Trelleborg has undergone consolidation to strengthen its core business. The step to outsourcing its services was a logical one.
"We analyzed what we needed to do to realize our objective of being best in the world. By outsourcing our services, we get the same level of service at a better cost, and that over time should result in better and more effective services and better flows," explains Thomas.
Coor takes care of the repair and maintenance of premises and machinery, and the most common ancillary services such as incoming and outgoing materials logistics. Thomas Kiratsopoulos was on the lookout for more standard solutions to avoid dependency on individuals.
"Coor works on fixed models and continuous improvement. We expect their systematic methodologies and access to specialist competence to result in stable services with savings potential."
Thomas agrees that traditionally, industrial corporations are fairly unused to outsourcing, but thinks that more companies need to focus more on their core business considering the past recession.
"We've also got special conditions here in the central Swedish province of Småland— a bit of uncharted territory on the outsourcing map. We're something of a pioneer in our region."
Extrusion - what is it?
Extrusion is a technology to produce long and narrow rubber and plastic products as sealing profiles. The rubber is pressed through a matrix that determines its form. After extruding, the seal is vulcanized, so its shape is stabilized.