Trelleborg Sealing Solutions | Schaffhausen

The origins of Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Stein am Rhein AG are to be found in Silcotech AG which was founded in 1984. In 2011, Silcotech was examining its succession planning and at the same time, staff at the HQ of Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Stuttgart were looking for a manufacturer of elastomers. «The acquisition resembled a wedding rather than a take-over», General Manager Jarno Burkhardt is keen to emphasise. The company has had a history of continual growth right from the original launch as Silcotech and more recently following the take-over by Trelleborg. It now employs 130 staff.

Expanding cleanroom production capacity

The Swedish parent company, Trelleborg, is a global leader in the field of polymer solutions used to seal, absorb impact and protect equipment. The plant in Stein am Rhein specialises in the production of parts made from liquid silicone. Thanks to the properties of this material, the company’s products can be found in a wide range of applications. «Almost every coffee machine produced by leading brands such as Jura and Nespresso contains seals produced by us», Burkhardt explains.

A particularly important part of the company’s operations is its cleanroom production facility which is used for the manufacture of components for insulin patch-pumps, aids for breast-feeding and babies’ dummies which help correct tooth alignment. The company invested around CHF 10m in this production operation about 2 years ago. And Jarno Burkhardt is already working on plans for the next steps: «In the course of the next one to two years, we have to decide what we’re going to do with our second manufacturing line.» That’s because increasing demand will mean the capacity of the existing line will be reach its limits.