Beyond Omniseal® Blog

The Coronavirus pandemic has put an unexpected pause to what could have been a great start for 2020 in many industries and areas throughout the world, impacting human lives, business, and ways in which we interact. The potential health effects of COVID-19 and ramifications continue to reverberate. Even under these trying circumstances, some defining sources of light have emerged that are moving us forward - some in major advances and some bringing us together in unexpected ways - all taking us to positive places.

Do you remember on May 30 when millions worldwide celebrated the pioneering spirit of mankind and continuous innovation? We collectively watched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley and private space company, SpaceX, venture on the first American manned launch since 2011 with Launch America. There are other numerous innovations in technology, telemedicine, logistics and government and private sectors that show us working together and helping each other.

Close to 9,000 satellites have been launched from over 40 countries since the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik, on October 4, 1957. Once used in reconnaissance missions, satellites are now commonplace and vital to how we see everyday life. How do you think we enjoy live broadcasts of our favorite sporting events, get ready for rain or shine with weather forecasts or even dig into the past to see hidden ancient towns that have been buried thousands of years?  

The number of satellites are increasing; an average of 990 satellites are expected to be launched every year from 2018-2028. That is a total of 9,900 by 2028, up from 2,300 satellites launched during the last decade, a four times increase, says Euroconsult in its 2019 edition of “Satellites to be Built & Launched.” 

Emerging companies like SpaceX, OneWeb, Telesat, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper say they expect to launch close to 46,000 satellites in the next few years. As they, and traditional manufacturers, continue to innovate, the satellite industry and their designs have been changing as well. As a trusted supplier of sealing and polymer solutions in the space industry, Omniseal Solutions™ has also adapted their material solutions to be just as innovative in order to meet these evolving needs.

Have you heard the expression, “We travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us”?

Imagine life without mobility and the ability to expand our possibilities, connect, dream, communicate, gain knowledge and advance.

At Omniseal Solutions™, we have been powering mobility in many ways through our polymer seals, metal seals, and specialized material solutions such as carbon fiber composites, PTFE and polyimides.

Another year is almost at a close, and upon reviewing 2019, there were several world events that were cause to celebrate and inspire us as we move into 2020. Female empowerment was on display with a record number of women elected to the 116^th Congress (part of the most diverse class of lawmakers in history) while NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch conducted the first all-female spacewalk outside the International Space Station.  Environmental friendly goals were on the rise with innovators like Tesla founder Elon Musk unveiling the Cybertruck, a bulletproof electric vehicle that uses similar steel material to make SpaceX's Starship space craft. Communications were also a hot topic with companies trying to connect communities with intelligent 5G communication and micro satellite systems.

At Omniseal Solutions™, we also experienced our share of exciting moments such as adding more experts to our engineering and manufacturing teams with the acquisition of Hycomp, LLC and American Seal & Engineering (ASE), leading to a stronger portfolio of sealing and polymer solutions.

The holiday season is here, filled with magic and cheer.
So let us take time to reflect on the events of the year.
We set aside a cozy seat for you by the fire
As we ponder on global goals that inspire
Our innovations that were spread here and there
To protect and support daily lives everywhere.

As we head towards the end of 2019, we would like to share our sealing and polymer tales to continue the festive mood and look towards 2020. Our first tale will launch you to cool, distant planets and the vast unknown. Our second tale will probe into making us healthy for next year and the future. And our third tale will shine a light on how our solutions warm the world. Join us for these true stories and other stories that may surprise you, as we reflect on our work with key customers to improve universal mobility and build a better home and world for all.

It’s that time of year when we stop to give thanks, celebrate milestones, cheer on innovations and reflect on our promise of going beyond the boundaries of possible for the wellbeing of us all. We have a lot to be thankful for at Omniseal Solutions. Over these past 60 years, our global team members have had the honor of collaborating with top companies to design and manufacture high-performance sealing and polymer solutions. With over 1,000 employees and 14 sites, we are happily growing!

Today, we are bringing teams together for a gathering across the world to give thanks! Welcome to our virtual table where we are celebrating diversity and inclusion in the form of delicious ethnic food, conversation in different languages, exchange of technical knowledge and best practices learned over the years. We reserved a special seat for you, so let’s start the festivities and share our appreciation for all the hard work and achievements this year. We could not be where we are without the help of so many.

How does Saint-Gobain Seals power the world’s mobility? We do it mostly from behind the scenes! Our critical sealing and polymer solutions are “mighty” but almost always “invisible” in core systems for automotive, aerospace, space, life sciences and other industries that are “moving” and “protecting” us every day. Take a close look around you … you may be surprised where our seals and polymer materials are. In this blog, we are revealing 10 amazing facts about our OmniSeal®, Rulon® and Meldin® products and how they are making THE difference in our daily lives.

As the summer starts to heat up, people across the world take this opportunity to travel – many going on memorable road and airplane trips – like our teams who are “moving” to several key spots to showcase how innovative and critical seals and polymer solutions are when being used in core systems for automotive, aerospace and space industries that keep us all mobile. We have a prime seat reserved just for you so buckle up and join us on this exciting journey!  See if you can “spy” some of the ways our critical parts are making THE difference in cars, helicopters, airplanes and rockets.

Earth Day, annually celebrated on April 22, was originally founded in 1970 by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson to celebrate ecology and life on earth and is traditionally observed when the sun is directly above the equator. We are honoring this day and every day by connecting with team members like Ryan Spies from Saint-Gobain North America and partners like Gabe Schwartz from Stem Inc., and finding the “great good” we do when we work together. 

Another year has passed with many global memorable moments that were seen, heard and felt around the world - from the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea where Norway ended up cheering the loudest with the most medal wins at 39; to the Royal Wedding that 29 million Americans watched; to discovery of a 20 km-wide lake on Mars’ south polar ice cap by our friendly rover friend, Curiosity.