Nov 20 2006
Thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) weather seals from Jyco Sealing Technologies earned the top award in the Materials category at the Society of Plastics Engineers 36th annual Automotive Innovations Awards competition. The SPE event, held November 13 near Detroit, is the largest recognition event in the automotive and plastics industry.
Jyco's primary seal on the 2007 MY Chrysler Group Dodge Ram pickup was honored as the industry's first TPV body-mounted primary seal used in a complete dynamic-sealing application. As the functional equivalent of EPDM sponge, Jyco's proprietary JyFlex™ TPV enabled the transition from thermoset rubber to thermoplastic elastomer. The change enhanced performance while reducing costs 20%. Jyco also supplied the tooling and processing.
"A lot of people in the industry said it couldn't be done," said Shawn Jyawook, Jyco's chief operating officer. "We knew it could, and with the support of the DaimlerChrysler team, it took us less than three years to have the proof in production."
Jyco is providing TPV systems for all primary and auxiliary weather seals on the Dodge Ram pick-up and the glass run channel on Jeep Liberty, the first full vehicle TPV sealing programs in the world.