Optibelt: Going stronger with Teijin Aramid!
For more than 20 years, the German Arntz Optibelt Group has been integrating Teijin Aramid’s Twaron® and Technora® into its high-performance drive belt products, which are mainly used in the agricultural and engineering sectors. The use of these materials allows Optibelt to offer the highest quality products, which are produced in eight locations and distributed worldwide. With Optibelt’s customers increasingly looking to adopt belts that enable higher load applications and more energy efficient operations, Optibelt is well positioned to face the future and keep going strong with Teijin.
A long tradition of innovation
The family-owned Arntz Optibelt Group has been in operation since 1872, initially producing rubber threads for the German textile industry. In 1948, they started manufacturing power transmission solutions such as the V-belt, which provided the best relative combination of traction, speed of movement, load of the bearings, and long service life. In the 1990s, as well as expanding its production facilities internationally, Optibelt started to integrate Technora® and Twaron® into its belts, enabling a step-change in terms of product performance. “At Optibelt, we have a very long history of innovation,” says Dr. Michael Giessmann, Head of Material Development at Optibelt. “Of course, we leverage our experience and the expertise collected over time, but we focus on the future: what our customers will want, and how we meet these requirements with our products. Teijin Aramid can help us achieve those aims.”
Higher strength, lower elongation, more efficiency
“More and more, our customers are looking to implement industrial belts that are energy efficient, enabling both lower emissions and lower energy costs,” says Dr. Giessmann. “The agricultural and engineering industries have to comply with ever-stricter legislation regarding sustainable and energy efficient practices. Equally, physical space is an important consideration: our customers want belts that transmit power efficiently, with high loads, in small spaces. Because of this, more and more, our belt products need to operate at higher and higher performance levels, and need to integrate materials that have properties above and beyond standard or traditional norms. Twaron® and Technora® offer distinctive advantages, helping to optimize energy usage, lower emissions and improve the strength of the belts. Because of the unique chemical properties of these materials, Twaron®- and Technora®-reinforced belts also offer higher resistance to corrosion, heat, and flame.
Teijin Aramid: An enabling partner
“We’ve been working with Teijin Aramid for more than 20 years, and before I started working at Optibelt,” says Dr. Giessmann. “Of course, the fact that they are a well respected manufacturer of high-quality materials is common knowledge, but perhaps what is not so well known is that they have superb in-house knowledge of cord and dynamic applications. They are able to help us extensively with their technical expertise, and our product development benefits accordingly. Moving forward, I’m sure that we’ll continue to work closely with Teijin Aramid, both for our current product portfolio and for further possible applications. Our company has been around for almost 140 years, and – thanks in part to Teijin’s help – I’m sure we’ll keep on going strong!”
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