About Rubber: History and Manufacture
Unger Enterprises partnered with some of the world's most renowned rubber experts to develop the best formula for window cleaning. After months of research and testing, our team developed a rubber that holds up to the strictest product specifications in professional window cleaning.
In its natural form, rubber was used for centuries before it was re-discovered by Christopher Columbus. Rubber was called 'Caoutchouc' by the Indians of Central and South America from the Indian word 'cahuchu' meaning weeping wood from its origins as a sap in tree bark. Its modern name, "rubber," is derived from its use to "rub out" pencil marks.
After rubber was introduced to western culture and it became a more popular material, the products for which it was used could not stand up to extreme cold. In 1843, Charles Goodyear patented the process of vulcanization, removing sulphur from rubber to waterproof and winterize it, creating a healthy market for rubber goods.
According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association, the use of and demand for rubber products is pervasive in today's consumer and industrial economies. Sixty percent of rubber production is used in tire manufacture, but the balance is used to make rubber components supplied to a range of other industries. This includes squeegee rubber. According to the International Rubber Study Group, of the 8,682 million tons of natural rubber produced in 2005, North America alone consumed 1,316 million tons of it. But the Asia Pacific region is perhaps the world's largest rubber user with 5,202 million tons consumed in 2005.
Available in two forms, natural or synthetic, the rubber used for window squeegees is called pure gum rubber, is tan in color, soft, pliable and elastic. As a non-marking elastomer, it is resistant to organic salts, ammonia, acids and alkalis which makes it ideal for window cleaning.
Unger's new, long-lasting rubber formula contains a higher rubber content with less fillers compared to current window cleaning rubbers. The new rubber formulation is softer and glides more smoothly across wet and dry windows without sticking to the dry part of the glass. Also, when it hits dirt objects on glass, the softer rubber is more malleable and will not nick or tear when passing over this debris. Available in a re-closable blister pack, the rubber is protected and stored flat.
There are many considerations to attend to when selecting rubber. Not only does Unger have the right formula, but we are confident that when window cleaning professionals use Unger's ErgoTec Soft Rubber they will experience the ease of use and efficiency for which it is designed. Our new formula, size ranges and storage options provide everything necessary for a high-quality window cleaning job every time.
History
Rubber was named by Joseph Priestly in 1770 who found that dried latex could rub out pencil marks. In its natural state, rubber is an elastic hydrocarbon polymer found in the form of a milky emulsion known as latex in the sap of plants and trees such as fig trees and dandelions. The main source of latex for creating rubber is the Para rubber tree, discovered in South America where rubber was first processed in the 19th Century.
Natural rubber is manufactured primarily in the countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia by combining latex with formic acid, which coagulates the rubber into sheets. The sheets are then wrung out in a press and shipped to factories for further processing and vulcanization, whereby rubber is heated and combined with sulfur to improve its resilience and elasticity.
The rise of synthetic rubber occurred just before World War I for development of rubber tires with the growth of the automobile industry.
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