Rubber sheet specification says "NO".

Here at White Cross Rubber we provide a varied range of custom rubber sheet and rubber coated fabric manufacturing services, delivering tailor made product solutions when an off the shelf product will simply not do. Our materials and processing expertise can be applied to a diverse range of applications in numerous sectors and results are best when we can engage in a two-way debate with the customer.

On occasions product specifications brought to us can be in excess of 25 years old often utilising materials and technologies that are obsolete. In these circumstances there is a much better chance of achieving a result if the customer is able to listen to sensible suggestions to bring the product up to date with certain modifications. Despite the product performance matching or surpassing the original we are sometimes met with the reply "specification says no".

We respect and up hold the use of specifications in certain environments but at times they can be at the expense of progress. Often they were established during a product development phase and have been religiously followed over years without due thought to changes and advances in the industry. Perhaps the specification devotion is symptomatic of the drain of experienced technicians from the rubber industry over the last 10 years? In today's pressurised business environment it could be deemed more secure to stick with the tried and tested formula and anything else seen as too risky. Or perhaps the rise of the buyer and the procurement department has separated the skill set required to make informed technical decisions during the new business process in the pursuit of driving down costs, even though readily available materials could be more cost effective.

The good news is that we have a successful rubber sheet and rubber coated fabric design and development service at White Cross Rubber to help customers, amongst other things, revaluate old specifications. We provide modern thinking to established practices and I'm pleased to say that we enjoy a good discourse with all our customers allowing product performance and quality as well as price to benefit.