In 2020, approximately 27 million metric tons of natural and synthetic rubber was consumed worldwide. That rubber supports a multi-billion dollar industry that includes manufacturing, molding, and product creation undertaken by countless companies around the globe.
For many businesses, finding the right rubber is an integral part of the manufacturing process, and making a rubber misstep can be costly. That’s why it’s so important to partner with a tried-and-tested rubber provider.
At AirBoss of America, we understand that slight variations in formula can affect overall performance. Sometimes, that’s the goal. Our rubber specialists know just what our customers need when it comes to custom compounds and finding the “right” rubber for the job.
Not sure rubber compounds are right for you? Here are six reasons why custom rubber compounds perform better.


1. Unique Material Properties
Rubber compounds are much more nuanced and specialized than the average person realizes. Whereas rubber was rubber was rubber a century ago, rubber today is mixed and compounded for a number of unique material properties.
Chemical crosslinking helps do things like strengthen or elastify rubber compounds for specialized applications.
Leading rubber manufacturers like AirBoss are even working with rubber compounds to improve things like anti-vibration and conductivity.
Traditional plastics and even thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) can’t match the unique material properties of many modern rubber compounds.
2. Resilience and Seal Performance
If you stretch a rubber band or bend a rubber gasket, you expect that rubber to “snap” back into its proper shape. Rubber compounds can take rubber’s natural resilience and supercharge it.
Some rubbers need to be more resilient than others and vice versa. That’s where specific rubber compounds come into play. Rubber specialists are able to modify resiliency to exact specifications for customers.
The same principle applies to permanent rubber seal performance. Seals vary depending on application, and rubber compounds can increase seal performance where it’s needed most.


3. Flexibility
Modifying rubber’s flexibility is simple when you know the ins and outs of enterprise-level rubber compounding. Specific compounds manufactured for specific applications can be used if you want your rubber to be more flexible or more rigid.
The flexibility of rubber is important in commercial industries, and being able to adjust flexibility of a rubber compound mix is invaluable.
4. Processability
All rubber is not created equal, but that’s a good thing. As we’ve mentioned above, various rubber compounds are required for specialized applications. It would be impossible to vary rubber consistency, resilience, flexibility, and more if it weren’t for rubber compounds.
Rubber compounds offer an extensive range of processability. This, in turn, makes it easier to adapt rubbers to different applications like extrusion, injection, and compression molding.
5. Chemical Resistance
There was a time when only one rubber “type” existed. People had to make due, and sometimes rubber simply wasn’t the right material for the job.
Things have changed considerably in the sense that today rubber compounds can be used in ways that “old” rubber couldn’t. One such way is in chemical-heavy applications.
Specialized rubber compounds offer a degree of chemical resistance and tolerance that counterparts like plastics can’t.
6. Sustainability
Rubber started as a renewable resource, pulled directly from trees in the form of rubber sap, and in many use cases it’s still a sustainable option. Often, this includes sourcing natural rubber from renewable plantations.
Organizations like the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) also work to make rubber production renewable and sustainable all the way down the supply chain.

AirBoss Stands Out From The Competition
At AirBoss, we’re confident in our ability to customize and deliver high-quality rubber compounds to customers all around the world. It’s our dedication to the science and persistence in the craft that makes AirBoss Rubber Solutions stand out from the competition.
We’re able to deliver time and time again because:
- We know a lot about rubber formulation – AirBoss rubber specialists understand better than anyone the functionality of each ingredient that goes into our compounds and how best to process them.
- We have state-of-the-art mixing equipment – AirBoss uses state-of-the-art mixers to evenly and accurately disperse ingredients. This allows us to homogenize our compounds regardless of the mix.
- We have excellent quality control – AirBoss uses the most advanced lab equipment available to test production consistency and control our rubber compound quality.
- We offer a better value – AirBoss leverages our buying power of large-batch raw material to reduce our rubber compound costs. We pass those cost savings benefits on to our customers.
AirBoss has been in the game long enough to know what to do and what not to do when it comes to custom rubber compounding. It’s why we continue to successfully manufacture locally when other companies have trouble.
Our experts understand the intricacies of rubber compounding well enough to make complex processes seem like second nature.
That’s why clients around the world choose AirBoss for their rubber needs and why our rubber compounds perform better than anything else on the market.