Sioux Rubber & Urethane Blog

Here at Sioux Rubber & Urethane, we tackle it all; whatever it takes to fight abrasion, corrosion, and impact damage on equipment of all shapes, sizes, and functions – we can make it happen. Some products are custom-built and applied individually, while others are designed to fit industry specs. The rubber and urethane protection that we provide serves equipment from a wide variety of OEMs with one goal in mind: to extend the life of equipment.

Rubber is our favorite naturally occurring substance. From humble beginnings, rubber has evolved to the point that it is used for a wide variety of modern applications; tires, roads, seals for vehicles and windows, and even apparel and accessories. Today, we’ll take a look at the history of rubber and the various types that we work with at Sioux Rubber & Urethane.

When you think about rubber, you may think about the synthetic rubber that’s primarily used in manufacturing today, Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR). But natural rubber, the “original” rubber, still has its place in the chemical, mining, fertilizer, transportation and environment industries.

Abrasion, heavy impact and corrosion are three problems that damage your expensive machinery. Daily wear and tear leads to breakdowns, and until you’re back up and running, you’re losing money. We understand this better than anyone which is why we’ve developed an entire menu of rubber and urethane products that help your expensive equipment last and keep production moving.

When you choose to recover, instead of replacing your clamp pads, you’ve made a smart decision that will positively impact your company’s bottom line. Many clamp pad manufacturers won’t tell you that recovered clamp pads can be a third of the cost of a new set. 

Not every impact, abrasion and corrosion issue has a one-size-fits-all solution. At Sioux Rubber & Urethane, we understand this better than anyone. That’s why we use our 40-plus years of experience to care for custom rubber products to solve every possible issue that comes our customers’ way.

Have an unusual piece of machinery or product that could benefit from some vibration control or corrosion resistance? We can help by covering it in rubber or urethane. In fact, one of the cornerstones of our business is our custom rubber and urethane coverings and coatings that we create specifically for your unique needs. 

Some things are just meant to go together – peanut butter and jelly, Batman and Robin and rubber and urethane. Two things that never go together? Bare metal forklift clamp pads and inventory, ouch. When your clamp pads lose their rubber cushion, they can’t do their job effectively and need to be replaced. 

There are a variety of forklift clamp attachments designed to help workers move materials that a regular set of forks would have trouble with including paper rolls, lightweight boxes and cartons. These clamps are made from a substrate, usually metal, and have an attached pad made of rubber to help cushion and grip the material. While forklift clamps are a common piece of equipment in any warehouse, here are five things you probably didn’t know about clamp pads.