UTEX Industries is a provider of sealing

Seal (mechanical)

A mechanical seal is a device which helps join systems or mechanisms together by preventing leakage , containing pressure, or excluding contamination...

 products and services, catering primarily to the oil extraction

Oil well

An oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...

, natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

, and water distribution markets, along with other industrial businesses. It is the largest rubber

Rubber

Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...

 molder in the Southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

.

History

The company was founded on July 2, 1940 as Universal Packing & Gasket, a fabricator of gasket

Gasket

thumb|sright|250px|Some seals and gaskets1. [[o-ring]]2. fiber [[Washer |washer]]3. paper gaskets4. [[cylinder head]] [[head gasket|gasket]]...

s and packings. Today, UTEX is a global concern headquartered in Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 with distributors in over 50 countries. It has several manufacturing facilities, which are located in the Texas cities of Houston, Odessa

Odessa, Texas

Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small portion of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 99,940 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Odessa, Texas Metropolitan...

, Conroe

Conroe, Texas

Conroe is a suburban city 40 miles north of Houston in the gulf coastal plains/piney woods region of southeast Texas.It is the seat of Montgomery County and falls within the metropolitan area.As of the 2000 U.S...

, and Weimar

Weimar, Texas

Weimar is a city in Colorado County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,981 at the 2000 census.In 1873 the town was founded as Jackson, but subsequently called Weimar in tribute to the German city of Weimar....

.

Business

Together with its subsidiaries, Applied Rubber Technology and AccuSeal, both acquired in the 1990s, UTEX makes a range of sealing products, including gaskets, gasket sheets, proprietary high-tech O-ring

O-ring

An O-ring, also known as a packing, or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a disc-shaped cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more parts, creating a seal at the interface.The O-ring...

s, molded packings and seals for reciprocating pumps, hydraulics

Hydraulics

Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...

, mechanical seals, braided packings, and custom rubber-molded

Molding (process)

Molding or moulding is the process of manufacturing by shaping pliable raw material using a rigid frame or model called a pattern....

 products. They also offer repairs for mechanical seals through a program called X-TendaSeal Services.

UTEX uses compression molding

Compression molding

Compression molding is a method of molding in which the molding material, generally preheated, is first placed in an open, heated mold cavity. The mold is closed with a top force or plug member, pressure is applied to force the material into contact with all mold areas, while heat and pressure are...

, transfer molding

Transfer molding

Transfer molding, like compression molding, is a process where the amount of molding material is measured and inserted before the molding takes place. The molding material is preheated and loaded into a chamber known as the pot...

 and injection molding

Injection molding

Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...

 to manufacture rubber and thermoplastic

Thermoplastic

Thermoplastic, also known as a thermosoftening plastic, is a polymer that turns to a liquid when heated and freezes to a very glassy state when cooled sufficiently...

 seals and components of up to 80 inches (2 m) in diameter. This includes rubber-coated fabric, rubber to metal, and rubber to plastic.

Ownership

UTEX was acquired by the Audax Group

Audax Group

The Audax Group is a private equity investment firm focusing on leveraged buyout, growth capital, mezzanine capital and senior debt, primarily in middle-market companies....

, a middle-market investment capital firm, in 2007. In December 2010 Utex was acquired by global private equity firm Rhone Group

Rhône Group

Rhône Group is a private equity firm, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and partnerships with particular focus on European and Trans- Atlantic investments...

for an undisclosed amount.