What Happened to Raychem Corp (UPDATED 2024)

 

What Happened to Raychem Corp (UPDATED 2024)?

Every trade show that I'm at results in one common denominator:  What happened to the old Raychem name?

In 1999 a company called Tyco International purchased Raychem Corp (depending on how good your memory is, you may have seen Tyco in the news a time or two).  Our world (Raychem Pipeline) didn't really experience much of a change.  We were able to continue with the Raychem name with no issues.  Tyco purchased Raychem for 2.3 Billion Dollars. 

Sometime around 2007, Tyco International split into three companies.  One of those companies was Tyco Electronics.  Again we were able to continue using the Raychem name; the products were labelled Raychem, etc.

Also at this time however, the Raychem Pipeline Group, along with Polyken Tape and Powercrete liquid epoxies were grouped up and sold off to a company called Berry Plastics (a giant company).  The Raychem name was to say with Tyco Electronics at that time and Berry Plastics would have a limited amount of time to re-brand Raychem Pipeline Products into something else.  Thus, Covalence CPG was born.  During this period; the original Raychem Pipeline Products were transitioned into being called "Covalence Raychem" and then within a few months to being called strictly "Covalence."

This lasted for a couple years (maybe less) and then the product was briefly re-branded as a Berry Plastics product.  When I say briefly, I might hazard a guess that it was less than a year.  I shudder to think of the cost of changing data sheets; reprinting boxes; buying new labels, modifying production lines to print the new company name on the products and a multitude of other visible and hidden expenses.

The Berry Plastics days were very limited (though they do still own Covalence and several other pipe coating technologies.  So the old Raychem product line has gone back to being called "Covalence Heat Shrinkable Products" (as you can see in the logo just up the page).  So, back one generation in the name, but we do have a new product family that we are a part of:  Seal for Life.  Seal for Life is the name of the company who owns:  Stopaq (a viscoelastic / polyisobutylene product); Polyken (cold applied tapes and factory applied line coatings); Powercrete (a liquid epoxy for field joint coating and another used as an abrasion resistant overcoat for factory applied FBE) and Anodeflex (a long line, linear anode that is a fantastic cathodic protection solution for difficult, rocky soils and for rehab work).  This new Seal for Life logo is as follows:

In 2019, Berry Plastics sells of the Seal for Life brand to Arsenal Capital; a private equity fund for approximately

330 Mllion Dollars.  Arsenal then bought various other companies to add to the Seal for Life family, including 

Canusa CPS at the end of 2019.  Arsenal held onto all of these companies (adding a few each year) until:

In 2024, Arsenal has sold off Seal for Life (and all associated companies) to Henkel for an undisclosed amount.

Now, through all of those changes, there are several things that have never changed.  We still have the same manufacturing specifications, the same raw materials, the same brilliant research and development people; the same factory; great adhesives; fantastic backing and without a doubt the highest quality product on the market today.  Don't let the name changes fool you.  We've been a technological leader in pipeline coatings for 40 years now.  We have proven products.  We have technical expertise.  We have long, successful use histories.  We have it all.  Now - how can we help you with your next job?