1973 Job Report

 

A Blast From the Past: Raychem Shrink Sleeves in 1973 — and How Covalence Continues to Lead Today

Every once in a while, a photo pops up that reminds us just how far the pipeline industry has come. This morning delivered one of those gems:

July 1973 — Tampa, Florida — Raychem Shrink Sleeves being installed on 45s, 90s, and straight-line field joints.

Back then, Raychem was the name everyone knew for heat-shrinkable pipeline coatings. Over the decades, the brand evolved into Covalence, now part of Seal for Life Industries, owned by Henkel. But that original innovation DNA? Still very much alive.

And the picture from that Florida project?
A completely different world.

No shirts.
No gloves.
No FR clothing.
No PPE.
Just a crew, a torch, and a box of Raychem sleeves — and somehow, no problem!

Despite the “old-school” approach, those early shrink sleeves performed incredibly well. The technology was solid, the materials were ahead of their time, and Raychem quickly became the global standard for field joint coatings.

---

From Raychem to Covalence: The Same Heritage, But a Much Bigger Toolbox

Fast-forward 52 years, and Covalence remains one of the industry’s most trusted names — not because the products stayed the same, but because they kept evolving.

Today, Covalence offers field-proven solutions for:

• Straight pipe

• Hot bends

• Cold bends

• Fittings

• Tie-ins

• Directional drilling

• Road bores

• Specialty applications

If there’s a pipeline, chances are Covalence has a coating for it.

And while those 1973 TPS slip-on sleeves got the job done, our approach to bends today is even better.

---

Why Today We Recommend Covalence Flexclad for Bends

If you were coating 45s and 90s today, you wouldn’t be reaching for a slip-on sleeve — you’d be reaching for Covalence Flexclad, the industry’s premier heat-shrinkable wrap-around tape for bends.

Why Flexclad?

• Form-fits perfectly around any curvature

• No wrinkling or bridging

• Handles movement and strain exceptionally well

• Eliminates the difficulty of sliding a sleeve over a bend

• Delivers long-term corrosion and mechanical protection

• Proven Covalence adhesive technology underneath

Flexclad is simply the modern, reliable answer for bend coating — engineered from decades of experience that began with those early Raychem installations.

---

Pipeline Coatings Have Evolved — And So Have We

As fun as it is to look back at a 1973 jobsite where safety culture meant “try not to burn yourself”, it’s even more exciting to see how far the industry has come.

Better materials.
Better chemistry.
Better installation techniques.
Better safety.
Better results.

But the through-line remains the same:

Covalence continues to deliver coating systems for nearly every pipeline application — from the simplest field joint to the most challenging bend.

The tools have changed.
The safety standards have changed.
The industry has changed.

But the legacy of innovation — from Raychem to Covalence — is still shaping the pipeline world today.