A Trip Down Memory Lane:
The Early Days of Raychem Shrink Sleeves
Every once in a while, it’s fun to take a step back and look at how far our industry has come. The pipeline coating world is built on decades of innovation — and some of the most significant milestones trace back to one name that started it all: Raychem.
It was July of 1973, in Mt. Carmel, Texas. A 4-inch line was being installed. Raychem shrink sleeves were being used to coat the field joints. At the time, this was cutting-edge technology. The concept of using heat-shrinkable polymer materials to protect steel pipelines from corrosion was still relatively new — and Raychem was at the forefront of it all.
The Original Field Joint Coating: TPS
Back then, TPS was Raychem’s primary field joint coating system. Simple in design but incredibly effective for its time, TPS used a crosslinked polyethylene backing combined with a bitumen mastic sealant. The material was supplied as a slip-on tube, which meant that it had to be placed on the pipe before welding.
Once the weld was complete and the surface was cleaned, the TPS sleeve would be positioned over the joint and heated. The crosslinked PE backing would shrink tightly around the pipe, and the mastic would flow to create a seal that protected the bare steel from moisture, soil, and corrosion.
For many who worked in the field during the 1970s, that smell of bitumen and the sight of those black shrink sleeves sealing up the line became part of daily life.
Pipe Coatings of the Time
The mainline coating on that job was likely Extrucoat, applied by either Plexco or Standard Pipe Protection — two names that were synonymous with high-quality polyethylene coatings at the time. Both companies were key players in the evolution of pipeline corrosion protection and helped pave the way for the coating systems we rely on today.
(If anyone reading this knows more about that particular project or who supplied the coating — we’d love to hear it!)
From Raychem to Covalence
Over time, Raychem’s heat shrink technology evolved, and so did the company itself. Raychem eventually became Covalence Heat Shrinkable Products, now part of Seal For Life Industries and Henkel — a group that continues to build on Raychem’s legacy of innovation.
The same core principles remain: easy installation, reliable corrosion protection, and long-term performance in some of the toughest environments imaginable.
TPS: Still Around After All These Years
What’s even more impressive? The TPS system is still available today — over 50 years after it first appeared in the field. While it no longer uses a bitumen mastic sealant (modern versions have improved formulations), it’s still a trusted and proven system for 2" through 8" pipe sizes.
In a world where technology changes at lightning speed, that kind of staying power says a lot. It’s a testament to the solid engineering behind the original Raychem design and the ongoing commitment to quality from Covalence.
A Legacy That Stuck
For those of us who’ve been around this industry for a while, it’s more than just nostalgia — it’s history. Every new pipeline technology owes something to the early innovators who saw a better way to protect steel from corrosion.
From Raychem’s pioneering work in shrink sleeves to Covalence’s continued innovation today, the story of TPS and its evolution is a great reminder that good ideas — and good products — really do stand the test of time.
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