There are two major cork categories suited for industrial gasket applications: cork and cork-rubber.

Coming from a tree, cork holds a unique characteristic: it has a cellular structure rather than a fibrous structure. Cork is composed of an impressive number of cells which, combined to its tannins and natural resins, provides physical properties that synthetically created compounds can hardly match.

Cork’s major physical properties include: floatability, compressibility, resilience, moisture resistance, fluid resistance, low thermal conductivity, vibration absorption and friction properties, and stability.

A cork composition can be bound by its natural resins, by proteins or by other polymer binders that cover each cork particle and join them together under pressure.

To create cork-rubber compounds, rubber is introduced in the cork using a calandering or a moulding process.

Cork compound is the less expensive of the two compounds.