The Latty Group celebrates its 100th anniversary this year

A century of research and innovationCreated in 1920, the family business managed by Mr Christian-Xavier Latty, grandson of the founder is now, a century later, the French market leader in industrial sealing. Latty's products ensure that complex industrial processes stay perfectly sealed and today have become indispensable in many sectors such as food processing, petrochemicals, mining and nuclear industries. The Latty Group has built a reputation for compliance with the strictest quality and safety regulations that guarantee product reliability, as well as for its solid know-how in the design and R&D of its sealing solutions and the constant evolution of its manufacturing processes. In a very competitive environment, Latty makes the difference by staying focussed on service and listening carefully to its customers, as only a medium-sized company can, while investing each year 5% of its turnover in research and development. In addition, the company has its own test laboratory enabling it to test its products under optimum conditions of use before market release or test them on the customers' equipment for qualifications or approvals.

The Latty Group in France consists of a head office located in Orsay in the Paris region and a production site and R&D lab based in Brou in the Eure-et-Loir department. In addition to the sales force, made up of technical sales engineers and sales managers, more than 160 people at Latty work every day to serve its customers, not counting the highly responsive local network of around a hundred distributors, cutters and multi-service competence centres.

The Latty Group makes a large part of its turnover by exporting through its 10 subsidiaries, some of which have their own manufacturing unit or multi-service competence centre. The medium-term objective is to increase its share in the export markets, in particular by creating new subsidiaries while maintaining the strong level of activity in France. In this context, the group has announced the opening of two new subsidiaries in India and Brazil.

Mr. Latty speaks about the strengths of his company: "One of the Latty Group's strong points is undoubtedly its ability to listen to its customers. Every business is different, every client is different with its own constraints, whether related to the environment, the size of the project or the deadline. The technical and commercial teams are there to ensure that customers benefit from this century of experience in industrial sealing when designing the appropriate solution in each case. The proposed product must meet the customer's expectations in every respect.”

Associated services: research, development and testing

Latty's other strong point is to have a research, development and testing department located in its production site in Brou and to be able to support client manufacturers in the process of approving their equipment in compliance with the relevant standards and directives, particularly for valves and fittings.

Latty is recognized for the quality and performance of its ranges of braids and sealing rings and more particularly for its FILCOAT process (double impregnation of threads). All the research we do in the development of fibres and lubricants enables us to offer a range of about 50 different qualities of braids with more than 70 types of impregnation and 120 varieties of yarns (aramide, PTFE, graphite, carbon, etc.) to meet all our customers' applications.

On a 500 m² platform with more than 15 test cells equipped with precision measuring equipment (pressures from vacuum to 650 bar, temperatures from -200°C to 650°C, helium mass spectrometers, a 5,500 kN press, etc.) the company is able to accommodate equipment of all sizes to meet the requirements of our customers and also those of the many manufacturers with whom we have developed partnerships.

The equipment approved on these test cells can be used directly in specific applications or integrated by manufacturers in the production of industrial pumps or valves. To date, more than 100 test reports confirming these standards approvals have been obtained.

Sensitive sectors

All industrial sectors are concerned by industrial sealing but not all leaks have the same consequences. Although working in all industries, the Latty Group particularly addresses the needs of industries sensitive to the reduction of greenhouse gases (ISO 15848), the safety of people and the security of equipment and industrial sites.

In the field of industrial valves, for example, the design of new packaging has made it possible to reduce the leakage rate of fugitive emissions, linked to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), by a factor of more than 10,000.

In the nuclear field, the Fukushima feedback has led to stricter requirements on all materials used in the plants. To meet these requirements, the Latty Group has developed new products for industrial valves, rotating machines, pressure vessels and piping, including packaging qualified for accident conditions with radiation resistance up to 4000 kGy and EPDM-based elastomer seals up to 1700 KGy. Mechanical seals have also been developed and qualified on new plants meeting post-Fukushima requirements.

Mr. Latty concludes: "Today's requirements are very different from those of 1920. Over the course of a century, the Latty Group has lived through the industrial revolution of the 20th century, always developing quality products that are increasingly innovative and efficient. Originally, Latty braids were invented to seal the shaftline outlets for shipbuilding. Today, Latty seals can be found in equipment in all sectors of industry. They respond to the continuously evolving demands of industry and strive to better preserve our environment.”